To my pool playing friends in PA and MD, my good friend Ben Hardy passed away last night after a heart procedure.
I don't have all of the details, but I believe he died in recovery. This was the second time he was air-lifted to the hospital for heart complications. Funeral arrangements haven't been set yet, to the best of my knowledge. Ben was a really good all-around player and definitely loved one pocket over anything. Ben spent a considerable amount of time around players like Fred McCann, Jerry Slivka and Gary Nolan and was certainly a very, very knowledgeable player.
I met Ben over 20 years ago at the Corner Pocket in York, PA and we always kept in touch. Every time I'd answer the phone, I'd hear, "SEGAAAAAAAAAL" and we'd end up talking about pool for an hour in one form or another, or reminisce about one of the road trips we went on years ago.
Ben was one of the most naturally funny guys I've ever met. It wasn't what he said that was funny, it was always in the way he'd say it. He'd end almost every sentence with "Y'know what I mean?" or "Ya understand what I'm saying?" He was always getting line by line verification of comprehension.... I loved it!!!
He might come with something like, "<INSERT NAME HERE> is seriously one of the most faggity players I've ever played, ya know what I mean? I mean, Jesus, this muhfugger is so queery ya gotta steal balls back that he's stealing from you, I mean, you understand what I'm saying?" Ben could order a #2 at McDonalds and just deliver his order in such a way he could have you teared-up before you had to pay at the first window. If he ever felt he was asking for something that wasn't "standard" -- he'd always start every sentence with, "Seriously, I'm not trying to be queer, but could I get that this way or that way instead?" I stole a lot of my lines from him.
And those glasses... Jesus H. Christ, those glasses. How Ben was able to pocket ANY balls is an absolute testament to his ability. His glasses were SO thick you could take them off his head and burn ants with them. His nickname was "Googly Eyes" in the pool hall because his eyes were magnified like 100x when you'd look at him head-on with those g'damn glasses. When you took his Googly-eyed appearance and paired with his gift of gab, you had one seriously funny guy who had a real talent for playing pool.
We're going to miss ya, Googly Eyes :'-(
I don't have all of the details, but I believe he died in recovery. This was the second time he was air-lifted to the hospital for heart complications. Funeral arrangements haven't been set yet, to the best of my knowledge. Ben was a really good all-around player and definitely loved one pocket over anything. Ben spent a considerable amount of time around players like Fred McCann, Jerry Slivka and Gary Nolan and was certainly a very, very knowledgeable player.
I met Ben over 20 years ago at the Corner Pocket in York, PA and we always kept in touch. Every time I'd answer the phone, I'd hear, "SEGAAAAAAAAAL" and we'd end up talking about pool for an hour in one form or another, or reminisce about one of the road trips we went on years ago.
Ben was one of the most naturally funny guys I've ever met. It wasn't what he said that was funny, it was always in the way he'd say it. He'd end almost every sentence with "Y'know what I mean?" or "Ya understand what I'm saying?" He was always getting line by line verification of comprehension.... I loved it!!!
He might come with something like, "<INSERT NAME HERE> is seriously one of the most faggity players I've ever played, ya know what I mean? I mean, Jesus, this muhfugger is so queery ya gotta steal balls back that he's stealing from you, I mean, you understand what I'm saying?" Ben could order a #2 at McDonalds and just deliver his order in such a way he could have you teared-up before you had to pay at the first window. If he ever felt he was asking for something that wasn't "standard" -- he'd always start every sentence with, "Seriously, I'm not trying to be queer, but could I get that this way or that way instead?" I stole a lot of my lines from him.
And those glasses... Jesus H. Christ, those glasses. How Ben was able to pocket ANY balls is an absolute testament to his ability. His glasses were SO thick you could take them off his head and burn ants with them. His nickname was "Googly Eyes" in the pool hall because his eyes were magnified like 100x when you'd look at him head-on with those g'damn glasses. When you took his Googly-eyed appearance and paired with his gift of gab, you had one seriously funny guy who had a real talent for playing pool.
We're going to miss ya, Googly Eyes :'-(
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