One evening, Keith McCready and Jimmy Reid were hanging out in this pool bar somewhere in the deep South. It was during the time when action was prevalent, and Keith, of course, was busy as a beaver, grinding it out on the bar boxes. On the road, the two of them made a good team.
Keith always looked up to Jimmy like a mentor or big brother. Keith's family scrammed, each going their own way after his mom passed away from breast cancer. The pool room became Keith's home. He was literally on his own as a teenager and learned how to survive. Jimmy Reid took him under his wing and showed him the ropes. He was just like family. :smiling-heart:
Jimmy was, and still is, a very handsome man. When he was younger, they used to call him "Hippie Jimmy" because of his long hair, and apparently, from what I have been told, he was quite the lady's man -- eye candy, I guess, some would say. :smilewinkgrin:
When Keith was in his early twenties, he got involved in this high-stakes match deep in the South at a local watering hole. Jimmy and him were partners on the money, so, of course, Jimmy had a keen interest to sweat the match from afar at the bar located in the back of the joint.
Up walks this beautiful lady who plops herself right next to Jimmy. Though his eyes were glued to Keith's table, she did command a second look. All of a sudden, she asks Jimmy if she can buy him a drink. What a paradise this pool joint turned into for Jimmy: beautiful women, fine spirits, good cheer, and action. He was now in heaven. :thumbup:
Jimmy was halfway through his drink, chatting with this fox, when a big biker-looking fellow approaches him and asks, "What are you doing with my old lady?" Jimmy didn't recognize the anger in this biker's eyes, and before he could respond, the biker takes one of those thick, old-fashioned glass beer mugs and slams Jimmy Reid on the side of his face as hard as he could. :sorry:
Well, Keith immediately stops shooting pool and walks over to the bar where all of this was happening. Blood was spouting out of Jimmy's face like a faucet. I'm not sure what Keith, weighing in at about 130 pounds at that time, would have done, but he still came over by Jimmy's side and prepared for the worst. :angry:
Keith said he will NEVER forget what Jimmy did next. After this guy cold-cocked Jimmy with the beer mug, instead of running for cover, Jimmy jumped up and took a stance like a professional boxer. Keith said Jimmy had fire coming out of his eyes. Without hesitation, he threw out a right hook on the biker guy's head and knocked him out cold -- with one punch. When he hit the floor, there was a loud thump. Everybody stood still, frozen in fear for what would happen next. It was the proverbial pregnant pause.
Jimmy then instructed Keith to go back and finish up his game while he resumed his seat at the bar, as if nothing happened. He just wiped the blood from his face. Nobody said a word to him. Keith was kind of rattled, but he didn't let it stop him from getting the cheese.
The two of them have remained good friends ever since.
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