Family and Friends.

"Horns of a Dilemma. Er, Horns of the Buffalo!"

Photo by Tim the Younger, taken at the Battle of Cowpens Convention back when it was still in Greenville, SC. Left to right: John, myself, Tim the Elder, and an unknown gamer that was on our side. This was a very fun 15 mm Colonial Zulu game.

You've gotta love our expressions! I think this perfectly sums up some of the wonderful fun and dilemmas that a good game can have.

Recently I've been thinking a lot about Family and Friends. I'm sure some of it was triggered by Ezekiel's birth. I'm sure some of it is because of this blog ~ it helps me to think about stuff. Some of it is because of the very nature of sitting quietly and painting figures. You have time to think, to reflect. (If you are like I suspect most gamers are you are superstitious to some degree. Why think about negative crap when you're working on figures that you want to imbue with power and positive energy???)

I really am fortunate and blessed to have an amazing Family. And I really am fortunate and blessed in having some amazing Friends. Sure we all have friends and acquintances. True Friends are something else entirely! True Friends are your Family without the blood ties.

I got a great email from Ted Sunday. He's one of my oldest and best Friends. He's bigger and taller than I am, but he's still my "little" Brother. We met in an art class back in High School. He was a year younger than me and I can't remember if I was a Junior or a Senior. But I will never forget walking past his desk, looking down and saying, "Nice painting of Napoleonic Prussian Artillery!" We were kindred spirits. We still are.

That was the beginning of a life time's Friendship. It doesn't matter what happens in our lives, or how much time time goes by before we're in touch again. We're Friends. We're Brothers in our hearts.

Like each of my Friends, Ted is amazing in his own ways. He made my reproduction of the Churburg armour. He teaches professional Hockey goal tending. He's been called up to play professionally. He's a metals conservator. He and Carlaa have a band with a number of CDs out. They travel the world and Live their Bliss.

Like I said, all of my Friends really are neat people!

You can tell that I've been thinking about Ted lately. Years ago he took us with him when he made made a conservator's trip to the Higgins Museum. He gave me a Scottish Claymore letter opener, because "Every Laird needs his sword." It's in my office, on my desk in the mug that holds my pens. I think about Ted every time I use it.

Until I cleaned and re-arranged the lving room I used it when I was packing rubber molds. But when I was cleaning the desk again I found a burnishing tool that had been my Fathers. Sunday was the first time that I used the burnisher for mold packing. Sorry Ted, that's what I'm using from now ~ no quillons to push against, but the handle fits my hand better when I'm working on molds.

Speaking of Friends and memories . . .

See the little kid? He rolled more sixes than any of us had ever seen! (Their whole side wanted him to roll for them.)

See Tim rolling?

See Tim the Elder rolling another one?

I really think that game was the beginning of his streak of rolling ones. It's been going on for years. It's statistically impossible. (He's kept track, and it is depressing.) We've been teasing him about rolling ones for years. I've always wondered how he offended the dice.

Seeing this photo by Tim the Younger again makes me wonder . . . should we be asking how he offended that kid?!?

Tonight I'm working on the Centaurs!