Godspeed, Scott Carpenter

M. Scott Carpenter - Mercury astronaut, Naval aviator, SEALAB aquanaut, author - passed away on 10 October 2013 at the age of 88.

I met Mr. Carpenter in 1993 when I was working at Nintendo of America and we were launching Star Fox for the Super NES, or SNES in gamerspeak. I'm pretty sure the event was held at a Super Kmart in Cleveland, Ohio. I'll have to dig around through my archives to see if I have any papers relating to that event.

Mr. Carpenter and I shared a limo ride from the hotel to the Kmart. Even though its been 20 years since that day, I still remember it fairly well. Mr. Carpenter was personable, polite, friendly, and engaging. I asked him how he ended up promoting a video game, and his answer was something along the lines of "If it gets kids interested in space, then it's worth my time." I could tell he was truly passionate about getting the next generation of future astronauts started early, and if it took a space shooter console game, then so be it.

But Mr. Carpenter didn't want to spend the whole ride talking about himself or his interests. He wanted to talk about me. So we chatted about what I studied in college, sports, my family, things like that. He asked me if I was a football player or a wrestler, because he thought I was built like someone who played those sports (stocky and broad-shouldered). When I told him I was a soccer player (goalkeeper), he didn't change the subject or disparage my game, he wanted to talk more about it.

The ride ended way too soon, and I had a game to launch. One last memory was this one: the PR gals had some Star Fox posters, and they wanted us to sign them. Us, as in Scott Carpenter and yours truly. I protested, because no one wanted a poster signed by Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter and some dude from Nintendo. I was overruled, so my apologies to anyone out there who has one. They made me do it!

In addition to the achievements listed above, Scott Carpenter was also a nice, genuine person. I was fortunate to have met him, if only for a short time.

American Eagles - Thanks For The Memories

For 40+ years, American Eagles has supplied Seattle-area gamers/modelers/train enthusiasts with a place to go and get their fix. Alas, their time has come and they will close their doors on April 9, 2011. Between now and then, they are selling off pretty much everything for 20% to 30% off, and I wonder if the discounts will grow bigger as time winds down.

I paid them a visit today with my youngest son in tow. He picked out a couple of 20-siders (one for him, one for his older brother) and I bought a Reaper mini (3333 Boneflail) and some Woodland Scenics Field Grass. And as a belated birthday present for my father-in-law who collects patches, uniforms and other Vietnam-era artifacts, a small illustration entitled "The American Soldier, 1965 - Army Aviation, Cavalry, and Special Forces Officers - Troops boarding helicopters" that used to grace their walls.

I chatted with the gentleman behind the counter briefly, mostly to say thanks for the memories. I used to stop by their store back in the day, when it was in the Greenwood neighborhood, a true gamer's paradise. Books, modules, accessories, and for me - tons of lead. He showed me a scrapbook one of the customers put together for the store. Pictures, articles, ads, you name it. An old-fashioned hold-it-in-your-hands album that is a nice tribute to the store.

Over the years, I tried to make it there a couple of times a year. Browse the gaming section, scour the lead section, buy a model or two, a can of paint, something, anything. It was just one of those places I could go and wander around in.

Eagles will soon join USS Enterprise (Kirkland) and Triple Alliance (Bellevue) in the sad ranks of gaming shops that have closed their doors. At least Eagles stayed around a lot longer than the other two. Still, it's a bit sad to lose a connection to my gaming past.

I'll have to go there at least one more time before they close their doors for the last time.

All good things must come to an end, I suppose. Damn.

Remembering Mikey

My brother Michael died eight years ago today. When we were kids, Mikey taught me how to play games - checkers, chess, Avalon Hill board games, and a myriad of pen & paper RPGs. I fondly remember game boards being upended by the sore loser of the moment (we shared those fairly equally), but I can now appreciate all the strategies and tactics my brother shared with me those many years ago.

Mikey took up D&D again with me and my gaming cronies in the year or so before he died. Of course, my cronies were all Mikey's friends and classmates before they were mine, so he pretty much fit right in, just like old times.

The last character Mikey ran was a human wizard, if I recall correctly. I think I have the character sheet around here somewhere - I'll have to dig around a bit and see if I can round it up. Anyhow, to represent his character, Mikey chose the following miniature from my collection:



I guess the paint job on this mini is at least 10 years old - I had recently been working with inks and washes for the first time, so you can see the results for yourself. His clothes and cloak turned out decent, but not his yellow garb. And the skin-tone ink makes his face look blotchy - oops. But what I remember most about this mini is how Mikey described it. "He's NOT wearing a fez - he's really wearing a traditional pointy wizard's hat. You just can't see the top half of it because it exists only in the astral plane."

Thanks for a lifetime of gaming memories, and also for being my big brother. If you were still around, I think you would have liked watching your oldest nephew paint minis, and had fun playing D&D with both your nephews and your little brother.