This is great stuff:thumbup:
Archer & Varner Southern Tour first day, getting ready
- Thread starter bfdlad
- Start date
Top o tha mornin to ya, Had a great nights sleep and ready to put some fires out today and make sure all is ready for the next couple of stops. As I has said, yesterday the guys were booked to do some challenge matches/appearance at Bumpers. It was part of the King's Cash League big weekend and so the pool room had plenty of people already and Johnny and Nick were welcomed very warmly by all. I was popular too by association 
We met more great people and enjoyed the time we had there. Nick played solid and he was fairly happy with his performance in the challenge matches. I kept him off the table as much as I could and let JA take do the lions share of the challenges so Nick could let his hand heal a little for today. But like i said he did good for the most part but had a couple of problems here and there and that is to be expected. His break is an issue and long draw shots as he has to use a open bridge all the time.
We have the Scotch Doubles Challenge that will start at 4pm today just after the finals of the Kings Cash League. JA and Nick will be playing David Rowell and Joe Cole a race to 16 10-ball at Bumpers Billiards in Hoover, Alabama. From what I am hearing David and Joe are very good players and this match will not be a case of JA and Nick just steam rolling over them. So if you are in the area stop by and check it out.
Our wonderful hosts have treated us like family here and the Lady of the house made us all a big breakfast with homemade french toast and the regular breakfast stuff. So we were all just sat around chatting and visiting for a while and JA just left to go to church (Yes its true he goes to church on Sundays whenever its possible) We watched Joel Osteen before he left and it made me realize something. Joel was preaching and said "The Lord does not do things to you he does it for you to test your character and how you will react" Shortly after hearing this JA came over to me and started doing his thing ya know poking me in the ribs, making funny noises in my ear, touching my laptop keys etc. Thats when I realized and told JA "I hope that Joel is right and that the Lord is not doing to me he is doing it for me to test me, thats what I think is going on here" He just laughed and went to get changed for church.
We met more great people and enjoyed the time we had there. Nick played solid and he was fairly happy with his performance in the challenge matches. I kept him off the table as much as I could and let JA take do the lions share of the challenges so Nick could let his hand heal a little for today. But like i said he did good for the most part but had a couple of problems here and there and that is to be expected. His break is an issue and long draw shots as he has to use a open bridge all the time. We have the Scotch Doubles Challenge that will start at 4pm today just after the finals of the Kings Cash League. JA and Nick will be playing David Rowell and Joe Cole a race to 16 10-ball at Bumpers Billiards in Hoover, Alabama. From what I am hearing David and Joe are very good players and this match will not be a case of JA and Nick just steam rolling over them. So if you are in the area stop by and check it out.
Our wonderful hosts have treated us like family here and the Lady of the house made us all a big breakfast with homemade french toast and the regular breakfast stuff. So we were all just sat around chatting and visiting for a while and JA just left to go to church (Yes its true he goes to church on Sundays whenever its possible) We watched Joel Osteen before he left and it made me realize something. Joel was preaching and said "The Lord does not do things to you he does it for you to test your character and how you will react" Shortly after hearing this JA came over to me and started doing his thing ya know poking me in the ribs, making funny noises in my ear, touching my laptop keys etc. Thats when I realized and told JA "I hope that Joel is right and that the Lord is not doing to me he is doing it for me to test me, thats what I think is going on here" He just laughed and went to get changed for church.
Sounds like you guys are having fun. Sorry to hear about Nick,s finger...I bet that hurts like he!!. 
Scott Lee
Http://poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
Http://poolknowledge.com
A real JOY to have these characters as houseguests!!!
My wife (Carrol) And I have had the great pleasure of having Johnny, Nick, and
Mark as our guests for the last couple of days. It has been GREAT!!! I had met and spoken with Nick on a few prior occasions, so I kind of what to expect from him. I met Jonny at the 2010 Mosconi Cup in London but didn't really hadn't seen his non-pool side. Mark was a total wild card as I knew absolutely nothing about him. Turns out they are all pranksters and are constantly hassling and digging on each other. It is hysterical. We will miss them when they leave for Memphis in the morning.
If anyone ever has the opportunity to have these guys as your houseguest(s), either any or all of them, don't pass up the opportunity. It will an experience you will always remember.
Bob & Carrol Hoppmann
Top o tha mornin to ya, Had a great nights sleep and ready to put some fires out today and make sure all is ready for the next couple of stops. As I has said, yesterday the guys were booked to do some challenge matches/appearance at Bumpers. It was part of the King's Cash League big weekend and so the pool room had plenty of people already and Johnny and Nick were welcomed very warmly by all. I was popular too by association
We have the Scotch Doubles Challenge that will start at 4pm today just after the finals of the Kings Cash League. JA and Nick will be playing David Rowell and Joe Cole a race to 16 10-ball at Bumpers Billiards in Hoover, Alabama. From what I am hearing David and Joe are very good players and this match will not be a case of JA and Nick just steam rolling over them. So if you are in the area stop by and check it out.
Our wonderful hosts have treated us like family here and the Lady of the house made us all a big breakfast with homemade french toast and the regular breakfast stuff. So we were all just sat around chatting and visiting for a while and JA just left to go to church (Yes its true he goes to church on Sundays whenever its possible) We watched Joel Osteen before he left and it made me realize something. Joel was preaching and said "The Lord does not do things to you he does it for you to test your character and how you will react" Shortly after hearing this JA came over to me and started doing his thing ya know poking me in the ribs, making funny noises in my ear, touching my laptop keys etc. Thats when I realized and told JA "I hope that Joel is right and that the Lord is not doing to me he is doing it for me to test me, thats what I think is going on here" He just laughed and went to get changed for church.
My wife (Carrol) And I have had the great pleasure of having Johnny, Nick, and
Mark as our guests for the last couple of days. It has been GREAT!!! I had met and spoken with Nick on a few prior occasions, so I kind of what to expect from him. I met Jonny at the 2010 Mosconi Cup in London but didn't really hadn't seen his non-pool side. Mark was a total wild card as I knew absolutely nothing about him. Turns out they are all pranksters and are constantly hassling and digging on each other. It is hysterical. We will miss them when they leave for Memphis in the morning.
If anyone ever has the opportunity to have these guys as your houseguest(s), either any or all of them, don't pass up the opportunity. It will an experience you will always remember.
Bob & Carrol Hoppmann
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Thank you for the kind words Bob, I we have all really enjoyed ourselves while here. I suppose I could just tell you this since you are right here at the moment but figured I will put it on here as well. Last night was a fun one after the challenge match, we went to Krystal's. I had never been to a Krystal's before but JA and Nick talk about it like its the greatest and told me if you like White castle you will love these. I do love White Castle and I can't believe that Krystal's could be better. So anyway we went in and I gave it a try, they are very good if you have nbever had one and if there isn't a white Castle around its a great substitute. I do believe that White Castle is the best still. I told a story about a man named Donkey, I would like to share it with you but I don't think it would tell the same in writing and its not that funny anyway but at that moment it was very funny to all of us and poor Bob snorted some burger out his nose and cried laughing for a few minutes that set us all off laughing and I am sure you all know how that goes sometimes.
We are all slowly getting ready to leave for Memphis, I think we are going to go to the IHOP on the way out of town. Its about a 4hr drive to Memphis and so once we get there and into the hotel we should be able to relax for a few til about 6 and head out to the pool room. High Pockets tonight, will be a mini show and some challenge matches etc. Should be fun.
Someone asked me what happened to Florence, Alabama tour stop. Well to begin with I spoke with the owner 2 days before we were scheduled to be there and he told me that he had no sign ups for thge clinic and that we didn't need to be there on that day for a clinic. So we made other arrangements then the next day he called me and told me that due to the landlord he was gonna have to move the pool room to another location in 30 days and that it was gonna be expensive and needed to cancel the show too. This obviously turned our immediate plans upside down and so I have made other arrangements again to compensate. We wanted to go to Memphis but was called and booked in florence before Memphis was able to get back with me. High Pockets had told me if anything changed to get back with them and so we did and thats how the change occured. Its amazing what one change can do to a tour schedule like this. Well that part is fixed and it still left us with a extra day that was going to be a day off anyway.
So yesterday (Supposed to be the clinic in Florence I get a call from a guy and his friends who had driven from Tupelo, Ms to be at the clinic and that he was there but nobody was there. he told me that there were others also on their way driving to Florence to attend. WHAT??? I asked if he has signed up with the pool room and he told me that he had not and that they all were just showing up and taking the chance. Well I can't read minds and show up to clinics that have no sign ups hoping that a bunch of people show up. Obviously we hate to hear of things like this for a few reasons one being that we don't like to hear that people drove a couple of hours to be a part of a clinic and get dissapointed. So I have spoken to him and asked if he thinks he can get a small clinic of people together and we will make our way down to Tupelo on our scheduled day off. So we shall see what kind of results we get on that. Well I am getting rushed out the door so I will be back.
So yesterday (Supposed to be the clinic in Florence I get a call from a guy and his friends who had driven from Tupelo, Ms to be at the clinic and that he was there but nobody was there. he told me that there were others also on their way driving to Florence to attend. WHAT??? I asked if he has signed up with the pool room and he told me that he had not and that they all were just showing up and taking the chance. Well I can't read minds and show up to clinics that have no sign ups hoping that a bunch of people show up. Obviously we hate to hear of things like this for a few reasons one being that we don't like to hear that people drove a couple of hours to be a part of a clinic and get dissapointed. So I have spoken to him and asked if he thinks he can get a small clinic of people together and we will make our way down to Tupelo on our scheduled day off. So we shall see what kind of results we get on that. Well I am getting rushed out the door so I will be back.
We arrived in Memphis, I really want to see Beal St, Graceland etc but we have our show in 2 and a half hours and then we leave first thing in the morning for Clarlksville, Tn. and so yet again I am in a part of the world that I would like to stop and enjoy, maybe see a couple of sights and can't. This has happened here before and at the Alamo, and riverwalk in San Antonio and all over the place. Last trip you may remember JA and I went to a visit on Alcatraz and that was fun although a little rushed.
After the great weather in Georgia and Alabama it has rained like hell almost all the way here and is still pouring down. Ah well the rough with the smooth, JA also let Nick drive again and that can be a little scary as you may remember on the last trip when he jumped out of the car and left it in drive so he could take the pictures of the redwoods. But all in all he is a safe driver and as JA said "Nick, you sure arn't gonna get any speeding tickets you can bet on that" I'm just gonna say he is a safe driver We stopped at KFC on the way up here as JA wanted that, I didn't care either way what we got but Nick didn't really want KFC. JA somehow convinced Nick that he really did want KFC since he is from Kentucky. "There is no way you don't want it Nick, you are from Kentucky. you would be like a traitor or something if you didn't eat it." Well Nick got a big plate of it and ate the whole thing so he must have wanted it deep down.
Usually we book our hotels through priceline and bid on the rooms so we get really nice hotels for the same price as we would if we stayed in a not so nice hotel. For some reason we could not get the price we wanted and you only get so many tries to bid and we ran out so we ended up calling one direct (or so we thought) we ended up on the phone with the main reservation department for Sheraton nationwide. The gal we spoke with said "Oh everything is sooo busy there and the location you want has only 2 rooms left, so you should probably make a move on these right away" Oh man, we thought to ourselves. We didn't want to be in a position where we have been just a couple of times before where there is a big event going on in a town and all the hotels are filled and we are S.O.L. So we took what she offered us. When we got here the parking lot is almost empty and so Nick asked the gal at the front desk "Are you filled up for tonight?" she replies "Oh no, we are almost empty we have planty of rooms" We then explain what we did and how much we paid. She looked at us a little strange and after a second said "Thats the highest rate we have to offer anyone" We asked if there was anything she could do to help us and she worked her magic and ended up almost half the price of what we were gonna pay. So the lesson to be learned is if you ever get a hold of a central reservation department when booking a hotel (especially at the Sheraton) do everything you can to just talk directly to the hotel as it seems like it will work out better.
I'm sure I will have something else before I go to the show tonight. Thank you to everyone for the pms letting me know that you are keeping up with my little tales and I had a chat earlier with someone and again things may turn interesting I will let you know if and when it happens.
After the great weather in Georgia and Alabama it has rained like hell almost all the way here and is still pouring down. Ah well the rough with the smooth, JA also let Nick drive again and that can be a little scary as you may remember on the last trip when he jumped out of the car and left it in drive so he could take the pictures of the redwoods. But all in all he is a safe driver and as JA said "Nick, you sure arn't gonna get any speeding tickets you can bet on that" I'm just gonna say he is a safe driver
We stopped at KFC on the way up here as JA wanted that, I didn't care either way what we got but Nick didn't really want KFC. JA somehow convinced Nick that he really did want KFC since he is from Kentucky. "There is no way you don't want it Nick, you are from Kentucky. you would be like a traitor or something if you didn't eat it." Well Nick got a big plate of it and ate the whole thing so he must have wanted it deep down. Usually we book our hotels through priceline and bid on the rooms so we get really nice hotels for the same price as we would if we stayed in a not so nice hotel. For some reason we could not get the price we wanted and you only get so many tries to bid and we ran out so we ended up calling one direct (or so we thought) we ended up on the phone with the main reservation department for Sheraton nationwide. The gal we spoke with said "Oh everything is sooo busy there and the location you want has only 2 rooms left, so you should probably make a move on these right away" Oh man, we thought to ourselves. We didn't want to be in a position where we have been just a couple of times before where there is a big event going on in a town and all the hotels are filled and we are S.O.L. So we took what she offered us. When we got here the parking lot is almost empty and so Nick asked the gal at the front desk "Are you filled up for tonight?" she replies "Oh no, we are almost empty we have planty of rooms" We then explain what we did and how much we paid. She looked at us a little strange and after a second said "Thats the highest rate we have to offer anyone" We asked if there was anything she could do to help us and she worked her magic and ended up almost half the price of what we were gonna pay. So the lesson to be learned is if you ever get a hold of a central reservation department when booking a hotel (especially at the Sheraton) do everything you can to just talk directly to the hotel as it seems like it will work out better.
I'm sure I will have something else before I go to the show tonight. Thank you to everyone for the pms letting me know that you are keeping up with my little tales and I had a chat earlier with someone and again things may turn interesting I will let you know if and when it happens.
We arrived in Memphis, I really want to see Beal St, Graceland etc but we have our show in 2 and a half hours and then we leave first thing in the morning for Clarlksville, Tn. and so yet again I am in a part of the world that I would like to stop and enjoy, maybe see a couple of sights and can't. This has happened here before and at the Alamo, and riverwalk in San Antonio and all over the place. Last trip you may remember JA and I went to a visit on Alcatraz and that was fun although a little rushed.
After the great weather in Georgia and Alabama it has rained like hell almost all the way here and is still pouring down. Ah well the rough with the smooth, JA also let Nick drive again and that can be a little scary as you may remember on the last trip when he jumped out of the car and left it in drive so he could take the pictures of the redwoods. But all in all he is a safe driver and as JA said "Nick, you sure arn't gonna get any speeding tickets you can bet on that" I'm just gonna say he is a safe driver
Usually we book our hotels through priceline and bid on the rooms so we get really nice hotels for the same price as we would if we stayed in a not so nice hotel. For some reason we could not get the price we wanted and you only get so many tries to bid and we ran out so we ended up calling one direct (or so we thought) we ended up on the phone with the main reservation department for Sheraton nationwide. The gal we spoke with said "Oh everything is sooo busy there and the location you want has only 2 rooms left, so you should probably make a move on these right away" Oh man, we thought to ourselves. We didn't want to be in a position where we have been just a couple of times before where there is a big event going on in a town and all the hotels are filled and we are S.O.L. So we took what she offered us. When we got here the parking lot is almost empty and so Nick asked the gal at the front desk "Are you filled up for tonight?" she replies "Oh no, we are almost empty we have planty of rooms" We then explain what we did and how much we paid. She looked at us a little strange and after a second said "Thats the highest rate we have to offer anyone" We asked if there was anything she could do to help us and she worked her magic and ended up almost half the price of what we were gonna pay. So the lesson to be learned is if you ever get a hold of a central reservation department when booking a hotel (especially at the Sheraton) do everything you can to just talk directly to the hotel as it seems like it will work out better.
I'm sure I will have something else before I go to the show tonight. Thank you to everyone for the pms letting me know that you are keeping up with my little tales and I had a chat earlier with someone and again things may turn interesting I will let you know if and when it happens.
Yep those Hotel chains put all sorts of moves on you if you aren't careful. I learned to just go right in and work their hustle right back on them. Lots of times if they don't wanna negotiate I just leave and say..." no wonder there are no cars out here in your lot.." and then they whistle different price for the night. :thumbup:
I think you (Mark) fabricated part of the story (or maybe you're just a bit naive). I just got Johnny's side of a minute ago, and that dog poo in your bedroom???? It WAS real. 3 day old matter can appear to be from Spencers Gift Shop.
Pwoned!
Thanks for taking the time to share "times on the road". Loving it!
My best to a continued great trip,
Matt
Pwoned!
Thanks for taking the time to share "times on the road". Loving it!
My best to a continued great trip,
Matt
What a great group of people in Memphis, High pockets Billiards is for sure a place to stop and play if you are in the Memphis area. A very knowledgable crowd and one pocket is fairly big in this room. The owner Tracy has a table that is restricted to one pocket only and makes sure that his tables are clean and are re covered twice a year. The menu is filled with southern treats and Nick, Ja and I all had the catfish supper with fries, hush puppies, coleslaw and of course some great catfish. Nick was still talking about it on and off even when we got back to the hotel. The pool room itself looks like any other really but there is something in the air that makes it a good pool room. The people love the game and are purists for the most part, the y enjoyed and at the same time put up with everything we did but I felt like all they really wanted was to see the guys play and get a chance to play with them and just talk pool. Nick did some trick shots and had some fun with the spectators. I have been putting out a major fire all day today and I will let you in on that one very shortly.
This trip has started off a little shakey, more shakey that any other tour we have ever done in the 7 years we have been doing it. I am not really sure why and I know it isn't anything we have done wrong just sometimes I guess the lord tries us as I heard recently. It just seems alot of things have been working against us but we are doing everything we can to make sure that we get the job done.
Nick is really playing on the hurt finger thing and we appreciate how much he must have hurt getting it fixed and still how hampered he is by it. However, from time to time when we need to do any loading un loading etc he seems to be stepping back more than he ever did before as he has always had JA an I do the manual labor and found a reason to make his self scarce when anything like that came along. Now he stands around holding his finger up in the air like its a sign to say "Before you ask, look at me I am injured" So we ask him if he can manage taking a set of balls into the pool room or a couple of DVD's that we sell. He will grimmace like he just got struck in the huevos and he somehow gains a limp in one of his legs. The lleg seems to change like the wind but we looked at each other JA and I with the same expression as if to sat "Where the F%*k did the limp come from???" Well once all the bags etc are done the limp get better. Amazing eh?
This trip has started off a little shakey, more shakey that any other tour we have ever done in the 7 years we have been doing it. I am not really sure why and I know it isn't anything we have done wrong just sometimes I guess the lord tries us as I heard recently. It just seems alot of things have been working against us but we are doing everything we can to make sure that we get the job done.
Nick is really playing on the hurt finger thing and we appreciate how much he must have hurt getting it fixed and still how hampered he is by it. However, from time to time when we need to do any loading un loading etc he seems to be stepping back more than he ever did before as he has always had JA an I do the manual labor and found a reason to make his self scarce when anything like that came along. Now he stands around holding his finger up in the air like its a sign to say "Before you ask, look at me I am injured" So we ask him if he can manage taking a set of balls into the pool room or a couple of DVD's that we sell. He will grimmace like he just got struck in the huevos and he somehow gains a limp in one of his legs. The lleg seems to change like the wind but we looked at each other JA and I with the same expression as if to sat "Where the F%*k did the limp come from???" Well once all the bags etc are done the limp get better. Amazing eh?
I am not happy with the way things went down in Clarksville and I am going to leave it at that. We have a couple of spare days right now one of them was planned and the other wasn't and so we are going to head back toward Little Rock where we are scheduled next. We will probably stop in Memphis today and then possibly Tupelo as there is a small group of people who wanted to take part in a clinic if we could make it. We may try and do that clinic in Memphis too since its not far from Tupelo. Anyway, just like everything there are ups and downs and a little adjusting sometimes. The drive from Memphis to Clarksville is a nice one plenty of differnt scenery than I am used to I have only been in this are once before and I think it was winter or fall but its much better to look at in the summer. Not much else to tell I don't think but if I remember something I will come back as I think I have forgotten something.
What a great day, we woke up to a wonderful Clarksville morning sun shining and a light breeze and a smell in the air from some kind of flowers not sure what but smelled great. We have had a couple of little setbacks so far on this tour that we were not expecting but we have got through them just fine and things could be worse. We all got in the car this morning with an unspoken fresh, new and positive attitude. This made for a great drive back down to Memphis. We got talking about politics and JA and I know Nicks political opinions and is easy to wind up. So JA started asking him questions and pushing buttons with Nick just to watch him go off a little and true enough he did and once we had him at around an 8 on the frustration scale JA let him off the hook and told him he was just messing with him. We all had a laugh about how wound up he had gotten including Nick. Great scenery again on the way back as it was on the way up to Clarksville. JA wanted to stop for lunch at a little country kitchen type place along the way. Not in a big city just one of those little mom and pop places. We found one pretty quick and if you were to put a country diner in the scene of a movie this would be the location you would pic. Down to the customers that were already in there and the waitresses and decor and menu. next post continues. computer keeps freezing sorry
Nick and I were looking for breakfast food and they stopped serving that already so we decided to skip but we told JA to go ahead as were in no rush and we would find something on the way. So he ended up with a hamburger steak with grilled onions fries and brown gravy. We just shot the shit until he was done and had a glass of sweet tea, the sweet tea is very popular to those of you not in the south and believe it or not it seems that people are judged on their sweet tea. it was very good by the way, i am not an expert but it was tasty to me and the guys agreed. Nick and I di help JA with the fries and gravy and the gravey was awesome.
After lunch I needed to see if there was anything we could figure out to keep us a little busy on Thursday as that was out planned day off. High Pockets in Memphis had texted me askiing how everything was going and I toild them we were gonna be coming through Memphis later that night and he asked if we could stay til Thursday as he wanted to do something nice for his customers and so we came to an agreement and Johgnny and Nick will be there tomorrow night to do some challenge matches for the people who are entered in his Thurs night tourney. Nick will be doing one pocket and Johnny will be doing 8,9 or 10 ball. So as I always say if you are in the area please stop by and sign up for the touney and have some fun with us.
We got to the hotel and we are all just chillin because we know the next 2 weeks are gonna be back to being hectic. Looking forward to the road ahead.
Not much going on this morning, although i would like to go to Graceland since we have nothing to do til tonight. We all kinda slept in and JA and Nick just went to the Cracker Barrel. JA loves that place and Nick claims not to like it but apparently today is TURKEY DAY! Nick wants to get there so he can get the Turkey while its fresh and moist.
We are going to High Pockets tonight and are gonna be working from 7 til about 10.30 Nick is gonna do some one pocket challenges and JA is gonna do some 8, 9 or 10 ball challenges. We will be leaving and heading over there at 5.30 though as they have a great catfish supper and Nick has been talking about it since he had it last and so we are heading over early so he can get his fix before we start at 7pm.
on a personal note. Last night I ordered a personal sized pizza and some wings to be delivered. The guy arrives and the pprice is $12.70. All I have is a $20 bill and he looks at itand says "I don't have any change" I tell him to hold on and I will double check I don't have it. I checked and true enough I didn't have anything but a $20. I tell him and he kinda looks at me and shruggs his shoulders like he does not know what the asnswer is. Then I get it I say "Are you looking for me to give you a $7.00 tip?" he says "Well...." I told him that ain't gonna happen. I mean I would be tipping almost what the food cost, now if I felt like it I would maybe tip him that just because but I don't like being put in a position where its forcing me to do it. I know I sound like a nit because I complained about the hotel before trying to pull a fast one but its like everyone is trying to make moves. Anyway, he said "Well if you want to give me the money I will go and get change at the front desk" I said ok. I thought about it while he was gone and although I don't like the way he tried to move on me and that I am not a rich man either I figure he needed it so I gave it him the change anyway. Maybe that is some good Karma, who knows.
We are going to High Pockets tonight and are gonna be working from 7 til about 10.30 Nick is gonna do some one pocket challenges and JA is gonna do some 8, 9 or 10 ball challenges. We will be leaving and heading over there at 5.30 though as they have a great catfish supper and Nick has been talking about it since he had it last and so we are heading over early so he can get his fix before we start at 7pm.
on a personal note. Last night I ordered a personal sized pizza and some wings to be delivered. The guy arrives and the pprice is $12.70. All I have is a $20 bill and he looks at itand says "I don't have any change" I tell him to hold on and I will double check I don't have it. I checked and true enough I didn't have anything but a $20. I tell him and he kinda looks at me and shruggs his shoulders like he does not know what the asnswer is. Then I get it I say "Are you looking for me to give you a $7.00 tip?" he says "Well...." I told him that ain't gonna happen. I mean I would be tipping almost what the food cost, now if I felt like it I would maybe tip him that just because but I don't like being put in a position where its forcing me to do it. I know I sound like a nit because I complained about the hotel before trying to pull a fast one but its like everyone is trying to make moves. Anyway, he said "Well if you want to give me the money I will go and get change at the front desk" I said ok. I thought about it while he was gone and although I don't like the way he tried to move on me and that I am not a rich man either I figure he needed it so I gave it him the change anyway. Maybe that is some good Karma, who knows.
Highpockets
Registered
Johnny Archer , Nick Varner and even Mark!
Thanks for coming out Monday and Thursday. If you own or operate a pool hall you definitely want to have this in your room. These guys were great and I cant thank them enough.
They talked and played with the customers/did trick shots everything. What a pleasure.
Tracy Whitney
HighPockets
Memphis TN
www.highpocketsinmemhis.com
Thanks for coming out Monday and Thursday. If you own or operate a pool hall you definitely want to have this in your room. These guys were great and I cant thank them enough.
They talked and played with the customers/did trick shots everything. What a pleasure.
Tracy Whitney
HighPockets
Memphis TN
www.highpocketsinmemhis.com
Thank you Tracy, I wish more pool room owners were like you. I know there are alot of good ones out there and you sir are one of them and your customers obviously appreciate all your efforts.
We left Memphis this morning and took our time driving to Russellville, just outside of Little Rock Arkansas stopping every now and then to stretch our legs get a soda and lunch etc. We will be at Beezers Fine Billiards tonight for a show at 7.30pm and we are looking forward to it. It took us about an hour to find our hotel this time because JA wanted to make sure that they had the golf channel. So upon entering each hotel the first question wasn't "Do you have any vacancys tonight?" or "Whats is your room rate for this evening?" it was ""Do you have the golf channel?" well after about 4 or 5 tries that didn't have the golf channel JA gave up and we got a room. The hotel was next to a Ruby Tuesdays and so JA went over there to watch the golf. I am just doing a little work to try and make sure the rest of the the trip goes as smooth as possible. They just took choc chip cookies out of the oven in the lobby and I told Nick and he ran down there like the building was on fire I am not sure if we are getting lucky with the weather or not but we get big rain storms that are not really lasting very long but the rest of the time the weather has been great so if you get a chance to come to the couth around this time of year its awesome. Night time can get a little cold but as long as you are expecting it you are fine.
Tonights show will be a first, we are in a dry county and I have no idea if there will be any kind of a difference in how things go, as some people know I like a drink. you will never seem me falling down drunk or acting like a jerk but I like a beer or .... well lets just say I like a beer especially around the atmosphere of our shows as its just alot of fun. So this will be a new experience. I think I will be meeting up with a couple of AZers tonight, Fathomblue and I think there is another so I am looking forward to that too. I will be back with a recap of tonights goings on. Also remember JA and Nick will be holding a clinic tomorrow for 4 hours 11am to 3pm limited to 12. I think that clinic may be full or close to it. Call Beezers Fine Billiards as they have the sign up list.
We left Memphis this morning and took our time driving to Russellville, just outside of Little Rock Arkansas stopping every now and then to stretch our legs get a soda and lunch etc. We will be at Beezers Fine Billiards tonight for a show at 7.30pm and we are looking forward to it. It took us about an hour to find our hotel this time because JA wanted to make sure that they had the golf channel. So upon entering each hotel the first question wasn't "Do you have any vacancys tonight?" or "Whats is your room rate for this evening?" it was ""Do you have the golf channel?" well after about 4 or 5 tries that didn't have the golf channel JA gave up and we got a room. The hotel was next to a Ruby Tuesdays and so JA went over there to watch the golf. I am just doing a little work to try and make sure the rest of the the trip goes as smooth as possible. They just took choc chip cookies out of the oven in the lobby and I told Nick and he ran down there like the building was on fire
I am not sure if we are getting lucky with the weather or not but we get big rain storms that are not really lasting very long but the rest of the time the weather has been great so if you get a chance to come to the couth around this time of year its awesome. Night time can get a little cold but as long as you are expecting it you are fine. Tonights show will be a first, we are in a dry county and I have no idea if there will be any kind of a difference in how things go, as some people know I like a drink. you will never seem me falling down drunk or acting like a jerk but I like a beer or .... well lets just say I like a beer
especially around the atmosphere of our shows as its just alot of fun. So this will be a new experience. I think I will be meeting up with a couple of AZers tonight, Fathomblue and I think there is another so I am looking forward to that too. I will be back with a recap of tonights goings on. Also remember JA and Nick will be holding a clinic tomorrow for 4 hours 11am to 3pm limited to 12. I think that clinic may be full or close to it. Call Beezers Fine Billiards as they have the sign up list.
Beezers Fine Billiards in Russellville, Arkansas is quite a place and may take some of you back in time a little. No booze, very limited food, just a bunch of people who love pool and owners that are all about pool. Like I said yesterday I wasn't sure what to think as we had never done a show in a place that was dry. Well we had a nice crowd of people who just can't get enough pool and billiards. We had no microphone and this can usually make things difficult with the Q&A session and when Nick does his trick shots and stories. This time you could have heard a pin drop as they all sat with there eyes fixed on JA and Nick as they talked about how they began playing, their hero growing up in pool etc. They were engaged and had fun the whole night. So this made for a great night for us because aside from obviously getting paid for these things they guys and myself really enjoy making people happy and getting together with pool fans who appreciate the whole game.
I got to meet fellow Azer Fathomblue too who is a great guy and I enjoyed chatting with him and will again today.
Now at Beezers they don't say they got the best food and have a very limited menu. I mean like chips, nachos, hot dogs and chilli dogs. That it. So right before we started I saw JA had grabbed something to eat real quick and it was a chilli dog. I'm not sure what it was about that chilli dog because at first glance it looks like a a crappy pool hall chilli dog but I think thats where its appeal was. It looked so bad for you that it had to be good. I know that has to make sense to someone out there. So I waited before I ate and at the end of the show JA was back up there eating another. I asked if they were good this time since he had 2 of them and with a mouth full and chilli running down his chin he say "No they terrible" then gave a little smile. So I ordered a couple myself, what a mess I should have used a fork but that takes away from the experience. AWESOME! Awesome nasty old chilli dog. I am not knocking there dogs here its actually a compliment. We ll I have tro go right now and get ready for the clinic. We leave in 15 mins and I have to pack as we leave right after this clinic to our next stop and will get in tonight about 9pm. If the pool room has wifi (Doubt it) I have more.
I got to meet fellow Azer Fathomblue too who is a great guy and I enjoyed chatting with him and will again today.
Now at Beezers they don't say they got the best food and have a very limited menu. I mean like chips, nachos, hot dogs and chilli dogs. That it. So right before we started I saw JA had grabbed something to eat real quick and it was a chilli dog. I'm not sure what it was about that chilli dog because at first glance it looks like a a crappy pool hall chilli dog but I think thats where its appeal was. It looked so bad for you that it had to be good. I know that has to make sense to someone out there. So I waited before I ate and at the end of the show JA was back up there eating another. I asked if they were good this time since he had 2 of them and with a mouth full and chilli running down his chin he say "No they terrible" then gave a little smile. So I ordered a couple myself, what a mess I should have used a fork but that takes away from the experience. AWESOME! Awesome nasty old chilli dog. I am not knocking there dogs here its actually a compliment. We ll I have tro go right now and get ready for the clinic. We leave in 15 mins and I have to pack as we leave right after this clinic to our next stop and will get in tonight about 9pm. If the pool room has wifi (Doubt it) I have more.
Thanks Robman.
We had a full clinic today at Beezers Fine Billiards, it went from 11am to 3pm and we got done a little after 3pm. As we were packing our stuff to leave the pool room JA said he was starving and I was starving too. No need to ask Nick as he is always starving, we just wasn't sure if we should get on the road to Jamaica Joes a 4+ hour drive and find somewhere down the road or just go and eat before we set off. Justin (fathomblue) had been telling me about a place called CJ's A burger place that was awesome. He really talked it up but at the end of the day its a burger to me and I thought that they were probably good but it didn't matter to me either way. UNTIL a few others in the pool room started talking them up too, then Nick, JA and myself were just contemplating our what we should do Justin pipes up again about these burgers. He explains that they take the shouldler of meat and grind it up throughout the day as needed and that this is the freshest burger you ever had. For some reason these were the key words to getting all our attention and JA said thats it lets do it, Justin had offered to buy our lunch when we came through and again offered and so now Nick was gonna be in for sure if there was any doubt in his mind before. So get our stuff together and take it out to the van. We find we have a small convoy of cars waiting to go to the famous CJ's with us. So we get there and I have never seen a burger joint like this before. They have an old fashioned butcher case right at the front that has Beef shoulder in there and BIG slices of some other meat and I am not sure what it was but that was the mix that they ground us as they went thoughout the day. We all got our burgers and hopefully Justin will post a couple of pics he took. The burger was not a dissapointment and really very tasty, I know that maybe we all make burgers at home that are not the frozen kind but not many of us take the freah butchered meat every morning and make our our hamburger meat. There is a definate difference in taste for the better actually I could eat one again right now.
They sold T-Shirts there with obviously the name of the place and on the back it said "Nobody beat OUR meat" Well Ja found this amusing and got himself one and then Nick thought it funny too and went ahead and got himself one too. So there is another pic in the parking lot as they put them on again hopefully Justin will post that too.
We left Russellville, Arkansas with full bellies and very content.
They sold T-Shirts there with obviously the name of the place and on the back it said "Nobody beat OUR meat" Well Ja found this amusing and got himself one and then Nick thought it funny too and went ahead and got himself one too. So there is another pic in the parking lot as they put them on again hopefully Justin will post that too.
We left Russellville, Arkansas with full bellies and very content.