Then, there was this trifecta of stupidity. One of my all time classic moves!!! The Omen was one of the better custom cues I had ever played with. But, in my quest to try something new, I sold it for a lot less than I should have.
The cocobolo and satinwood Fanelli was gorgeous in ever way. It was even featured in an Inside Pool article that Cornerman wrote about Paul and his cues. Beautiful cue with a beautiful hit. And I traded it away for a Gilbert and some cash.
The burl Mottey was possibly the finest playing cue I ever had as a daily player. The figure in the burl was sick and I just LOVED the hoppe look. Not to mention, I am a HUGE fan of Paul's cues and owned many. None played as good as this and just about everyone who hit with it agreed with me. I sold it once to a friend and got soooo bummed seeing it in the same room every day that the guy felt bad and sold it back to me. lol. You would think I learned, right?
WRONG!!! A few years later, I decided that I wanted to ask my then girlfriend to marry me. And the ring I had picked for her was just a touch out of my reach. And realizing that getting married would severely encroach on my pool-playing time, I figured I might as well let her go! (Dumb move. My wife LOVES pool.) But all in all, not a bad move. It filled the gap between cash in hand and overall price on the ring. And now that we have a baby boy, its rare that I get to the pool room.