Your post brought back a thousand and one memories of my childhood. Yes I was also a Dungeons & Dragons fan but far from being ashamed I firmly believe that playing that game taught me many values for my future life. I don't mean something along the lines of never trust a dwarf but it taught you how to think and to negotiate with peers, how to interact respectfully and how to get my point across, how to listen and process information. People scoff but I genuinely believe it had a strong influence on the person I am today.
Cheers
Greybeard the Grim
Joking aside I will always have fond memories of lost weekends in the fantasy role playing world. My fantasy role playing is more fantasy pole playing these days thanks to the Mrs!