When someone runs their mouth about the evils of video games or how gamers are violent, stupid, lazy, or whatever the term of the month is for us....

I am linking them to this:

Blind Gamer Beats Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Normally, I will use Child's Play as the perfect example of just how awesome gamers are. However, it can and has been argued that Child's Play isn't the greatest example since a gamer can spend a mere five minutes buying an item off the Amazon wishlist for the hospital of their choice. I disagree, but that's just me.

There are quite a few other example's straight out of the tale of my life. For example, I can remember coming home from school the Spring after I turned thirteen to find that our power had been disconnected. We were very, very broke at the time, and my mom was struggling to support two kids. Given, the average month was okay. We didn't starve or anything like that. Our big 'luxury' was our respective EverQuest accounts. Like I said, a normal month was okay. But there had been some nasty storms, the car had broken down, and it had been a bad, bad month.

So, Mom didn't have the money to pay the electric bill.

Guess where she came up with the money? Two of my mother's nearest and dearest friends, whom she had met via her guild on EverQuest. I have referred to these guys as my Uncle's for almost ten years now. They wired my mom the money, telling her to stuff her promises to pay them back up her butt. In later years, it would be they who helped my mother cope with my coming out as bisexual (they're a gay couple). And even later still, during one of the hottest summers on record, they bought us a new air conditioner when they found out that ours had broken. Again, my mother was told to stuff her "I'll pay you back" up her butt.

And they aren't the only ones.

The love of my life, who I have been with for six and a half years, was one of my mom's guild mates once-upon-a-time. He and his room-mate/best friend were both officers in my mom's guild. And long before they came to visit in person (which is when he and I met and fell in love), they saved my mom's butt when our well pump got blown up by a lightning strike. However, being the gracious guys they are, they accepted her repayment ---- in in-game platinum, lol.

My family is blessed in many, many ways. Sure, we've had our hard times. I'm not saying they've been terrible, but they were hard. And were it not for the kindness of our gaming family, we'd have been very screwed on more than one ocassion.

And to be honest: Our lives would suck without them. Especially since my mother met both my step-dad and my husband via EverQuest. Not to mention my adopted "Aunts" and "Uncles" from EQ.

There's a reason my final and best essay of the Fall semester was called "Gaming Mythology Debunked" and detailed the many, many reasons why the rumors and outright lies about gaming are a disgrace and a complete fabrication. Because gaming is so much more than a hobby in my world.

Gaming = Love