There’s been a d20 in my pocket for quite some time.

I don’t remember why it started or how.

The meaning then is probably not the meaning now.

Maybe by putting a die in my pocket I feel I control chance.

Maybe it was to remind me that once I hid my nerd and now I don’t. Maybe it was because I want physical reminders of my passions.

Over time the d20 became part of a routine. One of my many d20s is in my pocket. There are times I pair the die with the day’s planned events — blue and green for Sounders, black for Defiance, gold for weddings, etc.

There’s also a shield in my pocket. I know why I have the Hope Shield. I have the Shield because it is dangerous to go alone – Take This. The support of Wyrmwood and other gaming accessory companies for Take This is needed. Take This severed ties with Wyrmwood in late February. I support that decision.

I still carry the Shield in my pocket and will find other ways to support Take This in the future. Everyone needs to know that they are supported.

My Hope Shield is there to remind myself that there is support when it is needed. Sometimes I’m the one that needs the support and sometimes I am the supporter. We don’t go alone, so I take this shield with me as a physical reminder that life isn’t a solo project.

This penchant for charms and pocket things almost certainly rose because of my time in the Army and the tradition of challenge coins. Unfortunately my two most important challenge coins are gone (5th Special Forces Group, 1998 DLI Language Olympics). But the tradition and the need for symbols didn’t disappear just because I gave away and lost those coins.

So now I have a d20 and a shield with me, because I still need symbols of community.