I’ll be carrying on the tradition of going to GenCon in Indianapolis in mid August. Randy and I missed last year because we decided that buying a house finally was more important than going to the convention-we didn’t have funds for both. We closed on the house the day after Randy had been released from the hospital after his first collapse-which will be the first day of the convention this year.

I’ve ordered buttons to give out to friends and fans of @deadorcs, Randy, who had developed quite a following in the Role Playing Game (RPG) community with the articles he wrote and the podcasts on which he was a contributing voice. I’ve found a small R shaped blank book that I’ll ask people to write in at the convention, sharing with me their memories and stories of Randy, for me to keep with his ashes, and other memorabilia that I’ve collected and have displayed in a place of honor-his game room.

I know that this trip is necessary-a completion of the changes in our lives from last year. I know it is going to be more difficult than I can imagine, but I know I need to do this for Randy. Whether or not I continue the journey in coming years remains to be seen. But for this year, I go for Randy, to bring him back, in a way, to a place and people he loved.

Because I carry his heart, I carry it in my heart.