R.D.D.

Responsibility Deficit Disorder or How an Umber-Hulk could save your child's life.

As a pharmacist, I deal with more than my share of people wanting a pill to cure everything. From weight gain to smoking; everyone, as Huey Lewis belts, wants a new drug. American pharmacotherapy has gone as far, in my opinion, to create illnesses in order to treat. A.D.D. or attention deficit disorder, sometimes known as A.D.H.D. or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or as I like to call it R.D.D.

This is a prime example of our society laying the blame for bad parenting on ‘genetics’ or neurobiologicals. IF a condition really exists, I guarantee you 99% of those diagnosed could use a good swift switch to the backside and do just as well. Part of the problem does lay with society too. I’ve noticed in TV shows, now it’s rare to find a 30 minute sitcom that has a good old fashioned intro. When a TV show used to come on, you had approximately 3 minutes, the length of the theme song, to use the bathroom, comb your hair, grab a sandwich or whatever. Now, due to what I presume is TiVo, shows get right to the point and cut off half if not all of the theme song. Pretty soon, we’ll be watching those 30 second clips we call previews now as our entertainment because we can’t be bothered with plot development. And then when our kids can’t focus on their work for more than 30 seconds, we can blame it on ‘genetics’ and give ‘em a pill.

It’s a vicious cycle that we have been propagating probably since four score and seven years ago. Speaking of four score, do you know how many are in a score? If you do, how did you know that? From Abraham Lincoln’s speech The Gettysburg Address?

Not me. I learned it from D&D. I’ve been thinking lately about all the things I learned from D&D and haven’t figured out quite why it’s not a required subject. I mean, here’s a list someone posted on the internet of all the words they learned from D&D. I’ve added a few of my own.

acolyte,aerie,bard, benign , berserk,brazier, brigand, buckler, charisma, clairvoyant, cleric, deliquescing, dexterity,dispel, dour, draught, encumbrance, ethereal, fauchard-fork, fecund, flay,gauntlet, glaive-guisarme, glyph, henchmen, imbue, immiscible, liege, longevity,lycanthropy, malevolent, melee, milieu, morale,ochre, offal, persona,phylactery, platinum,puissant, sage, taciturn,tome,trebuchet,unguent,venerable.
a glaive-guisarme

Not to mention it taught math skills (try and calculate a THAC0 in your head), history, legends, lore, chemistry, problem-solving, and social skills. How many of your non-D&D companions know who Tsojacanth is? Or that he has a lost cavern somewhere. Mostly it taught the value of Strength over good looks in a combat system.

Gary Gygax, the inventor of Dungeons and Dragons, was quoted once as saying, "Everything I learned, I learned from Dungeons and Dragons." "Gygaxian" is an off handed compliment in gaming circles that has now become synonymous with things back when they were good.

I met Gary back at a convention several years ago and I thanked him for making my childhood so wonderful. What I forgot to thank him for was teaching me the value of a good sword, never travel into a dungeon alone, and never-ever drink from an unlabeled vial until someone else has.
And remember, if your word is not final; you aren't the DM.

Oh, and a score is 20. And that many Umber-Hulks will ruin your day. And this is a REAL Umber-Hulk