Today is National Dungeons and Dragons Day. It is a role-playing game that first published in 1974. I knew of it but did not have the interest of role-playing. While working in Michigan for Target, I found a book “Mazes and Monsters” by Rona Jaffe, 1981. It was a novel about Dungeons and Dragons, and players at a university. I worked less than three miles from the MSU university, and bought the book. I had heard about a student there that fit the description of the book. It discussed a college kid, who played the role playing game, along with wandering around the steam vent mazes along the throughout the university. He disappeared (though was eventually found). It seemed like mental illness caused him to act out this fantasy role playing into the real world.
Since I didn’ t know a lot of D&D, I believed a lot of what the book said. I was talking about the book to a couple of my employees at Target, and they lit up. ”We knew him, we played D&D with him.” It was a real story. the kid’s name was James Dallas Egbert III. They also told me there as another book that had more facts written about the actual case. (I tracked it down: “The Dungeon Master, The disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III” by William Dear, 1984). I was told that while he was a little odd, Egbert did enjoy playing the game when living at MSU. He disappeared after several weeks and ended up in New Orleans. His mental health got out of control, and he did commit suicide, after several attempts. After Egbert’s death, and the perceived involvement of Dungeons and Dragons, the story became well known. There was publicity from news, the two books, and also a movie. Sales of D&D gaming seemed grew quickly, helped by that publicity.
I pass no judgement on the game of Dungeons and Dragons. After all, I am huge fan of Lord of the Rings ( and later Harry Potter), which a lot of the fantasy ideas came from. I am intrigued though, if a novel author, and true crime detective story could both capitalize on a young man’s struggle with mental health, and made the connection to a game seem as the reason and cause; or was it ‘journalism’?
Today is also National Peanut Brittle Day. The world is now a little nuts…so let’s end on a sweeter thought. This is my latest copy of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. My wife and I have literally worn out the previous two copies. If anyone needs just one good cookbook, this is truly it. As for the peanut brittle recipe, there is one for stovetop, and another for microwave.
P.S. Just another page away from the peanut Brittle recipe, is one for Rum Balls. Betty Crocker got her alcohol on! Keep reading.
Librarytomes 