I started playing D&D during the Thanksgiving holidays of 1979, using other people's books. My parents bought me the AD&D Player's Handbook in Christmas of 1980. Then, I got my first D&D Basic Set (the Tom Moldvay red cover, with Erol Otus artwork) in August of 1981. Ah, humble beginnings, and fond memories. My first DM was my dad, and bless his heart, he had no clue about where to start. Our first adventures were awkward, to say the least.
If you are curious as to the whole story about my D&D origins, I wrote a memoir about it on my blog:
https://overthetopepicroleplaying.wordpress.com/2015/08/23/memoirs-part-one-how-i-started-playing-dungeons-dragons/
1979 was 5th grade for me. By the time I was in 8th grade, I was playing 1st Ed AD&D, which I stuck with all through high school. (I graduated in 1987.)
In the early 90's I switched to Second Edition, and later to 2nd Ed Skills & Powers, and then I even became a play-tester for 3rd Edition, which was an experience that I must say really endeared me to that particular edition of the game.
I have also written a skeletal framework for my own RPG, although it has never gotten to the playtest stage. I might revisit it one day soon, but in the meantime, I have a lot of other irons in the creative fire. I have an unfinished novel to think about, as well as a non-fiction book I'm writing that covers my family's genealogical record.
I'm a librarian by profession; I hold a master's degree in English, and a master's degree in Library Science, which, in librarian-speak, makes me a subject specialist. I'm what's known as a "Humanities Librarian." As such, I also have a list of ideas for academic papers that I plan to write, and since these are peer-reviewed items that concern the betterment of my career, they form one of the principal reasons why my novel and game system are still languishing on the shelf.
My longest running campaign ("The Fearless Five") was from 1999 - 2005, and it ended up going into epic levels. I pretty much quit running it when I got married, because at that point, my life became super-busy because of my transition from bachelor-with-lots-of-free-time, to husband / head of household / homeowner, and shortly thereafter, father-of-two. That's the main reason I never played 3.5; I had purchased all of the core 3.5 books, and some of the supplements, intending to eventually "switch over"; but a whirlwind romance, and subsequent marriage, cut those plans short. Thus, when I quit playing in 2005, despite having the 3.5 books, all of my knowledge and expertise was still grounded in the 3.0 material.
In July of 2014, at a family reunion, two of my cousins (who had been part of the Fearless Five campaign) expressed a desire to play again, albeit via the internet, using Play-By-Post. So, I made a private, Google Site webpage, scanned the bulk of my old notes, house rules, maps, and character sheets into PDF format, and put it all on the web. I am still running the Fearless Five PbP on that site, although I have plans to move it here, to ENWorld, in the very near future. Since the PbP began, I have slowly been adapting my campaign to the 3.5 rules set, although I must say, I don't agree with some of the changes they've made. So I guess you could say that I am running a 3.0 / 3.5 hybrid. (3.25?)
I came to this website because I wanted to refresh my knowledge, and have someplace to discuss my hobby with others. I was on ENWorld way back when, during the Eric Noah era, and during the first years of Morrus' stewardship also. I used to frequent the site, because I loved keeping up with Blackdirge's custom monsters. At any rate, I enjoyed the site back then, and it stayed with me in my memory, so I found it again, and here I am.
The last two things that I can think to tell you about me, with regard to this mutual hobby of ours, is that I am now, and always will be, a die-hard Greyhawker, and that I like to use Lego minifigs as miniatures, because there's no painting involved, and the figures can be readily modified. If you'd like to see what that looks like, click on the link below.
https://overthetopepicroleplaying.wordpress.com/2015/09/20/improving-your-rpg-experience-vol-ii-using-lego-minifigs-instead-of-miniatures/