I love it! It doesn't matter if I play good every single time I play because playing is my escape from reality. When I play, I play to get away from everything around me. I, like many others around this game, have been through some tough times in my life. But when I get on a table, I'm able to forget about everything that's happening and I can do what I enjoy most in life. Is that crazy? To some, it may be, but to others, it's a way of life. When I fell in love with this game it didn't matter how much money I had in my pocket, I just wanted to play. I put my hours in on the table and I got better every day and that feeling was worth more than anything in this world. I thought I could be the best in the world some day and I didn't care about what anyone had to say that might distract me from feeling that way. I've used this game in many ways to get things I've wanted, money, women, friends, food, a place to stay, to get my car fixed, alcohol, drugs, and it's always come through for me. But now, this game can't help me. No matter what I do, the inevitable is going to happen. I'm going to lose my left leg because of a freak accident. Sure, I walk around like it doesn't bother me but I know that it's only a matter of time before it's gone. I look at it and I remember how it used to look before the accident and I can't believe that this is happening to me. Worse has happened to others, I know that. And I know it could be even worse for me, but still, it's my leg. I'm going to wake up in the very near future in the hospital and my leg is going to be gone. Self pity is what I'm going through right now, I realize that, but I feel as though I deserve to be able to feel that way. I don't want others to feel sorry for me at all, that's not why I'm writing this. I've got plenty of friends and family telling me that this is not the end of the world for me and I know that already. I just want some answers to questions that I can't even ask. Sound strange? Well, it should. D.V.T. is what I have and the doctors tell me that theres nothing they can do about it. I can't accept that no matter what anyone tells me. It's my damn leg for christsakes! Cut the damn thing off and save my life? Why can't they, the doctors, just go in and cut the damn thing out? I need a doctor, an aggresive doctor, that will just cut me open and try whatever he thinks might help. What do I have to lose? My leg? So, it's gone already, right? I just can't believe that they expect me to accept this without trying something that may save my leg. I'd rather die trying to save my leg than wake up with it gone, knowing that I didn't even try to save it. What does this have to do with playing pool? Well, it has everything to do with playing pool because I have heart and I'm a fighter because of pool. Sure, I can still play pool without a leg, but what if it was my left arm? Or my left eye? Or my whole left side? Nah, I ain't going out like that, I'm going to the hill with this leg I've got and if that's not the right choice when all is said and done and I'm 6 feet under, then at least I'll be there with my damn leg! Peace to everyone, thanks for letting me vent! John W. Morton.
I play pool because..........
- Thread starter Rude Dog
- Start date
John, I agree that playing pool is one of those activities that provides a natural high. I remember the first time I ran a rack of balls, and there is no better feeling in the world if you're a pool fanatic like me.
Reading through your post, my heart goes out to you in your time of suffering. In my line of work, I run across a lot of FDA, NIH, and medical transcripts, and I am amazed at what is available out there, just a phone call away.
A good friend of mine came down with a fatal disease and was devastated by the prognosis the doctor gave him. I live 5 minutes from NIH (National Institutes of Health) in Bethesda, Maryland, and so did this fellow. He managed to get himself in a clinical trial of his disease and is now much better. He continues to be monitored (FREE, by the way) by NIH and has access to the latest and the best pertaining to his condition.
Check out this link, John, and see if there is any resource available that you may not have checked out: Link for Rude Dog to check out
One of the best weapons one must possess when faced with a medical malady is the power of positive thinking. I have experienced this firsthand and have seen miracles happen. I hope you find some help in one of the links above. I've got a friend who is an SES-er and is a big-wig at NIH. He's also a pool nut from North Carolina, used to back Steve Gumphrey years ago. I'm going to contact him and see if he can come up with the latest info about DVT and maybe what could be available to you. Hang in there, John! Keith and I will both pray for you and yours, and that you will seek and find the right medical assistance, one which is SATISFACTORY to you!
JAM
Reading through your post, my heart goes out to you in your time of suffering. In my line of work, I run across a lot of FDA, NIH, and medical transcripts, and I am amazed at what is available out there, just a phone call away.
A good friend of mine came down with a fatal disease and was devastated by the prognosis the doctor gave him. I live 5 minutes from NIH (National Institutes of Health) in Bethesda, Maryland, and so did this fellow. He managed to get himself in a clinical trial of his disease and is now much better. He continues to be monitored (FREE, by the way) by NIH and has access to the latest and the best pertaining to his condition.
Check out this link, John, and see if there is any resource available that you may not have checked out: Link for Rude Dog to check out
One of the best weapons one must possess when faced with a medical malady is the power of positive thinking. I have experienced this firsthand and have seen miracles happen. I hope you find some help in one of the links above. I've got a friend who is an SES-er and is a big-wig at NIH. He's also a pool nut from North Carolina, used to back Steve Gumphrey years ago. I'm going to contact him and see if he can come up with the latest info about DVT and maybe what could be available to you. Hang in there, John! Keith and I will both pray for you and yours, and that you will seek and find the right medical assistance, one which is SATISFACTORY to you!
JAM
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John, were similar in more ways than I want to admit or than you could imagine. I've never had DVT nor do I know anything about it, I did almost lose my leg but thanks to mega advances in medical technology I still have my busted up leg today. Get more opinions until you find a Dr that will help you the way you want. I also shoot pool to get away from the reality and bullshit life can throw our way. Praying for ya man.
hi , john sorry to hear about your leg. i was just looking around on the web about your condition and did a google search on D.V.T cure and looked at a few things. you probaly have done this but if not i would look at every one and call them for a second or a one hundreth opinion .. good luck your friend markRude Dog said:
Thank you very much JAM, I need all the help I can get. I looked through those links you provided for me and I must say they have a lot of information but I run into dead ends when I'm looking for a miracleJAM said:
I hope you can contact this friend of yours and maybe get me going in the right direction. I'll pm you with my phone number just in case. Thanks again, John.dkingofnmkt
Registered
I play pool because......
Rude Dog , you're going to the hill and my money is on you . keep digging i am sure there is help out there as JAM is suggesting.John,i don't know you from adam but i do enjoy your posts,you sound like a real down to earth type guy.i am glad you vented your frustrations, its healthy and i am shure only good can come from it. this forum is very tight and i'm shure everybody here is pulling for you. keep pluging away and god bless.
Rude Dog , you're going to the hill and my money is on you . keep digging i am sure there is help out there as JAM is suggesting.John,i don't know you from adam but i do enjoy your posts,you sound like a real down to earth type guy.i am glad you vented your frustrations, its healthy and i am shure only good can come from it. this forum is very tight and i'm shure everybody here is pulling for you. keep pluging away and god bless.
Rude dog,
My thoughts are with you, man. My wife, an RN, read your post and is confused as to why blood thinners aren't working for you. She says she's never known there to be a surgical solution to DVT. Not knowing all the facts, she suggested that you get a second and third opinion if you haven't already. For what's it's worth.
You title to this thread implies the question of why anyone of us plays pool. I think it is very telling that a life and death situation brought about this title.
The flame wars that sometimes erupt here are, in my honest opinion, created because of a misunderstanding of the fact that we each have a unique reason for playing pool and for being here on the board. Your implied question, to me, is the most important question any pool player has to ask of himself and resulted naturally from your life and death situation.
Once one understands that we each have a specific reason and this reason is usually different from others' reasons, arguments based on only one reason to play, disappear.
For example, some say, come over to my place and I'll kick you ass on the table and if you don't you're ____. This argument assumes that everyone plays just to be the best player or to just win or just to make the most money gambling. This motivation to play isn't shared by all. To assume it is is to create irrational, unnecessary tension amongst posters.
Another thread ask, who is the best player? Without integrating each player's reason for playing, this question cannot be answered rationally. Best at what? Pool per se, or pool as part of a happy life?
Mark Tademy (or Tadd?) described dedicating his life to pool excellence as a waste, based on the money in pool today. Does this make him a good player or a chump? It all depends on his reason for playing, doesn't it?
If one has a reason(s) for playing and fails to fulfill those expectations, is he not a bad player, even though, in this case, he can apparently play better pool than anyone here?
The good coming from your situation is that we each can (re)examine our true reasons for playing this wonderful game and hopefully create an environment that lets us each find the happiness that pool can afford us, on one leg or two. With good eyes or bad. By winning or not.
Sincerely,
Jeff Livingston
My thoughts are with you, man. My wife, an RN, read your post and is confused as to why blood thinners aren't working for you. She says she's never known there to be a surgical solution to DVT. Not knowing all the facts, she suggested that you get a second and third opinion if you haven't already. For what's it's worth.
You title to this thread implies the question of why anyone of us plays pool. I think it is very telling that a life and death situation brought about this title.
The flame wars that sometimes erupt here are, in my honest opinion, created because of a misunderstanding of the fact that we each have a unique reason for playing pool and for being here on the board. Your implied question, to me, is the most important question any pool player has to ask of himself and resulted naturally from your life and death situation.
Once one understands that we each have a specific reason and this reason is usually different from others' reasons, arguments based on only one reason to play, disappear.
For example, some say, come over to my place and I'll kick you ass on the table and if you don't you're ____. This argument assumes that everyone plays just to be the best player or to just win or just to make the most money gambling. This motivation to play isn't shared by all. To assume it is is to create irrational, unnecessary tension amongst posters.
Another thread ask, who is the best player? Without integrating each player's reason for playing, this question cannot be answered rationally. Best at what? Pool per se, or pool as part of a happy life?
Mark Tademy (or Tadd?) described dedicating his life to pool excellence as a waste, based on the money in pool today. Does this make him a good player or a chump? It all depends on his reason for playing, doesn't it?
If one has a reason(s) for playing and fails to fulfill those expectations, is he not a bad player, even though, in this case, he can apparently play better pool than anyone here?
The good coming from your situation is that we each can (re)examine our true reasons for playing this wonderful game and hopefully create an environment that lets us each find the happiness that pool can afford us, on one leg or two. With good eyes or bad. By winning or not.
Sincerely,
Jeff Livingston
Mr Rude Dog, your post reminded me of an old friend, and I thank you for that. In the late 70's when I was attending the University of Saskatchewan one of my track and field teammates was a fellow by the name of Arnie Boldt. He was a very good high jumper, and all round great guy. Here is a link to a brief bio - http://www.amputee-online.com/force/boldt.html
I cannot fathom being in your position, and will not try to say 'I understand'. However after spending time with Arnie I can tell you there can be a good life with only one leg. Hang in there John.
And thanks again for your post ... many many good memories of time with my friend Arnie. BTW, he was a significant contributor to our team winning the conference championship. He was all smiles when he hopped up onto the medal podium to collect his award. He beat out most of the two-legged high jumpers !
I cannot fathom being in your position, and will not try to say 'I understand'. However after spending time with Arnie I can tell you there can be a good life with only one leg. Hang in there John.
And thanks again for your post ... many many good memories of time with my friend Arnie. BTW, he was a significant contributor to our team winning the conference championship. He was all smiles when he hopped up onto the medal podium to collect his award. He beat out most of the two-legged high jumpers !
First of all, I hope you do find some alternative to losing you leg. If I were in your situation, I think I'd be saying the same things you are in your post. I can't imagine losing my leg! Good luck and God Bless!!
As to your question about why I play pool? The same answer as yours, I love it!! Plus, I have some talent at it and I love doing things that others can't. Sometimes I stroke the balls so pretty that I amaze myself and it's such a great feeling when that happens! Unfortunately, it doesn't happen all the time and I think that's one of the reasons this game is so addicting, like life itself, you have some incredible highs and unbeleivable lows.
We're all pulling for you John!
As to your question about why I play pool? The same answer as yours, I love it!! Plus, I have some talent at it and I love doing things that others can't. Sometimes I stroke the balls so pretty that I amaze myself and it's such a great feeling when that happens! Unfortunately, it doesn't happen all the time and I think that's one of the reasons this game is so addicting, like life itself, you have some incredible highs and unbeleivable lows.
We're all pulling for you John!
John,
We are very sorry to hear about your leg. I wish there was something I could say or do but I do not have anything that I feel could be of comfort.
Just know that we are part of a group of folks that love the game of pool and are all hoping that you can find a solution other than the loss of your leg.
I will be hoping and praying for you.
Jerry
We are very sorry to hear about your leg. I wish there was something I could say or do but I do not have anything that I feel could be of comfort.
Just know that we are part of a group of folks that love the game of pool and are all hoping that you can find a solution other than the loss of your leg.
I will be hoping and praying for you.
Jerry
All of us on the forum adore you, Rudedog, and l have looked up to you for a long time. I do hope things will work out with your leg, for pool, as you fully realize, is a magical game. I wish something could be done for you medically, and if this boils down to an operation you can't afford, I hope you'll ask us on the forum to help you out. I would most definitely contribute to any fund that was established to support you in getting the medical attention and procedures you require.
Purdman
Banned
Hey Buddy
Sorry to hear about your leg. It looked pretty bad last time I saw you. Ms. P and I are praying for you. I am also looking forward to seeing you again, with both legs. If there is anything I can do for ya, let me know. I also love to play pool. I ain't no world beater, but ya know what, when I break and run out, nobody can beat me that game. I also love the fact that Susan begs me to hang around and play some nine ball before I go to work. Makes me late all the time. That is hard to explain when you don't have to be there til 12 PM. LOL
Your Friend, Purdman
PS: How's the wife doind?
Sorry to hear about your leg. It looked pretty bad last time I saw you. Ms. P and I are praying for you. I am also looking forward to seeing you again, with both legs. If there is anything I can do for ya, let me know. I also love to play pool. I ain't no world beater, but ya know what, when I break and run out, nobody can beat me that game. I also love the fact that Susan begs me to hang around and play some nine ball before I go to work. Makes me late all the time. That is hard to explain when you don't have to be there til 12 PM. LOL
Your Friend, Purdman
PS: How's the wife doind?
RudeDogs_Wife
Registered
My husband would never ask anyone for financial help for anything, no matter what it was. SJM, what you have offered is priceless, in my eyes, and my husband and I both thank you from the bottom of our hearts for even considering it. As some already know on here, I have my own health problems and my sisters husband has offered to pay for everything that needs to be done because John and I have been battling with insurance companies for 3 months now. We don't know what we are going to do about his leg, other than what the doctors tell us, but I know John won't let them take his leg. He has played sports all his life and the thought of not being able to do that anymore has crushed him. He has searched and searched until falling asleep at his desk for anything on the internet that would help his condition and has had no luck. We are going to Vegas next week to see another specialist and his doctor says this is the one. We'll see. Thank you to everyone that has replied, he needs all of the support he can get. (But he sure won't ask for it)sjm said: