Month: October 2025

Back when I was in college, I used to run Dungeons & Dragons for my friends. This was more than 40 years ago, well before the game was fully created.

Adventure
So what I needed to do was to create most of the adventures that the group would encounter. I’m a creative guy, so I was able to do this. The adventures were mediaeval — a bit like Game of Thrones. My friends liked the Dungeons & Dragons that I used to run.

I would come up with these complex battles/adventures along the way. The group needed to get past these, and move forward toward the next challenge.

Riddles
One thing that I would do was create riddles, where the correct answer gave the group a benefit. I have most of these riddles on my writing site.

Career
I started my career as an engineer, but I evolved to being a program manager. It’s interesting because being a program manager, in some ways, is similar to runnings Dungeons & Dragons. I communicate the end goals, and help move the contributors toward those goals.

Dreams
Another interesting thing is that I have complex dreams that are similar to Dungeons & Dragons. When I wake up, I’m a little surprised by the crazy complex dreams that I’ve had. They are sort of science fictiony, but they aren’t too sciencey. They are sometimes mediaeval — like a Game of Thrones adventure.

Summary
I find it interesting that running an adventure has been part of my life. I started this in college, did it as a career, and I now have complex dreams that are very similar.

When I went to college, I ended up at a university that allowed illegal (pre 21) alcohol drinking. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign — a few hours south of Chicago. I wasn’t a partier in high school, but that changed once I made it to college.

Illegal Drinking
The university was between two adjacent cities. In one city, they would allow people to enter bars if they were 19. And the other city, they would allow people to enter bars if they were 18. Once you were in a bar, they would not check your ID to serve your alcohol. So essentially, the drinking age was 18. There were maybe half a dozen bars in these cities on the edge of campus.

Another characteristic was that my university had the biggest Greek system in the country — the most fraternities and sororities. We knew people in those fraternities and sororities, so we were often invited to parties at these places. 

So essentially, it was easy to party and drink alcohol.

Quart per Quarter
One of the bars had an event that they called Quart per Quarter. This meant that if you drink a quart of beer each quarter of a football game, then you would get a prize at the end (a T-shirt?) This is a lot of beer to drink during a three hour period of time. I did this once, but I threw up in the bathroom midway through the football game.

21
The other overlay is that I was the oldest of my roommates. So when I turned 21, I was the one who would go to the liquor stores to buy alcohol. I would always buy the cheapest beer. 

Once when I was in a bar with friends, I was the only one who was 21. The police came in (possibly because they were trying to undo what the bars were doing) and they checked everyone’s IDs. Since I was the only one in my group who was 21, I got a ticket — because they assumed I had purchased alcohol for my friends.

Summary
It was easy to party at my university. Maybe things have changed, but honestly, I don’t know. 

I’ve been diagnosed with ALS — a terminal degenerative neuro-muscular disease.

The common expectation is 2 to 5 years of life after diagnosis. They were a little late to diagnose me, so I’m guessing it’s more like 1.5 to 4.5 years for me.

DIAGNOSIS
It was interesting to diagnose me. They would say: do five squats, and I would do them. And then they would say: you don’t have ALS. But of course they were wrong. My legs are still surprisingly capable. 

I went to a physical therapist, and each time, even though I tried to improve, I could do less. On the third visit, the physical therapist said ‘I need to talk to your doctor.’

Finally, an ALS neurologist zapped my nerves with a device, and concluded that I had ALS. I was diagnosed about a year ago.

SYMdPTOMS
I lost 20 pounds of muscle. My inability now is with my arms. My hands are somewhat capable, but my arms can’t really do much. This means that my wife has to help feed me, dress me, and shower me. We have hired a gardener and a housekeeper – so my wife has a bit more availability.

The challenges is: if I happen to trip and fall, my arms aren’t capable of preventing me from injuring my head. This has happened three times — three times in the emergency room with injuries to my head.

Also, my lung capacity has degraded. So I find that my energy level is low. Plus, the oxygen to my brain has diminished, which impacts my memory.

BENEFITS 
The ALS organization provided a free powered wheelchair. It’s actually pretty beneficial. It only weighs 40 pounds, and it easily folds up — so we keep it in the trunk of the car. It took me a bit to accept that this was something to use. I’ve now become OK with using it. The wheelchair has the ability to travel 9 miles, which is a big distance.

Because I have a terminal disease, and use the wheelchair, I’ve been identified as disabled. We have a sticker that we hang from the car rear view mirror. That gives us the benefit of parking in disabled parking slots, which are close to the entrance of the stores, restaurants, etc.

IMPACT
I am taking anti-depression medication, plus I have a pragmatic head, so I’m not swirling about my situation. It is what it is.

I recently had a feeding tube installed in my abdomen. This provides the ability to add calories if my ability to eat through my mouth declines. Three days after it was installed, I accidentally pulled it out. We rushed to the hospital ER to get it reinstalled — which went quite well.

I feel bad for my wife. I worked full-time for decades, and now that I’m walking away from my job, I won’t be around for very long. She committed her life to me, so I feel bad that I’m parting ways in a few years.

It’s actually a bit weird. Of my siblings and my parents, I’ll be the youngest one to die. 

CAUSE
When you search for the causes of ALS, there isn’t a lot of good information. One cause is chemical exposure. The house that I grew up in had an alley behind it where they would spray pesticides once a year. Also, I worked a couple summers at my dad‘s chemical warehouse, but the chemicals that we packaged weren’t particularly impactful. Plus, my next older brother also worked at that same warehouse.

Another cause is athleticism. Professional athletes sometimes get ALS. I’ve always been a runner, including running 10 miles every other day in college. But I wasn’t a professional athlete.

A third cause is metal exposure. I do have some fillings in my teeth. Plus, i did have a metal rod in my shin bone when I broke it in college.

SUMMARY 
It’s a bit unfortunate that they don’t have a specific cause for ALS, or a treatment for the disease. It’s sad to be diagnosed with a terminal disease, but I have no control over it. My goal is to make the most of the rest of my life.