Smorgass Bored

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
Many people came to know Smorgass Bored with his multiple nicknames: Tampa-Tubby Bob, Doug Wiley and even Doug Wilson.

I was honored to be called his friend. Doug sometimes called me Pal Joey and he made me laugh. It was but one of the things that I liked about him.

When I drove to a pool tournament, I would often called Doug to check in on him and to keep him abreast of my new travels and pool goals. He frequently already knew about the things I shared with him and I wondered how he acquired his information because it was uncanny that he already knew of my losses and my winnings. He could often tell me more about the tournaments I played in than what I knew. It was funny. Doug was full of surprises and his gifts kept on multiplying.

Many AZBers came to know Doug and his magical way of talking to you. Doug had this way of talking to people that made you feel like you were something special and that he was "all in" when he spoke to you and he was. He even accomplished this remarkable feat on this new medium of the Internet in forums like AZ Billiards. Doug had many unique gifts and he gave of them freely and without expectation of reward. I will be forever grateful for his generosity.

Before Doug passed, I shared with him some experiences that I had and we talked about some very personal things and one of them was salvation. I asked him if he believed in God and in Jesus Christ. He said that he did and we even went further with the discussion. I told him of my own personal experiences with life and death and the lord and how these experiences came to change my life and alter the course of events for me. I don't talk much about my faith, mostly because I am such a sorry excuse for a Christian. I asked Doug if he had asked God for forgiveness of his sins and accepted Jesus Christ as his savior and he said that he had. Not everyone has a chance to make peace with the lord and I am fully aware that there are many of our brothers and sisters here on this forum who are agnostic or atheistic. I respect their lack of conviction or lack of faith in these areas and I always try to remember what Buddha said. (Not the Buddha that Doug and I busted at Young's Triple Play) Buddha said it is up to each man to work out his own salvation. I have lived my life believing that it is every person's right to make their own choices. It is not my goal to be a shining light for salvation or a preacher of hell fire and damnation but I hope those of you who don't share my religious beliefs will grant me this freedom to express something that I believe Doug (and I) would have wanted you all to know. It may not be the path for everyone to follow but Doug was lucky enough to have the time to think about his life and to choose this path. Doug was very good at determining the odds and I'm glad that he chose the path that he did.

I'll shut up about this now but Doug being the eternal friend asked me if I believed in the other side and I said I did. Doug whispered in that personal unique way, "Well, you know I'll be keeping an eye on you!"

I know when I hear someone tell a good joke, make fun of themselves or dispensing some good advice, I'll think of Doug. When I push the envelope and escape punishment one more time, I will remember that Doug is "keeping an eye on me".

May Doug Winslow rest in peace and last forever in the memories of AZ Billiards.
 
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JimS

Grandpa & his grand boys.
Silver Member
AZbilliards Hall of Fame! Cool!! Thanks Mike. Thanks to JoeyA for being a great example of what a friend should be as Doug moved along his path.


I guess that, in addition to SmorgassBored, Old Has Been would be a proper nominee for inclusion.
 

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The first time that I ever posted on the Internet was in a pool-related NewsGroup. I was already an expert Googler for my job and had never encountered the Google NewsGroups before. What happened in the ensuing months was how I met this soulful man named "SmorgassBored." :)

Smorgie, as I have always fondly called him, seemed to be a regular on the Internet, and everybody knew him. Me, I was pretty green and did not have any forum etiquette whatsoever. I was chastized for being a newbie, and it seemed as if every word I wrote was scrutinized by veteran posters. :eek:

At the time, I was on dial-up. So, when I would read an offensive post, there was no immediate gratification in responding because my posts would not appear in the NewsGroup until many HOURS and sometimes a day or two later. LOL! :grin-square:

Smorgie would often appear on threads sharing his intellectual wit, many times to extinguish flames. Even when the bully(s) attacked him right before his heart operation, he seemed to rise above it with an appropriate response. In the words of The Temptations, he was like "sunshine on a cloudy day." Oh, yes, Smorgie loved Motown! :yes:

I soon befriended SmorgassBored and admired his ability to not engage in the negative colloquy. My favorite quip of his came on the heels of the "Monkey Wars," the origin of which is the topic for another thread. :eek:

Being the proverbial newbie at that time, embroiled in a full-blown flame, I responded that I could type 150 WPM, in essence, out-typing the attacker, and Smorgie writes to me:

150 WORDS PER MINUTE ?
Yipes ! Not only am I unable to 'read' 150 words per minute, I can't
even 'think' that fast.

btw newbie, this is NOT a chat room.
IT IS A NEWSGROUP !
NEXT,
Doug

~>*(((>< Big fish eat Little fish ><)))*<~


To which I respond:

I'm sorry about that. Let me find my way back through this crowd of chattering monkeys here and get back to my designated Newbie corner.

JAM (Monkey see, monkey do?)


And here is my all-time favorite Smorgie retort right here:

(*<~ Nope ! Monkey see, monkey do-do...... imo

NEXT,

Doug
~>*(((>< Big fish eat Little fish ><)))*<~


I don't know why, but I loved that "Monkey do-do" response. :rotflmao1:

We soon became Internet buddies. Years later, it was actually SmorgassBored who "invited" me to post on AzBilliards, to which I complied to his kind offer. Through the good, the bad, and the ugly, Smorgie has remained my good friend.

I have experienced sadness on this forum over the years at the passing of Frank Glenn, Rude Dog, OHB, and Breakup. Losing Smorgie, however, has hit me very hard. He went out of his way to ensure my happiness, only wanting to make my posting experience joyful. He was one of the brightest lights on this forum, and for me personally, it just won't ever be the same without him. I still cry, even at the time of this writing, when I think about him being gone from my life. How selfish of me. :(

This poem has given me comfort when loved ones have gone, and so I will share it with you:

Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there; I did not die.


In sum, SmorgassBored's spirit will always be immortal for me, his fame enduring forever more on AzBilliards Discussion Forum. :)
 
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Sam Waltz

My way...
Silver Member
Tom (OldHasBeen) Ferry

AZbilliards Hall of Fame! Cool!! Thanks Mike. Thanks to JoeyA for being a great example of what a friend should be as Doug moved along his path.


I guess that, in addition to SmorgassBored, Old Has Been would be a proper nominee for inclusion.

Smorg is right here with us all still, just look in your hearts and he'll be smilin' back at you. :)

I second that motion to include another fine pool player, but an even better man. Please include Tom (OldHasBeen) Ferry as your next selection.
 

KoolKat9Lives

Taught 'em all I know
Silver Member
Awesome, awesome, awesome!

Smorg will live on forever. A special memorium! :)

Does anyone have any pic's of Doug they could post?

JoeyA - hoping you can get the No'leens video to post. That would be the green helmetted cat's meow.

More Tales with Doug friends!

As only a one year tenured AZ junkie, the more I get to know of Doug from outside this Bored, the more I realise how very, very special he is. He wasn't just a hilarious, wise AZ poster. I feel so behind on Doug, surely hundreds of others too only got to scratch the surface of this man. Please friends, help make His Hall of Fame Douged to the max!



Pic's, videos, tales!!!


:yeah: :clapping:

We'll cya 'round the bend Smorg, so keep the light on partner!
 

BrandyWine

Mike's Better Half
Silver Member
JoeyA...I'm so glad you were the first to open up on this thread. It is very fitting as you and Doug were so close. I started to type something when Mike put it up but thought better of it as I am an outsider looking in and not a personal close friend. Thanks again.

Smorg will live on through all of you here in the AZB Hall of Fame. There has never been a poster that moved me to laugh and tears the way he did. He will be sorely missed.

This would be an excellent area to post all his finest "quotes". May his "living of life" teach us all how precious everyone is and to use our time wisely.

Take care,
Donna :cool:

PS: Mike is leaving Smorgass Board active so that we may always keep "Green Rep" going on him. Smorg will always be #1. http://forums.azbilliards.com/member.php?u=32 (link to his profile)
 
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BrandyWine

Mike's Better Half
Silver Member
Here is the quote from Mike with the link to Doug's last message:

Doug has been the user with the most rep for quite some time. He even PMed me a couple weeks ago and suggested that I reset his rep so that someone else could be #1 in the department. I declined his offer.

I thought about going in and manually changing his rep so that it could never be topped, but that would be like cheating.

Doug's last post can be found here. I am sure that all of us can make sure that he has enough rep to never be caught.

Mike
 

Bigtruck

Capt Diff Lock
Gold Member
Silver Member
Picture of Doug

Smorg will live on forever. A special memorium! :)

Does anyone have any pic's of Doug they could post?

JoeyA - hoping you can get the No'leens video to post. That would be the green helmetted cat's meow.

More Tales with Doug friends!

As only a one year tenured AZ junkie, the more I get to know of Doug from outside this Bored, the more I realise how very, very special he is. He wasn't just a hilarious, wise AZ poster. I feel so behind on Doug, surely hundreds of others too only got to scratch the surface of this man. Please friends, help make His Hall of Fame Douged to the max!



Pic's, videos, tales!!!


:yeah: :clapping:

We'll cya 'round the bend Smorg, so keep the light on partner!


His current avatar IS himself! Bigfish holding little fish! imo

I'm sure he ate that fish later!

Ray
 

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watchez

What time is it?
Silver Member
His current avatar IS himself! Bigfish holding little fish! imo

I'm sure he ate that fish later!

Ray

Actually Ray - I asked him about this fish in a rep I gave him. He repped me back saying he caught it on some river (whose name I can't remember) and he did tell me he put it back. Unfortunately, this system doesn't let you view older reps so I can't give all the info.
 

Bigtruck

Capt Diff Lock
Gold Member
Silver Member
Lol

Actually Ray - I asked him about this fish in a rep I gave him. He repped me back saying he caught it on some river (whose name I can't remember) and he did tell me he put it back. Unfortunately, this system doesn't let you view older reps so I can't give all the info.

No, I'm sure he ate it! ;)

Because that's what big fish do! IMO

Ray
 

KoolKat9Lives

Taught 'em all I know
Silver Member
His current avatar IS himself! Bigfish holding little fish! imo

I'm sure he ate that fish later!

Ray

I figured so, but still would like to see more! :)

'Tis the only image of the legend most here have surely ever seen. (It's a good one though - Smorg is one big burly outdoorsman-type dude!)

Memorials often have many pic's, from little baby fish through to the bigger fish!
 

1lostplayer

Son of Smorg
Smorg

JoeyA Thanks for starting this thread, im sure Doug would have wanted it that way.

I will contact Barbara later next week and see if I can get a pic or 2 to put up.
 

Roger Long

Sonoran Cue Creations
Silver Member
Joey,

When it became painfully apparent that the time for Doug to pass on was drawing very close, there was one prayer that I kept offering up to God, and that prayer was that someone would share the Gospel of Christ with him; and now I find out that God had already answered that prayer through you. You was a true Christian friend to Doug. Thank you.

Roger
 

MOJOE

Work Hard, Be Humble. jbk
Silver Member
JoeyA... You have class my friend. It sounds like you both came out winners having one another. I'm sure Doug is smiling down right now. Be well!

JBK
 

pltrgyst

Registered
My condolences to his Barbarachnid and those who knew him well, particularly Joey.

During all the years of RSB banter, I never got to shoot pool with him, but did get to play some poker with him down in Tampa a couple of years ago. He was as nice a guy in person as Becky & Jim -- and others -- had told us.

The sense of loss in the online pool community is palpable. Smorg's the Hall of Fame unanimous #1 both here and in RSB, without a doubt.

-- Larry (the slow one)
 

cmbwsu

Pool Stream Advocate
Silver Member
I am looking forward to pics of my friend from afar.

I googled "The best friend a person could possibly have" and it came up JoeyA. dummy me, that was a given!
 
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