Fellow AZ member poolhustler (Russ) came by to visit me yesterday, ostensibly to check out my Kent Davis cue and pick up a few DVD's. He lives on the other side of the greater Los Angeles area from me in Tujunga. It's about 25 miles and a world away. His home was very close to the recent fires that swept through the area on the northern side of Los Angeles. They are still raging now, but have abated somewhat. Russ had to evacuate his home and leave it to the firemen and grace of God to survive. Thankfully the area he lives in made it through. Homes near his were lost to flames, leveled to the ground.
All that aside we had a great visit that stretched well into the evening. We compared cues (he had a nice new Bryan Mordt) and chatted about AZ and such. We hit it off real good and talked about everything under the Sun. Like me he is a collector of cues and may have one of the biggest collection of Bert Schrager's, who is now retired.
We started to play pool several times but always got interrupted by the conversation. We actually had one game of 9-Ball going for a couple of hours. Yes, we play that bad! After a few hours we ordered Papa Johns pizza (excellent pizza!) and sat out on my patio, pigged out and continued our conversation. We talked about everything!
When our food had digested a while, we headed back inside and once again hit the pool table. Now Russ said, "How about some One Pocket?" Sure, why not. He knew I needed the practice before heading to Galveston next week. He racked 'em up and I broke. I won the first game easily, and Russ seemed stymied as to what to do and I tried to help him by suggesting some shots he could shoot. All the while, he was telling me that he has only played maybe ten games of One Pocket and knows little about it.
The second game he broke and it was like a different person took over his body. All of a sudden he knew all the moves and hit every shot with good speed and accuracy. I told him he was a fast learner. :wink: Now a situation comes up where he has a long rail bank, and he looks at me and says, "You're a good banker, aren't you?" Well yeah, I think so. Now you have to know that this is a double tough Diamond table with tight pockets and deep shelves. Russ steps up there and banks the ball in the heart of the pocket. "Nice shot" is all I could muster.
He proceeded to kick my ass that game, making two more swishes on long bank shots. It was now 1-1 and about 9:30 at night. I told him we could play the rubber game another time. Believe me he was ready for more. I was ready to hit the rack after that thumping he put on me. We said our good byes and Russ hopped on his horse (a monster truck - Chevy Tahoe I think) and headed off into the sunset (it was already dark but I just like that line).
Oh by the way, Russ had some magic chalk that only he could use. He said it was banking chalk. Sure enough he let me use it once and I banked a ball right in. After that he kept it far away from me. Thanks Russ for the great visit. Come by anytime - but no more One Pocket with you Hustler!
All that aside we had a great visit that stretched well into the evening. We compared cues (he had a nice new Bryan Mordt) and chatted about AZ and such. We hit it off real good and talked about everything under the Sun. Like me he is a collector of cues and may have one of the biggest collection of Bert Schrager's, who is now retired.
We started to play pool several times but always got interrupted by the conversation. We actually had one game of 9-Ball going for a couple of hours. Yes, we play that bad! After a few hours we ordered Papa Johns pizza (excellent pizza!) and sat out on my patio, pigged out and continued our conversation. We talked about everything!
When our food had digested a while, we headed back inside and once again hit the pool table. Now Russ said, "How about some One Pocket?" Sure, why not. He knew I needed the practice before heading to Galveston next week. He racked 'em up and I broke. I won the first game easily, and Russ seemed stymied as to what to do and I tried to help him by suggesting some shots he could shoot. All the while, he was telling me that he has only played maybe ten games of One Pocket and knows little about it.
The second game he broke and it was like a different person took over his body. All of a sudden he knew all the moves and hit every shot with good speed and accuracy. I told him he was a fast learner. :wink: Now a situation comes up where he has a long rail bank, and he looks at me and says, "You're a good banker, aren't you?" Well yeah, I think so. Now you have to know that this is a double tough Diamond table with tight pockets and deep shelves. Russ steps up there and banks the ball in the heart of the pocket. "Nice shot" is all I could muster.
He proceeded to kick my ass that game, making two more swishes on long bank shots. It was now 1-1 and about 9:30 at night. I told him we could play the rubber game another time. Believe me he was ready for more. I was ready to hit the rack after that thumping he put on me. We said our good byes and Russ hopped on his horse (a monster truck - Chevy Tahoe I think) and headed off into the sunset (it was already dark but I just like that line).
Oh by the way, Russ had some magic chalk that only he could use. He said it was banking chalk. Sure enough he let me use it once and I banked a ball right in. After that he kept it far away from me. Thanks Russ for the great visit. Come by anytime - but no more One Pocket with you Hustler!
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