I spoke with Cliff for a while at Buffalos on Bloomfield. I told him about the time I had an x-ray taken of my lungs because I was a heavy smoker (3 packs of Marlboro Red) for many years. A few days after the x-ray as I was about to leave to do some commentary with Grady Mathews in North Carolina, my doctor called and her first words were, "Hello Joey, this is Dr. XXXXX. ARE YOU IN ANY PAIN RIGHT NOW?" I knew that the big C had come to cause me trouble and hesitated but replied, "No". She then went on to tell me that the needed to get me in to have an MRI done ASAP. I told her I was leaving for a pool tournament gig and wouldn't be back for at least 5 days. The story goes on and on but to cut it short, I spend the next 3 weeks thinking that I had a tumor the size of a grapefruit on my lungs and I was dying. I told Cliff the long story and I won't aggravate you with it but Cliff knew that I knew what he was going through and was overcome emotionally.
Cliff said that a lot of things go through your mind when you are facing the possibility of death or even worse and he is missing the tournament trail and the pool action and is working hard to recover and get back to doing what he loves best.
JoeyA