Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The Latest -- and Accurate -- Information About Dave Arneson

The following information was passed on to me directly by a member of Dave Arneson's family:
As of this writing, Dave is still with us. We have moved him into a facility where we can focus on keeping him comfortable. We have been and will continue to watch the forums and blogs and are passing along everyone's thoughts and prayers. Right now our focus is on getting Dave into the best possible position to maintain his comfort and his dignity. We will update the community as we can. We want to thank everyone for your thoughts and prayers and ask that you continue to send Dave your support in whatever form that means to you.

An address has been established to receive messages to Dave.

Dave Arneson
1043 Grand Avenue
Box #257
St. Paul, MN
55105
The family has asked that all of us who care about Dave wait patiently for news from them, as they are the only wholly reliable source of information. Given the misinformation to which I contributed today, I think that's a very sensible policy and one by which I'll happily abide.

My thanks to his family for contacting me directly and for being very understanding about the mess I contributed to. I still feel very bad about it.

9 comments:

  1. I just copied and pasted what was in the email I was sent by Dave's family.

    Checking back at the OD&D forums, the correct zip code seems to be 55105

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  2. That's my zip code! He's, well, I won't give to much away, but he's VERY close to where I live.

    That must be the relative's address though, huh? That's a mixed residential/commercial area. Wow this whole time he was practically my neighbor!

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  3. Thank you for not saying you feel badly about it...

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  4. Jay, I think that's the Zip code of the UPS store; I suspect they're making use of a post office box to collect mail.

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  5. Good news about Dave, but one of the most perverse and disgusting exhibitions for the ENTIRE RPG blogging community. Is this the appropriate epitaph for Dave, for the hobby ? James this does not fall solely on your shoulders, but a symptom with many many hosts.

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  6. Is this the appropriate epitaph for Dave, for the hobby ?

    While I won't defend my own credulity or that of anyone else in the hobby, I actually think the outpouring of genuine sadness and affection that Dave's purported death elicited speaks well of us, on the whole. No one involved in this fiasco acted out of malice or spite but rather sincere concern. If it says anything, it says that a) we're all amateurs and b) we all care deeply about the people who founded this shared obsession of ours.

    I make no bones about my own idiocy in helping to spread a false rumor all the way around the world. I should have known better, even though I got my information from someone whom I'm trust implicitly and whose record of reliability is otherwise sterling. But I hope no one uses this as an opportunity to bash guys who love and respect Dave and are truly worried about him in his final days.

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  7. @Kelvin, you must be correct sir. But still, I'm certain that some of his family must at least live close by.

    I met him last June during D&D day at the The Source Comics and Games (about 12 minutes from my place) and I remember waiting around eagerly to meet him. He'd been there earlier on in the day, but he went somewhere close by to 'rest' before coming back in the afternoon.

    In any case, I just may send him some well wishes.

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  8. In the brief period when I lived in the US, it was in the Highland Park area of St Paul. I was out of gaming then, and didn't get back in until last year, a couple of years after I returned home to the UK, but it's still strange to realise how close I was to one of the originators of the hobby. It's been a strange couple of days.

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