Jeanette Lee, arguably the world's most recognizable pool player, often refers to herself by her nickname, the Black Widow.
"It's not the human side of me people are interested in," she said. "What they really want is the Black Widow, a superwoman coming in and destroying everyone in a cool way. I love being her, but I don't consider it to be all of me."
Lee, 37, gets a rare opportunity this weekend to show her multiple sides. Instead of traveling the globe to demonstrate the talent that has made her one of the sport's top players, she will be home for a fundraiser to benefit her church and community.
A Korean-American born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Lee will display her considerable skills in an exhibition tonight at Grace Church, located on State Road 67 in Mooresville, an event that also benefits the Morgan County Boys & Girls Club.
Lee, who has lived in Mooresville for six years, is excited about working the Black Widow's pool magic on the same stage where her minister, Jim Taylor, leads worship on Sundays. It is Lee's desire that people interested in the sport might find a spiritual connection.
"I'm just another sinner, just another Christian," she said. "What we're doing here is taking this fantastic identity that I have and helping promote what we do at Grace Church."
Taylor admits church leadership "had to warm to (Lee's) idea" of using pool in this form.
"I'm sure my parents' generation would have thought differently of it," he said. "It's a unique situation, but it's not uncommon for a carpenter to work with the church, for business people to use their business skills here or for teachers to help in classes. Giving of those talents is acceptable and common."
Lee keeps a frenetic travel schedule -- she plays competitively, gives exhibitions and is working to open a string of billiard centers -- but she clearly is invested at home.
Her husband, billiards ace George "The Flamethrower" Breedlove, owns and operates Midwest Outdoor Products in Camby. Their son, John, is a junior at Mooresville High School.
Lee's other passion is education. Her 4-year-old daughter, Cheyenne, is her latest pupil.
Before billiards became a money-making endeavor, Lee was on a path to becoming a teacher. She spent two years in college studying early childhood development and elementary education.
"When I'm home I leave notes on the fridge so that everyone around Cheyenne knows what we're doing (with her studies)," she said. "This week we're continuing to count by fives."
Lee's list of educational objectives for Cheyenne this week include: Using vocabulary words in sentences, reading more, honing hand-eye skills by cutting out pictures of dolls and hopping on one foot to improve dexterity.
Being a mother, a wife, a teacher, a competitor, a performer, an entrepreneur and "an ambitious workaholic" requires endless energy. For Lee, it also has meant struggling with physical ailments, including scoliosis, a painful curvature of the spine she developed at age 13.
Her busy schedule this week began with a national billiards event in Hollywood, Fla. She returned home briefly, traveled to Nashville for business meetings and Alabama for a sponsor appearance.
Even today is hectic, beginning with John's school wrestling meet at Jennings County. Lee and the children leave for Korea on Sunday morning.
It's all part of the game, she said.
"When you bring the Black Widow in to do incredible trick shots and beat everyone's husband, it's a very cool thing," she said. "We have a good time with that. If I can use that interest to bring people into areas that I believe in, all the better."
Article: http://www.indystar.com/article/20081122/SPORTS/811220439
I was hoping this article would appear in the pool media, but it hadn't as
of the time of this writing. So I decided to initiate a thread about it. :wink:
George Breedlove is called "The Flamethrower"? LOL :grin-square:
This is a very nice thing that Jeanette Lee is doing. Bravo to her!
"It's not the human side of me people are interested in," she said. "What they really want is the Black Widow, a superwoman coming in and destroying everyone in a cool way. I love being her, but I don't consider it to be all of me."
Lee, 37, gets a rare opportunity this weekend to show her multiple sides. Instead of traveling the globe to demonstrate the talent that has made her one of the sport's top players, she will be home for a fundraiser to benefit her church and community.
A Korean-American born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Lee will display her considerable skills in an exhibition tonight at Grace Church, located on State Road 67 in Mooresville, an event that also benefits the Morgan County Boys & Girls Club.
Lee, who has lived in Mooresville for six years, is excited about working the Black Widow's pool magic on the same stage where her minister, Jim Taylor, leads worship on Sundays. It is Lee's desire that people interested in the sport might find a spiritual connection.
"I'm just another sinner, just another Christian," she said. "What we're doing here is taking this fantastic identity that I have and helping promote what we do at Grace Church."
Taylor admits church leadership "had to warm to (Lee's) idea" of using pool in this form.
"I'm sure my parents' generation would have thought differently of it," he said. "It's a unique situation, but it's not uncommon for a carpenter to work with the church, for business people to use their business skills here or for teachers to help in classes. Giving of those talents is acceptable and common."
Lee keeps a frenetic travel schedule -- she plays competitively, gives exhibitions and is working to open a string of billiard centers -- but she clearly is invested at home.
Her husband, billiards ace George "The Flamethrower" Breedlove, owns and operates Midwest Outdoor Products in Camby. Their son, John, is a junior at Mooresville High School.
Lee's other passion is education. Her 4-year-old daughter, Cheyenne, is her latest pupil.
Before billiards became a money-making endeavor, Lee was on a path to becoming a teacher. She spent two years in college studying early childhood development and elementary education.
"When I'm home I leave notes on the fridge so that everyone around Cheyenne knows what we're doing (with her studies)," she said. "This week we're continuing to count by fives."
Lee's list of educational objectives for Cheyenne this week include: Using vocabulary words in sentences, reading more, honing hand-eye skills by cutting out pictures of dolls and hopping on one foot to improve dexterity.
Being a mother, a wife, a teacher, a competitor, a performer, an entrepreneur and "an ambitious workaholic" requires endless energy. For Lee, it also has meant struggling with physical ailments, including scoliosis, a painful curvature of the spine she developed at age 13.
Her busy schedule this week began with a national billiards event in Hollywood, Fla. She returned home briefly, traveled to Nashville for business meetings and Alabama for a sponsor appearance.
Even today is hectic, beginning with John's school wrestling meet at Jennings County. Lee and the children leave for Korea on Sunday morning.
It's all part of the game, she said.
"When you bring the Black Widow in to do incredible trick shots and beat everyone's husband, it's a very cool thing," she said. "We have a good time with that. If I can use that interest to bring people into areas that I believe in, all the better."
Article: http://www.indystar.com/article/20081122/SPORTS/811220439
I was hoping this article would appear in the pool media, but it hadn't as
of the time of this writing. So I decided to initiate a thread about it. :wink:
George Breedlove is called "The Flamethrower"? LOL :grin-square:
This is a very nice thing that Jeanette Lee is doing. Bravo to her!
