What can I say? I've enjoyed knocking balls around since I was a kid.
To play billiards well was a sign of an ill-spent youth. [Herbert Spencer]
It's not like I hung around in pool halls, though. We had an el cheapo table in our basement. Not the best place to learn, but it was more than enough to teach me the basics and get me hooked on the game. And when my parents dragged me to the bars with them, the owners let me play on the tables there, too. (Which often weren't much better than our home table.)
[Hmm, this shot looked a helluva lot better... and funnier... in my head than it does in reality. I was thinking along the lines of that iconic shot from The Graduate, where Dustin Hoffman is framed by Mrs. Robinson's legs... Oh well.] By the time I went away to college, I was a pretty good shot. Not great, but pretty darned good. When a couple of cocky jocks from our high school invited my roommate and me to the student union to show us how to shoot pool... what can I say? I couldn't resist.
This is a recent shot, but it shows exactly how I felt after beating those guys. I felt H-O-T! Like my pool cue was on FIRE.
Needless to say, those guys never asked us out again. I guess they'd never lost to girls before.
Smarticus says I once told him I'd never marry someone who couldn't beat me at pool, so he's always worked extra hard to whip my butt on the table. To tell the truth, I don't remember saying that, but in a way, I guess it makes sense. We all want to be challenged, right? Like, it isn't much fun playing Scrabble with someone who only makes three-letter words or bowling with someone who only rolls gutter balls. It's the same with pool. And although Smarticus and I are pretty evenly matched, my guy can still beat me. (On a regular basis!)
So the two of us still play regularly... and I was still feeling pretty good about myself. Like I still shot pretty darned good... for a girl.
Then I saw THIS:
And I mean...
WOOP! WOOP! WOOP! REALITY CHECK!!!
I am NOT all that.
Not even CLOSE.
But ya know what? That is perfectly okay, because I know exactly what I am. I still enjoy playing, and I love busting them balls. Winning gives me great pleasure, but as long as I shoot well, I'm okay with losing. In fact.... I am the
And I'm perfectly... okay... with that.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.
My youngest brother taught me to play pool when I was in my teens. I thoroughly enjoyed it and even had some natural skill. We even defeated a few guys who decided to hustle the player and the beginner. Which felt excellent. I haven't played in years and wonder why.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you continued the love, and continue to be challenged by it.
Have a wonderful weekend. And life.
If you enjoyed it when you were a teen, I bet you'd still enjoy it now. For me, the fun of it is no two games are alike, so each presents its own challenges, and I get absolutely euphoric when Smarticus or I make a great shot. (And you don;t have to walk nearly as far chasing pool balls as you do chasing golf balls. HA!)
DeleteYou have a super weekend, too. Life is good.
I don't know anything about playing pool and prolly would be all thumbs … but I do know about using my feet as in clogging up a storm … sooo … maybe we could combine our god given abilities in the following act: While you play pool, I dance on the pool table … watt do ya say, friend Sue? Much love, cat.
ReplyDeleteHA! I dunno about that, dear lady. Maybe you could dance NEXT to the table...? (We just had it re-felted a few months ago. HA!)
DeleteMuch love back atcha.
Fun post! I don't play pool and can't dance, not even on table tops! Keep going, whatever! Hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm glad you liked it. I'm not much of a dancer, either, but after a glass of wine, I THINK I am... You, however, are a fantastic artist. No wine required.
DeleteHugs back atcha.
What an enjoyable post, Susan! I haven't played pool since I was in my early 20's. I had a cigarette and an attitude - but secretly didn't know what the heck I was doing. It's an enjoyable pastime that appeals to every age.
ReplyDeleteThat 8-year-old girl is really incredible!!!
Have a great weekend!
Thanks, cowboy! We played quite a bit when we were in our twenties, but we play a lot more now. I must confess, there were a number of years when our table served as more of an electronics... especially amateur radio equipment...repair bench than as a pool table, but we more than make up for that lapse now.
DeleteIsn't she amazing??? People like that were designed to keep the rest of us humble.
You have a super weekend, too.
Wow indeed! Did you hear my jaw hitting the table? I am super impressed. and I'm emailing my son to watch it at you tube. He likes to play pool when he gets the chance. Sadly none of us can afford a pool table, so he plays in pubs and clubs and friends homes.
ReplyDeleteMy jaw hit the table when I saw what that little girl can do, too. I mean... WOW!
DeleteI'm grateful to have a good pool table here at home, because I doubt if we'd go out to play. (We're old poops, now.)
What a funny post! I'm okay at pool. Not the best, admittedly, but I can pot a few balls and win a few games against another okay player...
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'm glad you liked it. Being okay at something is... okay. What matters is that you enjoy yourself while doing it.
DeleteWow! Wonderful post and pics, Susan. Reminds me of the mid-1960s, when my friends, Fred and Yoshio, would collect me for pool on the only table around. That was a 7-mile drive to the town of Franklin, to a saloon where the owner plied us with soft drinks and we learned to play pool. We also learned a lot about practical physics. We were nowhere near the expertise of the 8-year-old in your clip, who deserves a free-ride Rube Goldberg scholarship. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, dude. Yeah, you're right. Pool does teach us a thing or two about physics. The annoying thing, though, is when it comes to pool, the angle of incidence is NOT always equal to the angle of refraction. (Darned inadvertent English!) Even so, I'm a real sucker for bank shots. LOVE 'em!
DeleteYou're right about that little girl, too. I wonder how many hours of practice she puts in to be that good...
Wow. Just, wow. It's like putt-putt pool.
ReplyDeleteGreat way to put it.
DeleteI tried playing pool but I am not well coordinated and my attempts were embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteI love this post because you are in it. It is wonderful to see your smiling face. You look great!
Thanks. That's a very sweet thing to say. :)
DeleteI wanted to write an answer to your comment on my blog, and I'm sorry to say I deleted it by mistake, ouch! Mea culpa x3! I was going to tell you that I only have my own art at home, not that I am sooooo big-headed (well, perhaps I am) but I can't afford to buy the pieces I would like! Sorry again for deleting you! Hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteHA! No biggie. As they say, stuff happens. :)
DeleteOh, I can't afford the stuff I really like, either, but we've got some decent "starving artist" kinda works, as well as some reproductions. My favorite reproduction is Salvadore Dali's Last Supper, which I've owned for about fifty-five years. We also have stuff created by me and other family members. Very eclectic.
Hugs back atcha.
I suck at pool, but I enjoy it. We just got a cheapo table for our basement and haven't given it much attention because it's been stacked with stuff my kids will be taking to their apartments soon.
ReplyDeleteLove the shirts. You guys are the sassy, sexy king and queen of quirk. That's the most special royalty of all.
We've got a good pool table, but it spent a few years covered in "stuff," too. Now I guess we play a lot to make up for lost time.
DeleteThanks. I found those shirts online and thought they'd make for a hoot of a surprise. I was hoping to get a good laugh out of my hubby when I came out of the bedroom wearing mine... which I did... and then I tossed his to him. Now, they're like our "uniforms." And they still make me smile. Yeah, I guess that makes us "quirky." You'd wouldn't believe how many matching shirts we have... HA!
We had one of those 'elcheapo' tables in the basement when I was a kid. Sadly I never got beyond the simplest of shots. But I got to play with my Dad and that was the special part.
ReplyDeleteNope, not sad at all. If you had fun playing with your dad, that's the most important thing. I'm sure you have lots of good memories of those games, so the individual shots don't much matter.
DeleteI really enjoy playing Pool, Snooker or Billiards. When my daughter was about eighteen she was a Pool hustler! All the guys thought they would beat her and she acted naive but usually won. What a minx!
ReplyDeleteMy 14 year-old grandson now beats me at table-tennis and I'm worried about Lois (aged 11); she is beginning to take after her mother, the Hustler...
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Your daughter sounds like my kinda gal. That's exactly how I was... :)
DeleteI've never played snooker, and don't really know much about it. We had a bumper pool table for a while, but it didn't take long for us to get bored with it. Once we figured out how the banks worked, making the balls was too easy. The only good thing about it is most women weren't intimidated by it like they were by our big table.
Worried about your granddaughter beating you? HA! I don't believe it. I believe you are one proud grandpa! (I would be, too.)
I bet you have humbled many a player.
ReplyDeleteA few. :)
DeleteI'm okay at it, haven't played in years though. That 8 year old sure shows me up with ease. It is more fun with a challenge anyway, as losing teaches and makes you want to get better. Winning all the time would be boring, unless you make lots of money off of hustling people, then may not be so boring haha people are rather pathetic if they can't get over being beat by a girl, or whomever, too.
ReplyDeleteI think everything is more interesting when a challenge is involved, and a hard-fought win always feels better than a too-easy one. Losing, on the other hand, is rarely much fun. Those guys in college were used to winning at everything. I guess we popped their egos a bit.
DeleteI've seldom tried shooting pool … and it shows. This was such an enjoyable read, Susan! I LOVE your t-shirts!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'm glad you liked it. I think those tee shirts are a real hoot, too. I kinda built this whole post around mine. :)
DeleteI enjoyed your post and lovely to see you in the photographs.
ReplyDeleteIn my younger days I did try both pool and snooker … but not with any success.
Have a lovely weekend.
All the best Jan
Thanks, :) You know what they say: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!"
DeleteYou have a lovely weekend, too.
Pool is a game that for some reason every young man thinks he is good at, they also think they can hold their liqueur and play poker. Usually someone comes along that straightens them out...sounds like you were one at pool.
ReplyDeleteI play well enough to know to never play for money.
True story, on our first date, future Mrs. C and I were shooting pool and she was pretty good. I told her, if I won she had to go on another date with me. She proceeded to badly miss every shot...I knew I had a keeper.
Hmmm, poker... another one of my favorite things to do.
DeleteThat's a great story. We have one, too. My hubby and father played a game of 8-ball, with the stipulation that the loser had to keep me. Smarticus threw the game, so he "had" to marry me.
LOL, love that "okayest" shirt. And that's awesome how you beat those cocky jocks!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Me, too! Those guys were sooooo full of themselves, but maybe we enjoyed beating them a little too much. :)
DeleteIf you enjoy the occasional flick. I recommend Pool Hall Junkies.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'll check it out.
DeletePool used to be a favorite attraction at university for me, too. Those trick shots are amazing, although you have to remember that all the obstacles on the table are just for show. If you're going to make the shot at all, you're going to miss the obstacles.
ReplyDeleteYeah, those obstacles may just be for show, but holey moley! I'm in awe of that little girl. Those shots require a lot of precision.
DeleteHello, Susan.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and funny!
I'm very bad at any kind of games. I think I'm too lazy to compete...
Hi, Ana. I doubt if you're too "lazy" to compete. Maybe you just are the competitive type. :)
DeleteCute post! We had a pool table in our basement when I was a kid too. Played many hours with my brother back then, but I haven't played for years since. I've always thought it was fun, but I never was that great of a player. Rack 'em up! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'll be racking 'em up in less than an hour for our usual Sunday marathon. :)
DeleteI had a pool table in my basement.
ReplyDeleteI also had an appendix.
Both were equally useful.
I'm also terrible at bowling and golf, too.
This makes me sad.
Well then, I reckon your talents must lie in another area. Like being ridiculously funny and having an uncanny ability to revise history in a uniquely irreverent way.
DeleteWow! You play ball like a pro! Awesome!
ReplyDeleteNot really, but thanks. :)
DeleteTrouble in river city...playing pool. Hey, Okay is better than stinky. And you have fun, so there are worse things to do with your time off from writing. Glad you have a skill. Sorry - I can not give you a run for your money. You could take my money and save me the time. (Ray's pretty okay). Have a super week. WOW!!!
ReplyDeleteHey, no trouble! Staying home shooting pool keeps us OUT of trouble. :)
DeleteNope, I won't take your money. A decadent little drink... with or without an umbrella... would more than suffice.
Have a great week!
Hi Susan ... you go on breaking balls mi'dear ... and we'll continue on loving your stories. It's great you both enjoy playing pool and match each other ... I did play as a kid ... but was never any good at snooker - not sure exactly what the difference is. Anyways - those kids are amazing ... any trick snooker shots are very special. You both look great ... black cocktail dress and man with glaring read shirt - telling us all he's better! Take care - love the funnies ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI'll keep on breaking them as long as I'm able! I've never played snooker, but I know it's a lot different from the games we play.
DeleteCheers back atcha.