Billiards Digest POW-MIA CUE- BETRAYAL

Joey

I understand that for you this is more than just about a dispute with a magazine. It is much more than that.

I am a veteran that lives every day battling the effects of my combat service. I lost friends in Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and I have lost friends that have fought in the current war. My Uncle Joe is a proud Vietnam War Veteran that took a round directly to his femur in 1967. He's been in constant pain ever since. Since then he has never walked very well, and he suffers from PTSD. Myself, I am battling young onset Parkinson's Disease, spinal stenosis, and other maladies brought upon by the chemicals we encountered - chemicals that our own government refuses to acknowledge were ever there - nor will they tae responsibility for the medical problems I am experiencing - just like they did with Agent Orange. I still love my country and I would still proudly give my life in defense of it - regardless of the battles I have been fighting since I got home. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.

I salute you and I salute Mike Bender and Jack Justis for such a beautiful tribute to those that have fought proudly and those that have given the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country. For those of us that have been on the battlefield, not a day goes by where our minds relive those experiences and play the "what if" game - but as brothers we persevere and use that as motivation remember those we have lost and those that are still fighting. Thank you, Joey. You're the man!

VIDEO SALUTING OUR TROOPS
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Not all deadlines for magazines are months into the future. There's a whole slew of magazines that are put out weekly offering topics that are very current.

Nevertheless, I applaud Mr. King for addressing the issue here. He could have easily tucked his tail and hid in the corner, but he didn't.

May God rest the souls of all of the fallen. You are not forgotten.
 
JoeyA said:
Manwon,
I appreciate your sentiments and all of the positive feedback I have received from all of the AZers. The many PM?s and posts you all sent are a treasure I will always hold close to my heart.

The posts that you and others have made, touches me deeply and so I would like to share with you my first and now final thoughts about the POW-MIA cue/case.

The frustration of knowing that as an individual I could do very little to help my brothers and sisters fueled a need in me to do something for them, something personal, not conceived for profit or fame.

My first thought of the POW-MIA cue came from the anguish I experienced while watching the news media covering the stories of our soldiers in combat in the Middle East. Occasionally I play pool in regional and national tournaments around the country and thought that it would be nice to create this cue to take into battle on the field of green. Since then the field of green seems to have turned blue. I wanted to use the POW-MIA cue in battle, on the hard, flat slate. It was not meant to be created just to lie in some trophy case, to be traded or collected.

I think the idea was wrought out of frustration, seeing our young men go off to war only to see many of them come back to our country with missing arms and legs and some only to come back in body bags, to be buried and forgotten. SOME NEVER RETURN. It breaks my heart to see their suffering and to know their pain. I was lucky enough to be a fishing partner of a POW from World War II and as his story of suffering and pain unfolded over a period of years, I was able to come to grips with my own personal demons.

The physical injuries of our soldiers are right out there for the world to see or for the world to turn their back on. The real suffering inside each of them is harder to see and will plague many for the rest of their lives. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTST) is a real illness and it brings suffering that seems to last a lifetime and in many cases, does. PTST is difficult to treat and it affects not only the recipient but their family members, friends and all of society.

We as individuals, sit back here in the comforts of our own home, enjoying the fruits of our labor, living the Epicurean lifestyle that America has come to know. All the while, politicians send off our young men to fight for our freedoms and the freedoms of people we don't even know, for reasons that are hard to explain and often impossible to justify. Our soldiers risk life, limb and a lifetime of mental damage that can't be seen and it affects all of us, not just our brave young men and women who serve our country's beck and call. How do you tell a young, formerly, healthy young soldier that their permanent injuries and sacrifices were justified? How do you tell the family who dreads getting up in the morning, knowing that their child will never return and that their sacrifice was justified?

In recent years, I dreamed of a way to reduce the number of wars that America becomes involved in: It is just a dream, nothing more. It revolves around our president, his cabinet, our congressmen and senators. If any of them deem that it is necessary for America to go to war with another country, each of them should be required to send their first born child or perhaps their brother's first born child to the front lines to fight for our country's interests. Perhaps then, we would find a way to get along with our neighbors.

Evil, injustice and man's inhumanity is everywhere, not just abroad and it must be fought and we like all nations send our strongest and bravest young people to answer our country's call to war. This war in the Middle East is going to result in an even greater civil war. It may become one of the most brutal civil wars that have ever been fought. I don't have a solution. It is far too complex and those that would have us bring our young men and women home today, do not bear my resentment. I have great empathy for them, greater than most will ever know. There is a growing risk in the world, a madness that can only result in added world chaos. As I age and try to recognize the warring parties and what they are fighting for, I see age old prejudices based on religion as the single fuel of this madness. Religious factions and countries are siding with one another over money and power, using religious beliefs to stoke the fire of hatred for their neighbors, friends and even family. This poison seems to be in every religion and those in power use it effectively. I would like to think that we are doing some good in the Middle East but it appears we have opened Pandora's Box. History may make the brutal dictator Saddam Hussein look like a moderate before this is over.

It is my empathy that I share with our soldiers and the frustration that I feel as an individual that moved me to create the POW-MIA cue. As an individual, I know that there is little that I can do to resolve the problems of the world. I have enough difficulty taking care of my own little problems in the safe comforts of my own little cocoon, while my young brothers and sisters go off to fight and risk everything that they have for you and me and country.

Many people were consulted for this creation and enormous amounts of time were spent in the creation of this one of a kind POW-MIA cue/case.

When people see the POW-MIA cue/case I want them to take pause and think about the price of war.

This cue's creation was my personal whisper of remembrance, to honor the sacrifices made by all of our soldiers past, present and future; especially the POW's and MIA's. It hurts to know that there is so much noise in the world that my whisper could not be heard.

Joey Aguzin
Click to expand...

TAP! TAP! TAP! Joey for President! Let's start the campaign now!
 
Joey

I don't know how you could have said it any better.

There is a whole lot of Welcome Home in all of these posts.

Sort of a roller coaster reading them from here, can't even imagine reading them from your spot.

Your cue has gotten off to a great start accomplishing what you want it to, I hope you and it travel well and travel safe in the future Brother.
 
I had the opportunity to play against that (may I say one of the most beautifully crafted and meaningful cues) i have ever laid eyes upon earlier today for about five sets worth.I looked at the cue once or twice but I wish I would've stopped the action long enough to give it the credit it was due.That is one fine cue in the hands of one extraordinary person in JoeyA.Enjoyed every minute of the action today Joey.Hope to bump into you in the near future!!!
 
Rickey said:
I had the opportunity to play against that (may I say one of the most beautifully crafted and meaningful cues) i have ever laid eyes upon earlier today for about five sets worth.I looked at the cue once or twice but I wish I would've stopped the action long enough to give it the credit it was due.That is one fine cue in the hands of one extraordinary person in JoeyA.Enjoyed every minute of the action today Joey.Hope to bump into you in the near future!!!
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I hope someday to meet Joey myself..:)
 
Stunning and Stirring

Joey,

What a beautiful and meaningful cue. Although I didn't serve in the military this cue is a beautiful symbol of all that did.

Great job memorializing our soldiers in such a unique and amazing way.

Joe
 
JoeyA, it makes me angry that they did that to you! I will not read their book again.

JoeyA said:
About three years ago I asked Mike Bender of Delta Junction Alaska to build me a cue using the POW-MIA logo and military ribbon to honor all of our soldiers and to remember the POW's and MIA soldiers. I had thought for several years how I could honor all of our soldiers in my small world that I live in and realized that I could share my passion for pool and the remembrances of the POW's and MIA's through a unique cue design honoring all of our soldiers. As a Vietnam veteran, who is only here by the grace of God, or tragic twist of fate, it was the least I could do. I first discussed this idea with Joe Ezell (a cuemaker in his own right and a friend) just after the start of the new millenium.

At that time, I had already owned a couple of Bender cues and after I realized the extent to which Mike Bender and Tracey Dunham go with their cues, I knew they were the ones to build it.

The cue took quite some time to build (three years) and some of you who have met me, have seen the cue. I play with it in all of the tournaments I compete in.

When it was completed at the beginning of 2007, I decided to have a professional photographer take pictures of it, along with the matching case that Jack Justis built.

To say that I'm happy with the cue and case is an understatement and I thank both Jack, Mike and Tracey for building this memorial of a cue/case.

I thought I would share the pictures of the cue to my world by asking one of the billiard magazines if they would be interested in publishing pictures of it.

I went straight to the managing editor of Billiards Digest and asked him if Billiards Digest would be interested. Mason King, the managing editor said that he and Billiard Digest were VERY INTERESTED in publishing pictures of our cue and that it could easily be worked into their WAND WORKSHOP, which is a part of their magazine where they showcase cues of special proportions. On May 21, 2007, after Mason King reviewed my pictures he emailed me and said that he thought they could definitely find room in the next issue of Billiard Digest to showcase the cue in their WAND WORKSHOP section. Each month that passed, I would either call Mason or send him an email inquiring politely as always, as to the status of the publishing of my cue. Each and every time Mason King responded that they were defintely interested in publishing the POW-MIA CUE that I designed with Mike Bender and Tracey Dunham.

It seemed strange that each month there were no pictures of my POW-MIA cue in the magazine and so I would check in just to make sure they were still interested in publishing pictures of my one of a kind cue. Mason assured me each and every time that they were definitely still interested and once even remarked that their business was really good and that they couldn't squeeze it in at the moment but would do so surely in the very near future, maybe the next issue.

Never once did I show any anger or animosity for the procrastination. Afterall, I am in business and understand that making a profit comes before any philanthropic or civic efforts can be made by any business who cares about remaining in business.

Even as recent as the end of 2007, actually December 27, 2007, I received an email from Mason assuring me that there was a very good chance that it would make the next month's issue in the WING SHOT/WAND WORKSHOP. That would have been February's issue..

Each month I would keep my fingers crossed hoping for the best, when lo and behold in March's issue there it is, the POW-MIA cue, just not my cue. It was someone else's POW-MIA cue.

It shocked me to see that Billiards Digest had slipped in someone else's POW-MIA cue in place of mine and I called to ask them to destroy all of my high resolution photos.

I am glad that our soliders got some of the recognition for the sacrifices that they all make and hope that the POW's and MIA's will never be forgotten.

It is unfortunate that after all of the assurances I received that the managing editor chose to change his mind without even telling me.

If Mason had been honest with me and told me that they weren't interested, I could easily have asked another billiard magazine if they would like to publish pictures of the cue.

Since I heard only assurances that my POW-MIA pool cue would be published in Billiard Digest, I could not in good conscience ask another pool magazine if they would be interested in publishing the pictures regardless of the delay.

I think Billiards Digest and Mason King did a deep injustice to me, Mike Bender and Tracey Dunham.

I cannot fathom how I could ever renew my subscription to their magazine.

It bothers me greatly when people do not keep their word to me. I make every effort to keep my word. If circumstances change that prevent me from keeping a committment I will make every effort to at least inform those affected as to what those changes are and why.

The way that Mason King & Billiards Digest have deceived me, disgusts me and makes me very angry.

JoeyA
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JoeyA, I think Billiards Digest sold you out and broke their promise to you. And to use another person's cue, is very bad. They took your idea, and fooled you until they could put it together without you of course. And used another MIA- POW Cue! I will never read their magazine again! Period!
Regards,
Lock N Load.
 
Billiards Digest

Lock N Load said:
JoeyA, I think Billiards Digest sold you out and broke their promise to you. And to use another person's cue, is very bad. They took your idea, and fooled you until they could put it together without you of course. And used another MIA- POW Cue! I will never read their magazine again! Period!
Regards,
Lock N Load.
Click to expand...

Lock,
I don't hold anything against Billiards Digest. Mason King was the person who made the promises to me, over and over. He no longer works for Billiards Digest. It was a person and not a company who let me down.

I hope the rest of the people who believe like you that Billiards Digest is responsible for this injustice, will change their mind after reading this post and give Billiards Digest a break. They have always produced a good pool magazine and don't deserve to continue to be punished for one man's mistake.

Besides they still have the best writer in the pool world writing for them, Mr. George Fels, ( a fellow AZB member ) and he writes a column that's well worth reading.

JoeyA
 
Let's boycott Billiards Digest

You meet many people in this world but few are a one of a kind, that would be how I would start my speech on how good of a fellow Joey A. is, let alone that he served this country well and even paid tribute to the fallen and missing with his personal playing cue. I am in the process of moving to a new home (new to me) and have not had a subscription to any pool magazines in about a year. Few days ago I thought well I have alot of the other major pool magazines let me give billiards digest a try for a year and had filled out the mailer . Sure am glad I did not stick it in the box yet .Shame on ya BD:angry: Joey you are too kind and I agree with Lock , Sell outs ....
 
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Joey, I bet there are a few other publications that would be more than happy to run some of those pictures. Onthebreaknews routinely has articles from regional players and other information. There are 2 other publications (The Stroke - I think, and one other) that would also be more than happy to add some pictures to their magazines.

The same goes for Blackjack's articles. His Youtube videos are good, so I'd be willing to say so would his writing be.

I understand your disappointment at getting more or less blown off by BD, but for your sake and the sake of others that would be happy for what you're offering, I think you should submit them somewhere else where they'd be appreciated as they should be.
 
OK, JoeyA Mason King was the problem. Tanks.

JoeyA said:
Lock,
I don't hold anything against Billiards Digest. Mason King was the person who made the promises to me, over and over. He no longer works for Billiards Digest. It was a person and not a company who let me down.

I hope the rest of the people who believe like you that Billiards Digest is responsible for this injustice, will change their mind after reading this post and give Billiards Digest a break. They have always produced a good pool magazine and don't deserve to continue to be punished for one man's mistake.

Besides they still have the best writer in the pool world writing for them, Mr. George Fels, ( a fellow AZB member ) and he writes a column that's well worth reading.

JoeyA
Click to expand...

Billiards Digest is officially off the hook, per JoeyA. The Lock will go back to reading the magazine again. Thanks JoeyA, The Tournament king, no relation to the other King from the magazine. Let me see, 64-3 equals 61 players. Wow! Thanks again, JoeyA.
Regards,
Lock N Load.
 
Does anyone ever read the whole thread before making a post? Someone took the time to find a 3 yr old thread but couldn't take the time to read the thread before posting in it. Goodness gracious.
 
The thread was read from top to bottom!

UrackmIcrackm said:
Does anyone ever read the whole thread before making a post? Someone took the time to find a 3 yr old thread but couldn't take the time to read the thread before posting in it. Goodness gracious.
Click to expand...

Maybe, you should read the thread, I went back and read it a third time. It said the same thing, as I read the first time. A grave injustice was done to a fellow AZB member. I have no idea what you read in the 3 year old thread? The guy that did the injustice is no longer with the magazine company. JoeyA has no grudge against the company, now that the guy is gone!
Regards,
Lock N Load.
 
A grave injustice? It was a mistake made by someone who is not only human, but also someone who worked on a deadline. If it wasn't a mistake the man still apologized.
 
A great injustice to you and the people that contributed to your cue/case honoring our POW's and MIA's.
If Mr. Mason King should show up in some other place involving
our game, well...............we will know what to do.
 
JoeyA said:
About three years ago I asked Mike Bender of Delta Junction Alaska to build me a cue using the POW-MIA logo and military ribbon to honor all of our soldiers and to remember the POW's and MIA soldiers. I had thought for several years how I could honor all of our soldiers in my small world that I live in and realized that I could share my passion for pool and the remembrances of the POW's and MIA's through a unique cue design honoring all of our soldiers. As a Vietnam veteran, who is only here by the grace of God, or tragic twist of fate, it was the least I could do. I first discussed this idea with Joe Ezell (a cuemaker in his own right and a friend) just after the start of the new millenium.

At that time, I had already owned a couple of Bender cues and after I realized the extent to which Mike Bender and Tracey Dunham go with their cues, I knew they were the ones to build it.

The cue took quite some time to build (three years) and some of you who have met me, have seen the cue. I play with it in all of the tournaments I compete in.

When it was completed at the beginning of 2007, I decided to have a professional photographer take pictures of it, along with the matching case that Jack Justis built.

To say that I'm happy with the cue and case is an understatement and I thank both Jack, Mike and Tracey for building this memorial of a cue/case.

I thought I would share the pictures of the cue to my world by asking one of the billiard magazines if they would be interested in publishing pictures of it.

I went straight to the managing editor of Billiards Digest and asked him if Billiards Digest would be interested. Mason King, the managing editor said that he and Billiard Digest were VERY INTERESTED in publishing pictures of our cue and that it could easily be worked into their WAND WORKSHOP, which is a part of their magazine where they showcase cues of special proportions. On May 21, 2007, after Mason King reviewed my pictures he emailed me and said that he thought they could definitely find room in the next issue of Billiard Digest to showcase the cue in their WAND WORKSHOP section. Each month that passed, I would either call Mason or send him an email inquiring politely as always, as to the status of the publishing of my cue. Each and every time Mason King responded that they were defintely interested in publishing the POW-MIA CUE that I designed with Mike Bender and Tracey Dunham.

It seemed strange that each month there were no pictures of my POW-MIA cue in the magazine and so I would check in just to make sure they were still interested in publishing pictures of my one of a kind cue. Mason assured me each and every time that they were definitely still interested and once even remarked that their business was really good and that they couldn't squeeze it in at the moment but would do so surely in the very near future, maybe the next issue.

Never once did I show any anger or animosity for the procrastination. Afterall, I am in business and understand that making a profit comes before any philanthropic or civic efforts can be made by any business who cares about remaining in business.

Even as recent as the end of 2007, actually December 27, 2007, I received an email from Mason assuring me that there was a very good chance that it would make the next month's issue in the WING SHOT/WAND WORKSHOP. That would have been February's issue..

Each month I would keep my fingers crossed hoping for the best, when lo and behold in March's issue there it is, the POW-MIA cue, just not my cue. It was someone else's POW-MIA cue.

It shocked me to see that Billiards Digest had slipped in someone else's POW-MIA cue in place of mine and I called to ask them to destroy all of my high resolution photos.

I am glad that our soliders got some of the recognition for the sacrifices that they all make and hope that the POW's and MIA's will never be forgotten.

It is unfortunate that after all of the assurances I received that the managing editor chose to change his mind without even telling me.

If Mason had been honest with me and told me that they weren't interested, I could easily have asked another billiard magazine if they would like to publish pictures of the cue.

Since I heard only assurances that my POW-MIA pool cue would be published in Billiard Digest, I could not in good conscience ask another pool magazine if they would be interested in publishing the pictures regardless of the delay.

I think Billiards Digest and Mason King did a deep injustice to me, Mike Bender and Tracey Dunham.

I cannot fathom how I could ever renew my subscription to their magazine.

It bothers me greatly when people do not keep their word to me. I make every effort to keep my word. If circumstances change that prevent me from keeping a committment I will make every effort to at least inform those affected as to what those changes are and why.

The way that Mason King & Billiards Digest have deceived me, disgusts me and makes me very angry.

JoeyA
Click to expand...

For quite a few yrs now I've been dealing directly with mfg of billiard tables here in the states and all I've gotten are zero responses of any type or most often broken promises. The billiard industry IMHO from my persepective is in a knee jerk reaction mode. They let it go in one ear and out the other or they patronize you just to put you off. They are almost like kids that have been raised improperly and now as adults are unable to act any other way. Not all of em by any means, but seemingly the larger companies, the ones that can actually make/create change.
 
They made a mistake. They apologized for it. Shit happens lol. Billiards digest is by far the best magazine on pool. I got my first issue of inside pool this year and realized how lucky we are to have such a top notch publication like billiards digest after it took me less then 5 minutes to go through that waste a paper. In 25 years of managing people I've learned there is always two sides of every story and this is no different. There was no malicious attempt to not show your cue or to lie to you but that's the way you make it sound in your original post. I'm always happy to see things that honor our veterans but honestly with your poor me attitude that I read through out this thread I'm kind of glad they went with another cue.
 
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