When I first heard President Kennedy had been shot on November 22nd, it came over the television in the pool hall. I remember the day vividly.........I has just left the downtown campus of St' John's University that was located in lower Brooklyn.
I went directly to Flatbush Billiards and got into a game of 9 ball playing my old nemesis, a great hustler named Ciscero Murphy........must have played him 50 times and won maybe 4 or 5 times at most. I think he let me win those just to keep me coming back. Anyway, we were in the middle of a 9 ball match when word came over the TV.
The room wasn't crowded due to the time of the day as it was in the afternoon. Nonetheless, the room went immediately dead silent as if someone had turned off the sound on a television set. Everyone crowded around the TV and listened to the news. I had already lost $10 to Ciscero and we were in a race to 9 games in a double or nothing match. He spotted me 4 games and was up 7-5 in our match and it wasn't looking good.....I had only won one game so far.
People just stood and watched the TV in total disbelief. Cis walked away from the TV, went over to the table where we were playing, said nothing, broke down his cue, and looked at me and said this was going to be the worst day in history since Lincoln and he was right. I handed him the $10 I was down but Ciscero turned it down. He looked at me and said I should instead just go light some candles for the soul of our dearly departed President.
I left the pool hall around 4:30 PM that day, took the bus home to Prospect Heights and stopped at St. Paul's Church. The church was already filled with mourners and the Monsignor was talking to the congregation when I arrived. I cried that day in church with countless others and all of us mourned the loss of our wonderful President.
When President Kennedy was assassinated, I was playing pool.
I went directly to Flatbush Billiards and got into a game of 9 ball playing my old nemesis, a great hustler named Ciscero Murphy........must have played him 50 times and won maybe 4 or 5 times at most. I think he let me win those just to keep me coming back. Anyway, we were in the middle of a 9 ball match when word came over the TV.
The room wasn't crowded due to the time of the day as it was in the afternoon. Nonetheless, the room went immediately dead silent as if someone had turned off the sound on a television set. Everyone crowded around the TV and listened to the news. I had already lost $10 to Ciscero and we were in a race to 9 games in a double or nothing match. He spotted me 4 games and was up 7-5 in our match and it wasn't looking good.....I had only won one game so far.
People just stood and watched the TV in total disbelief. Cis walked away from the TV, went over to the table where we were playing, said nothing, broke down his cue, and looked at me and said this was going to be the worst day in history since Lincoln and he was right. I handed him the $10 I was down but Ciscero turned it down. He looked at me and said I should instead just go light some candles for the soul of our dearly departed President.
I left the pool hall around 4:30 PM that day, took the bus home to Prospect Heights and stopped at St. Paul's Church. The church was already filled with mourners and the Monsignor was talking to the congregation when I arrived. I cried that day in church with countless others and all of us mourned the loss of our wonderful President.
When President Kennedy was assassinated, I was playing pool.
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