Well forgive me this post today. My dad, Col Joseph Legan, DC USAF passed away about 2 weeks ago. The details are not important here. What is important is I realized today how much of what I have been doing in miniature gaming was actually about sharing with him.
My brother and I had been boardgamers for 15 years. My dad bought me my first boardgame, SPIs Moscow Campaign because he saw it in a store and he was interested in the history of what we were doing but he would never participate. When I switched to miniatures he would actually play! We would talk about what scenery to get and how to paint up the tanks, airplanes and ships. He was an active participant. Granted the games couldn't be too complex but the 2 of us or the 3 of us could play and it was great. Those of you who normally read this blog know I normally wargame for escape from the world, not for social contact. With my dad it was different.
3 e boats attacking tankers bound for London. At this point my dad could only go for about 70 minutes so I had to make for a short scenario.
It was sharing great experiences between father and son. This became more important and poignant these last 17 months.
My son will occasionally play a wargame with me but he is humoring me. But my son and I share a love of baseball so we have that bond. With my dad he really enjoyed the miniatures, the planning, painting, scenarios and playing.
Yesterday I saw battlefront has a 15mm cafe out and my first thought was, "I can't wait to tell my dad!" We would start to talk about did it look good enough. How could we use it? Would I ( or we) use it enough to justify the cost even though we both knew I would get it. Then of course I realized that I won't be having those discussions; at least the way I have had in the past.
So I get why people play wargames with other people; for the camaraderie. For those of you lucky enough to have fathers and sons ( and daughters) to share this hobby with you congratulations! Enjoy the time you have with them.
Love your son
Joe
