Today I learned that my friends Aaron Allston and Dave Arneson have separately had terrible weeks.

Dave co-created Dungeons & Dragons with Gary Gygax, who passed away last year. He has cancer and, it seems, not very long to live. I had the honor of sitting on several panels with Dave over the years, and he’s always been a sharp-witted gentleman, eager to share his knowledge and experiences with anyone curious enough to ask. When he goes, we’ll have lost both of D&D’s creators, and an era will truly have passed.

Despite this, Dave’s family is requesting privacy at this time. Fortunately, after Gary died last year, many people reached out to Dave to let him know how much he and his work meant to us. (John Wick has an absolutely hysterical story about this, but it’s his to tell.)

Aaron had a heart attack last Sunday while touring to support his latest Star Wars novel, and he’s successfully undergone a quadruple heart bypass since. While he’s not home yet, it looks like his long-term prognosis may be good.

Aaron started out in roleplaying game design with Hero Games, who also published my first full-length RPG book: Western Hero.I remember Aaron warmly welcoming me into the cadre of Hero authors many years ago, and we always managed to catch up over the years. I last saw him at Comic-Con last year as we waited for the doors to open on that Wednesday night.

However, Aaron—like many freelancers—has no health insurance, and he’s likely to see a ruinous hospital bill for this. Word is that some of his publishers are already hoping to put together a benefit book or two to get him some much-needed cash. I’ll be sure to post details about that here when I can.

In the meantime, here’s to best wishes for both Dave and Aaron that this week is much better for them than the last.

My father, who was appointed a Rock County circuit court judge last January, just found out that he’s going to have an easy time with his first actual campaign for the elected seat: He’s running unopposed.

This is the kind of election that families of candidates root for. Very low stress.

I actually considered running for the school board here in Beloit this year. A number of people asked me to, and I do hope to someday be able to serve my hometown in some direct fashion. However, the kids are still just a bit too young and the demands on my time too stringent for me to be more than a warm body in any such position—and that just wouldn’t do.

I’m not always good at saying no to things that interest me. I sometimes overbook my time that way, but most of my projects only run for stints of a few months. A seat on the school board comes with a three-year term, and I don’t think I could sustain a super-crunch time for that long without serious repercussions.

Still, it would have been cool to run for a seat at the same time as my father. The yard signs alone would have been worth it.

Lousy winter weather here in southern Wisconsin has the entire Forbeck family stuck at home together today. (My wife’s a school social worker, and her school cancelled classes today too.) I skipped my Alliterates meeting last night to avoid it, but it tracked me down and socked me in just the same. Days like this, I’m extra glad I don’t have to drive to work.

It all looks very pretty and makes me happy to be inside—at least until I have to go out and clear the driveway, but that won’t be until after the snow slows down a bit this evening.

Ten years ago today, I became a father. My son Marty was born down in Radford, Virginia, while I was helping run Pinnacle Entertainment Group as its president. Even before he was born, we knew we wanted to move back to Wisconsin to be closer to family—something I couldn’t have imagined when I was in high school—and within six months we had.

It’s hard to believe Marty’s already 10. This means he’s already more than halfway through the time we can expect him to live with us before he heads off on his own, to college or wherever. He’s developed into such a wonderful boy, and I cannot wait to see what kind of a young man he becomes. At the same time, I want to make sure to savor every moment we have before then.

Today, we took Marty to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and then to the Rainforest Cafe in Schaumburg. He had a ball, and the rest of us did too. Next weekend, we’ll have a laser tag party with his friends and celebrate all over again.

It’s good to be a dad—especially Marty’s dad. He’s a sweet, smart, clever kid with a sharp sense of humor, and I could not be prouder of him.

Happy birthday, Marty! Here’s to many, many more together.