Entry for 2nd December, 2008 - Dungeons and Dragons Again

I have mentioned before that I play Dungeons and Dragons once a fortnight. I feel that I can talk about it here in Yahoo 360, because this place is like a Western ghost town. The only people that seem to visit are people who stumble on the place unexpectedly and then pass on through quickly, recognising that there is nothing here for anyone any more.
The thing about Dungeons and Dragons is that it is not entirely about the game for me any more. The reason I like it I think is that it is a link to some of my oldest and best pals. We five that play go back decades now. And though we don't spend a lot of time chatting at these evenings (let's face it, who wants to chat when there's five giant magical monkeys attacking you), there is a cetain comfort in being around your old mates.
For too long I did not see some of these guys. Somehow our lives had become separated. We had ended up in separate foxholes in the battlefield. The machinegun fire of life had pinned us down. Occasionally we would hear shouted greetings drift across from another bunker. Sometimes some stranger would dive into our foxhole and bring us news of one another.
Monday night D and D sessions feel a bit like a break in the battle. A game of football at Christmas maybe? Or perhaps more like going home from the war on a big boat. We are all sitting on the deck, playing brag and drinking beer. We are remembering the good times. And creating some new ones.
All that, and you get to beat the crap out of some orcs too.