The lamp above Table 2 lit up as the two men approached with their cues and a tray of balls. The game was nine ball, to hit in numerical order. As the two men prepared for the duel, eight players in the back sat around the 12-foot table, joshing and shooting and laughing and poking fun at each other.
Marbito and Simpson began. Marbito broke, sank one then missed. Simpson missed.
Marbito sank the two ball, then missed.
"C'mon, Top Gun," he badgered. Simpson smiled and rolled his eyes, then he sank the three ball in the corner, the four ball in the corner, the five ball in the corner, the six ball on the side. Then he missed.
Marbito missed again. Then Simpson dropped seven, eight and nine to win.
Without a word, Marbito racked up the balls again, and Damascus Shorty stood at the end of the table, drew his cue, aimed and fired.
About Damascus Shorty:
Simpson fell into a gap: old enough for dialysis, which was developed in the 1960s, but too old to benefit from hormone therapy. The bullies at school, however, didn't care about the science. They just saw someone to pick on, and Simpson got into a lot of fights. Eventually, he dropped out. He was mean to his family and angry all the time. Why me? Why me?
"My mom went crazy when I told her I wasn't going to do it," Simpson said. "The doctor told me then that I had a year left. Here's the funny thing: Most of the people I know who had transplants are dead now."
So his life, however long it would be, took on a schedule that was relentless in the rigor of getting hooked up to a machine three days a week, without fail. Even as a young man, the procedure exhausted him and led to seizures, one so severe that he broke a leg and fell into a coma. As he recovered, he used a wheelchair for a while.
Brent Wojahn/The OregonianScott Simpson shoots the breeze with his friend Duane Hudgeons while they wait to play pool at Classic Billiards. Sometimes known as Damascus Shorty, Simpson took up the game after he developed kidney disease that stunted his growth. Not long after, he and an older brother went to an arcade near their home off Southeast Division Street. There, Simpson watched a man pace around a large table that was covered in green felt. Simpson was fascinated by the poetry of pool. Day after day, he studied the man's game until at last, the man asked Simpson whether he wanted to play.
"Right away, I knew pool was for me," Simpson said. "This is a sport I can play. This is something I can do, and I can get good at it. Sometimes, I even stood on my wheelchair to reach a shot."
Simpson learned pool by playing better players, seeing the clear parallels with chess, acquiring the technique known as "shape," or putting the cue ball in the most advantageous position on the table after each shot.
Simpson was never able to work and went on disability. He filled his days with pool, becoming a regular at Southeast Portland pool halls. He and Marbito -- a well-known Portland professional nicknamed Detroit John -- became friends more than 20 years ago when they teamed up and won some tournaments.
"He's got the heart of a lion," Marbito said. "He wants everybody to know he's a good player. And he is a good player, under his conditions. For what he does, he plays really good."
Source: Damascus Shorty: Banking on Pool [Retrieved 14 November 2009]
With his omnipresent “Top Gun” hat, Scott Simpson draws a bead on a ball at Classic Billiards in Southeast Portland. Simpson was diagnosed with kidney disease at 14 and has been on dialysis nearly 33 years.
Marbito and Simpson began. Marbito broke, sank one then missed. Simpson missed.
Marbito sank the two ball, then missed.
"C'mon, Top Gun," he badgered. Simpson smiled and rolled his eyes, then he sank the three ball in the corner, the four ball in the corner, the five ball in the corner, the six ball on the side. Then he missed.
Marbito missed again. Then Simpson dropped seven, eight and nine to win.
Without a word, Marbito racked up the balls again, and Damascus Shorty stood at the end of the table, drew his cue, aimed and fired.
About Damascus Shorty:
Simpson fell into a gap: old enough for dialysis, which was developed in the 1960s, but too old to benefit from hormone therapy. The bullies at school, however, didn't care about the science. They just saw someone to pick on, and Simpson got into a lot of fights. Eventually, he dropped out. He was mean to his family and angry all the time. Why me? Why me?
"My mom went crazy when I told her I wasn't going to do it," Simpson said. "The doctor told me then that I had a year left. Here's the funny thing: Most of the people I know who had transplants are dead now."
So his life, however long it would be, took on a schedule that was relentless in the rigor of getting hooked up to a machine three days a week, without fail. Even as a young man, the procedure exhausted him and led to seizures, one so severe that he broke a leg and fell into a coma. As he recovered, he used a wheelchair for a while.
Brent Wojahn/The OregonianScott Simpson shoots the breeze with his friend Duane Hudgeons while they wait to play pool at Classic Billiards. Sometimes known as Damascus Shorty, Simpson took up the game after he developed kidney disease that stunted his growth. Not long after, he and an older brother went to an arcade near their home off Southeast Division Street. There, Simpson watched a man pace around a large table that was covered in green felt. Simpson was fascinated by the poetry of pool. Day after day, he studied the man's game until at last, the man asked Simpson whether he wanted to play.
"Right away, I knew pool was for me," Simpson said. "This is a sport I can play. This is something I can do, and I can get good at it. Sometimes, I even stood on my wheelchair to reach a shot."
Simpson learned pool by playing better players, seeing the clear parallels with chess, acquiring the technique known as "shape," or putting the cue ball in the most advantageous position on the table after each shot.
Simpson was never able to work and went on disability. He filled his days with pool, becoming a regular at Southeast Portland pool halls. He and Marbito -- a well-known Portland professional nicknamed Detroit John -- became friends more than 20 years ago when they teamed up and won some tournaments.
"He's got the heart of a lion," Marbito said. "He wants everybody to know he's a good player. And he is a good player, under his conditions. For what he does, he plays really good."
Source: Damascus Shorty: Banking on Pool [Retrieved 14 November 2009]
With his omnipresent “Top Gun” hat, Scott Simpson draws a bead on a ball at Classic Billiards in Southeast Portland. Simpson was diagnosed with kidney disease at 14 and has been on dialysis nearly 33 years.
![damacusshortyjpg-b223dea285c10778_large[1].jpg](/data/attachments/84/84653-745340177ce8295acfdf27f7d8e52b02.jpg?hash=dFNAF3zoKV)
Wow!
![damacusshortypooltablejpg-03b4333373a010ae_medium[1].jpg](/data/attachments/84/84655-4a839875058a450a26c6f94637c6f1c8.jpg?hash=SoOYdQWKRQ)