My mom divorced my dad when I was a baby, and then moved us from L.A. to Alaska, so my dad never had the opportunity to be present in my life while I was growing up. My mom told me stories of my dad putting food on the table when I was a baby by hustling pool in So Cal, and playing poker (she wanted someone more responsible than a pool player!). By the way, my dad got his pool skills in a common way, by spending his youth working in a snooker room with unlimited free table time of course. Playing on a bar table was like shooting fish in a barrel after mastering snooker tables.
Fast forward to age 19 (1980), when I left Alaska and went back to Cali on my own. I flew to San Fran to visit a friend and bought an old Pontiac for $950. (side note: the car was a 1968 GTO 4-speed, wish I kept it!). Left San Fran saturday night to drive to So Cal to visit my relatives. Got just south of San Jose when the car broke down. Spent that night in the car and I walked to a house sunday morning, asked to use their phone & made a call to information and asked for: “Thomas xxxxx who I think lives in Long Beach?”. The operator said there are 2 listings that fit that description. I said “well, I would like to make a collect call to the first one then”…..
A man answered the phone, and I said very awkwardly “uuummmmm, this is Michael, and I was looking to talk with my father?....” The man on the other end said he was my father! I said “the good news is that I’m trying to visit you, but the bad news is my car is dead and I’m 300 miles away”. I will never forget what he said next: “don’t move I will be there in 5 hours”……..Wow, he doesn’t even know me and he is going to drop everything and rescue me, I was blown away. (side note: now that I have kids I understand)
I went back to my car and waited. It then occurred to me I have no idea what my dad looks like!, and I have no idea what kind of car he drives! For hours I looked in the window of each car as is drove past me…..was that my dad I wondered?
About 5 hours later an old station wagon rolls up with a family of four. They are parking close to me and looking at me. Could this be “the one”?. I soon found out this was my dad and his new young family.
I show him the ball bearings on the ground that fell from my car. He promptly sends his family home in the station wagon, and since its Sunday, he will spent the night in my car with me and we will walk to the auto parts store when it opens Monday morning and he will fix my car! (side note: thank goodness for front bench seats!). Turns out my dad is a mechanic (side note: aren’t all pool players mechanics, or visa versa?). He did everything he said he would do and we drove the GTO to Long Beach together.
At age 19 I’m finally getting to know my dad, and I find out we have a lot in common, such as pool, chess, cards, cars, etc. He pulls out some dusty cue cases from his closet and shows me his cues. I’m too young and stupid to know anything about cues, so I don’t pay much attention to them. He hasn’t played pool in years because he is raising a family, but we decide to go to the local dive bar and start playing some together. He is giving me some good advice about pool, such as not leaving the CB too “straight on” for the shot, and to practice by laying a handkerchief on the table and making the CB land there after each shot, etc. Again, I’m too young and stupid to care about CB “position”, I’m 19! I just want to shoot balls!
A few months later, playing pool with my dad has to end, as I enroll in college and move on with my life. But we have kept our relationship strong since that day we met on the side of the road in San Jose!
Fast forward another 30 years, and my dad comes over to my new house Xmas Eve 2011. I show him my pool table and tell him: “I’m playing a lot lately, I’m finally going to be able to beat you pretty soon”. He just laughs, which means: “no way in hell”. :angry::angry:
I’m now more determined than ever to "up" my game!, partially to beat my dad before he gets too old where it wouldn’t count!, ....secretly I think he would be very proud of me if I did! :thumbup2:
Fast forward to age 19 (1980), when I left Alaska and went back to Cali on my own. I flew to San Fran to visit a friend and bought an old Pontiac for $950. (side note: the car was a 1968 GTO 4-speed, wish I kept it!). Left San Fran saturday night to drive to So Cal to visit my relatives. Got just south of San Jose when the car broke down. Spent that night in the car and I walked to a house sunday morning, asked to use their phone & made a call to information and asked for: “Thomas xxxxx who I think lives in Long Beach?”. The operator said there are 2 listings that fit that description. I said “well, I would like to make a collect call to the first one then”…..
A man answered the phone, and I said very awkwardly “uuummmmm, this is Michael, and I was looking to talk with my father?....” The man on the other end said he was my father! I said “the good news is that I’m trying to visit you, but the bad news is my car is dead and I’m 300 miles away”. I will never forget what he said next: “don’t move I will be there in 5 hours”……..Wow, he doesn’t even know me and he is going to drop everything and rescue me, I was blown away. (side note: now that I have kids I understand)
I went back to my car and waited. It then occurred to me I have no idea what my dad looks like!, and I have no idea what kind of car he drives! For hours I looked in the window of each car as is drove past me…..was that my dad I wondered?
About 5 hours later an old station wagon rolls up with a family of four. They are parking close to me and looking at me. Could this be “the one”?. I soon found out this was my dad and his new young family.
I show him the ball bearings on the ground that fell from my car. He promptly sends his family home in the station wagon, and since its Sunday, he will spent the night in my car with me and we will walk to the auto parts store when it opens Monday morning and he will fix my car! (side note: thank goodness for front bench seats!). Turns out my dad is a mechanic (side note: aren’t all pool players mechanics, or visa versa?). He did everything he said he would do and we drove the GTO to Long Beach together.
At age 19 I’m finally getting to know my dad, and I find out we have a lot in common, such as pool, chess, cards, cars, etc. He pulls out some dusty cue cases from his closet and shows me his cues. I’m too young and stupid to know anything about cues, so I don’t pay much attention to them. He hasn’t played pool in years because he is raising a family, but we decide to go to the local dive bar and start playing some together. He is giving me some good advice about pool, such as not leaving the CB too “straight on” for the shot, and to practice by laying a handkerchief on the table and making the CB land there after each shot, etc. Again, I’m too young and stupid to care about CB “position”, I’m 19! I just want to shoot balls!
A few months later, playing pool with my dad has to end, as I enroll in college and move on with my life. But we have kept our relationship strong since that day we met on the side of the road in San Jose!
Fast forward another 30 years, and my dad comes over to my new house Xmas Eve 2011. I show him my pool table and tell him: “I’m playing a lot lately, I’m finally going to be able to beat you pretty soon”. He just laughs, which means: “no way in hell”. :angry::angry:
I’m now more determined than ever to "up" my game!, partially to beat my dad before he gets too old where it wouldn’t count!, ....secretly I think he would be very proud of me if I did! :thumbup2:
