That twisting feeling in your gut...

Today, Dungeons & Dragons, and the tabletop gaming world in general, lost one of its greats.
E. Gary Gygax passed away today at the age of 69.

Being 26, I didn't grow up or get my start with Gygax's stuff in a way that most gamers did. My first encounter with his work was through the very awesome adventure Keep on the Borderlands, but my greatest exposure wasn't a game book...it was his "Up On A Soapbox" articles in Dragon magazine, which featured his look into not just D&D, but the players and DMs who enjoy it and their interaction with each other and the hobby as it evolved.
I knew who he was before all that, of course...the guys who got me into gaming were much older than me and had played all earlier versions (I came in during AD&D 2nd Edition) and through them, I became familiar with the older products, acquired some of them, then set off on my own much later to learn more about the origins of what is and has always been my favorite rpg as well as branching out to see what else has been done out there.
In this way, I feel I honor Gary's memory, by learning of the games that he helped to develop and inspire. I'm sure he would rather like that.
I'm sure he would also like for everyone to not dwell on the bad and try to have had a swell GM's Day.