Control: Gaming Stores

I, Dalton Lewis, missed a day of blogging yesterday, and I apologize. I wanted to talk about a gaming store I frequent. The guy working there came to work there after the previous employee left. That previous employee was skinny, a veteran of military service, brilliant at Warhammer 40k, and a good guy who seemed to hate me because I showed up a lot and wasn’t always clean and well-groomed and ready for socialization. Despite that he was nice to me a lot of the time and never mistreated me. He was popular and important and great at his job. Then the new employee showed up.

He didn’t seem like much. He had red hair and was, unlike the previous employee, a little chubby, and he had the kind of beard a guy normally has in this time and place. He said hey, how’s it going, and told me that I was invited there anytime. He didn’t mind that I was mentally ill. He didn’t mind that I was bad with people. He was fine with me being there anytime.

Gaming stores that make you feel like family are nice. He is a good person, and with him as manager the store has thrived. People show up, and like the bar from the sitcom, everyone knows everyone. We hang out, build models, and play games. We talk about pop culture and geek references and the game and what is coming out next.

I know that I’m not supposed to spend hundreds of dollars a month on wargaming miniatures, but I have a lot of people to hang out with because of this hobby. I don’t sit in my room, alone, all day long, every day, just going out for fast food or Denny’s twice or three times a day. I watch movies and play games, sure, but I have people to talk to on a regular basis.

I am playing white scars with my 40k army. They are fast-moving, bike riding space marines who have a lot of tricks and tactics. They do a lot of damage and have Khan, their warlord, who fights really well and has a great new model. I know that I haven’t won as many games as I would have liked with my armies that I have been playing, but I think that I am getting better at the game. I think that I should do better going forward.

The gaming store manager is getting married. He is living a good life, and his job has brought happiness to a lot of unpopular people who didn’t have much of a social life. I’m happy for that — even if I spend money at that place a lot of the people treat me like a friend, and for that I’m grateful.

Thanks, and take care, friends.