The Geezer Thread

[jrhendy]

Yep, Neal fancied himself a fair one handed player. Wouldn't play jacked up though, only off the rail.

We made a pretty good score down in Texas with him playing one handed. It was fairly tough, he took it off though. Took about two weeks though.

He is/was one of a kind.

I can't remember the guys name Neal got in a scuffle with when we were there. Frank would know. He had big arms & was obviously a weightlifter & had Neal in a headlock & was afraid to let go cause Neal would have probably kicked his ass. I think Frank finally got in the middle of it and had a hard time keeping Neal from going after him. There was a bar right next door to the pool room that had some ladies? that would make San Francisco proud. John

 

[gulfportdoc]

I might could get there................

Avmaster, in which part of the South were you born? Using the expression "might could" may put you from Miss. or Ala. Speaking of the South: some unreconstructed citizens of Dixie might find the Lincoln quote a wee bit ironic...

Doc

 

[alstl]

This is a thread for those of us who came of age during the '60s and before. I'll be celebrating the big six-oh this summer, and learning to live with life's nagging problems comes with getting older.

Playing pool presents difficulties for me because of arthritic hands that did lots of manual labor during my youth. Now, a few minutes before playing, I rub an analgensic cream(Asprecream is a brand, I blv).

The cream quiets the pain and makes forming a bridge more comforable. I do the same thing for my other passion -- fly fishing. Tying knots with wispy line and tiny flies is very tough on old hands.

Also, I've become acutely aware of footgear while playing pool. I don't even fool around at the table without first donning my Keens. Most comfortable shoes going, at least for me.

OK, fellow geezers. Admit who you are, and how you're coping.

I'm a couple years behind you. In my younger days I was a competitive distance runner. Now I SLOWLY jog around the park for about 5 miles a day and I hit the gym to lift weights a few times a month. Like you, I pay close attention to my shoes for shooting pool.

 

[ironman]

I can't remember the guys name Neal got in a scuffle with when we were there. Frank would know. He had big arms & was obviously a weightlifter & had Neal in a headlock & was afraid to let go cause Neal would have probably kicked his ass. I think Frank finally got in the middle of it and had a hard time keeping Neal from going after him. There was a bar right next door to the pool room that had some ladies? that would make San Francisco proud. John

I know exactly who you are talking about. Danny Sheas. Trust me, Neal ain't gonna hurt nobody. He looks rough, but, afraid of his shadow.

 

[Island Drive]

I know exactly who you are talking about. Danny Sheas. Trust me, Neal ain't gonna hurt nobody. He looks rough, but, afraid of his shadow.

He's got a huge shadow........

 

[FastMikie]

Count me in... I'll be 66 in a couple of months. How did that happen so fast?

The best thing I have learned about dealing with aches and pains is YOGA.
In its most basic form it's really only stretching, and breathing.
It's easy, can be done almost anywhere, needs no machines, etc.
The quiet and meditative state you achieve helps with focus when you need it most.

I've had a bad back for almost 40 years, (surgery, laminectomy),
but yoga has reversed almost all the problems.

Good comfortable shoes are essential for marathon tournaments.
I've found the best are Mephisto.

After the first long day of a tournament, I take Advil before sleeping,
and wake up without pain.
During a tournament, doing some basic yoga stretches helps a lot.

Party on, geezers!

 

[9BallPaul]

Who, us?

Party on, geezers!

Sorry, way past my bedtime. These days I party in the morning.

 

[SJDinPHX]

Count me in for sure !

I think you shrunk an inch.
Hey, what did you expect him to do? Just keep getting robbed by you every day. He saw that you were the better player and was man enough not to ask for a spot. Bottom line Meacher, YOU PLAY TOO GOOD!

It would be fun to get the best players on AZ together for an All Around party and tourney some day. We've got some good ones on here. If we have a Bank Pool Division, I might be able to win a match.

Maybe we'll all meet in Colorado, that's kind of central. Do you have some good tables there? The AZ Shootout! How's that sound. We could all pay like $100 for each division, with no added money. So we are basically playing for our entry fees only. We might get 16-32 players in each division. I think it should be an annual get together. I'll direct this one for free (and play). No complaints now! Maybe Mike (Azbilliards)will help out'
how about it Mike ? {Quote=


My daughter lives in Northglenn (free room and board for me and the missus) which will allow me to slough off more money in the tournament,
and making bad games. I might even play 14.1 (ugh) or banks, (barf.)
just to be a good sport. Lets get it on. Frank Burgess would probably
welcome it (and play) at one of his rooms.

Dick

PS. Minimum age limit ? 50? 55? 73? pick one!

 

[Ltldebbie]

No way.....

I wish you would explain to me what the hell free sex is. I've never heard of it and not sure I would trust it.

Are you kidding? Don't you remember free love? It was at Haight & Ashbury. and lots of other places too.

You didn't have to participate if you didn't want to. At least that's what I remember. Being a young mother at the time kept me out of a lot of trouble.

Excuse the jump in on another topic but I was catching up on the thread and couldn't resist.

 

[SJDinPHX]

Right on Debbie !!!

Are you kidding? Don't you remember free love? It was at Haight & Ashbury. and lots of other places too.

You didn't have to participate if you didn't want to. At least that's what I remember. Being a young mother at the time kept me out of a lot of trouble.

Excuse the jump in on another topic but I was catching up on the thread and couldn't resist.

There was no greater place for, raging hormones, than the San Francisco Bay area in the 60's and 70's. It also wasn't a bad time to be a pool player either. Check out Grady Matthew's thread "Cochran's" on onepocket.org (don't know how to find a link for you)

Dick

 

[ironman]

Are you kidding? Don't you remember free love? It was at Haight & Ashbury. and lots of other places too.

You didn't have to participate if you didn't want to. At least that's what I remember. Being a young mother at the time kept me out of a lot of trouble.

Excuse the jump in on another topic but I was catching up on the thread and couldn't resist.

Well, I remember a bit of it. At that time I aspired to be a great pool player and parked myself at a pool hall called The Family Fun Ceneter on 38th & Sheridan in Whaeat Ridge Colorado.

My life was so screwed up at that time that I was playing cab driver for a fat-ass named Martin {Omaha Fats} Kaman. Now that is loyalty to pool.

 

[9BallPaul]

Oh no ... Not Fat Marty!

Geez, Ironman ... I once shuttled Marty around in old Volkswagen. Talk about a tight squeeze. He used to own a black Caddy convertible, and his driver was a toothless guy named Okie. Marty was one of pool's great characters, although you didn't want to share a meal with him.

Last time I saw him was at the Fun Center. He was definitely a geezer by then, and told me that he'd had a stroke recently. He didn't look right and I heard he died not long after that. Back in the 80s, I believe.

Saw Marty's picture among some old pix of the Johnston City tourney.

 

[jay helfert]

Are you kidding? Don't you remember free love? It was at Haight & Ashbury. and lots of other places too.

You didn't have to participate if you didn't want to. At least that's what I remember. Being a young mother at the time kept me out of a lot of trouble.

Excuse the jump in on another topic but I was catching up on the thread and couldn't resist.

I went up that way for a month or two in the late 60's. But I was a "sick" pool player. I hung out at Kips in Berkeley for a while. Got to watch the Peoples Park riot from my hotel room window overlooking the park (true story). Went to Kips later and we got gassed in the entranceway to the poolroom.

I took off to the friendly confines of the city and stayed around Cochrans and the Palace (?) for a couple of weeks. I had seen Denny destroy the ring game in L.A. and we became friendly on this trip. He handled the cue ball like a virtuoso musician. Denny was an ARTIST!

 

[Island Drive]

There was no greater place for, raging hormones, than the San Francisco Bay area in the 60's and 70's. It also wasn't a bad time to be a pool player either. Check out Grady Matthew's thread "Cochran's" on onepocket.org (don't know how to find a link for you)

Dick

I lived/played there winter of 71, at Laguna off off of Van Ness, just got out of college, what a great time, I forgot the guys name, he played great on an 8' bar box with the big ball at a place called Union Stop????, as every corner it had a bus stop there. A guy named Ronnie Barber??, he also hung around Colorado in the 70's, little short guy played great on the big box, it was a brutal tight FAST table. I played at Cochrans and forgot the name of the other joint within a block or two, one had all glass walls, the other you had to go through a security door into a LARGE ROOM, I remember the old guys used to sit by the exhaust fan and smoke pot during business hours. There was also a 24 restaurant on Market, this was just before they started doing construction on the BART, it was a gay Dennys type 24 hr joint, and when you went in late night after pool, you felt (looking back) that you were in the 1st episode, Star Wars bar scene, getups galore and what sticks out as much "the menu", it was all sexual/gay/perverted descriptions of your typical hamburger/hot dog food fare. Dated my first Witch, she lived on Van Ness close to Henry Africas, I worked there for short stint, great city, loved Sausalito back then too, lots of action, ran into Searcy and Daulton during my stay.

 

[jay helfert]

I lived/played there winter of 71, at Laguna off off of Van Ness, just got out of college, what a great time, I forgot the guys name, he played great on an 8' bar box with the big ball at a place called Union Stop????, as every corner it had a bus stop there. A guy named Ronnie Barber??, he also hung around Colorado in the 70's, little short guy played great on the big box, it was a brutal tight FAST table. I played at Cochrans and forgot the name of the other joint within a block or two, one had all glass walls, the other you had to go through a security door into a LARGE ROOM, I remember the old guys used to sit by the exhaust fan and smoke pot during business hours. There was also a 24 restaurant on Market, this was just before they started doing construction on the BART, it was a gay Dennys type 24 hr joint, and when you went in late night after pool, you felt (looking back) that you were in the 1st episode, Star Wars bar scene, getups galore and what sticks out as much "the menu", it was all sexual/gay/perverted descriptions of your typical hamburger/hot dog food fare. Dated my first Witch, she lived on Van Ness close to Henry Africas, I worked there for short stint, great city, loved Sausalito back then too, lots of action, ran into Searcy and Daulton during my stay.

Two guys that I played and distinctly remember were Ronnie Barber and Joe Smiley. Ronnie was about my height. Of course, everyone is short compared to you.

I also met "Frisco" Dave Piona for the first time in that poolroom in Sausalito. He had a huge "Afro" hair-do back then. We played all day and night and broke even (for $5 a game). We were friends ever since. God, did I love that man!

 

[ironman]

I lived/played there winter of 71, at Laguna off off of Van Ness, just got out of college, what a great time, I forgot the guys name, he played great on an 8' bar box with the big ball at a place called Union Stop????, as every corner it had a bus stop there. A guy named Ronnie Barber??, he also hung around Colorado in the 70's, little short guy played great on the big box, it was a brutal tight FAST table. I played at Cochrans and forgot the name of the other joint within a block or two, one had all glass walls, the other you had to go through a security door into a LARGE ROOM, I remember the old guys used to sit by the exhaust fan and smoke pot during business hours. There was also a 24 restaurant on Market, this was just before they started doing construction on the BART, it was a gay Dennys type 24 hr joint, and when you went in late night after pool, you felt (looking back) that you were in the 1st episode, Star Wars bar scene, getups galore and what sticks out as much "the menu", it was all sexual/gay/perverted descriptions of your typical hamburger/hot dog food fare. Dated my first Witch, she lived on Van Ness close to Henry Africas, I worked there for short stint, great city, loved Sausalito back then too, lots of action, ran into Searcy and Daulton during my stay.

Bill, who was the little short guy, real cocky that hung around Denver back in the 70's/ He played real good on that 4 x 8 bar table at Jays, where they had that good ring game every Wednesday night. Was this the same guy? Seems like he was from Mississippi .

Anyway, he played really good with that big ball, but if you got him to the 9 footer, it was a matter of time and he would blow up.

Joey Torman brought him into Celebrity Lanes in the late hours and put him on Charlie Anderson who at the time was an up and comer. Charlie was just drilling Ronnie and it was getting worse and worse as time went. Everybody thought Ronnie had way the best of it and I was taking lots of side action. Finally Charlie missed a 9 ball and left it darn near hanging. Ronnie strutted around like Banty Rooster and fired the ball right OUT of the pocket. Nobody could believe it and you know, I started laughing my ass off.

Ronnie really took the heat and fired the cue ball right through one of those big galss windows overlooking that big Olympic sized swimming pool and got carted off to jail.

Jjoey came back and starte borrowing money to Ronniew out and we all pitched in. Nobody saw Ronnie or Joey for several days and fiannaly Ronnie resurfaced andsaid he spent 3 days in jail and can't find Joey anywhere. Who would have thought that?

Anyway just curious if it could have been the same Ronnnie

 

[Island Drive]

Probably, I think his hair was thinning even back then, and he possibly was in the army I heard.

 

[berlowmj]

knee replcaement

while im only 41 my right knee has a completely blown out ACL and all kinds of movement and instability. My right shoulder's rotator cuff is almost completely torn. The ortho doc told me my right knee is hopeless (due to 2 prior knee surgeries and arthritis) and that full knee replacement is my only surgical recourse. He told me i have the knee and shoulder of a very old man.

So i guess I qualify as an old geezer, or parts of me do anyways.

I know one thing, i use to play alot better when I wasnt trying to fade pain every time i get down on the ball.

Hold off on the knee replacement as long as possible, because the technological improvements related to this surgery are being made rapidly.

 

[gulfportdoc]

I lived/played there winter of 71, at Laguna off off of Van Ness...

I loved that town in the late 1960's. Lived in L.A. at the time, but I played with a band called The Mothers, who played many concerts at the old Filmore owned by Bill Graham. We used to stay at a semi-seedy old place called the Van Green Apartments, which surprisingly was on the corner of Van Ness and Green Streets.

In fact we played there the weekend Bobby Kennedy had been killed at the Ambassador Hotel in L.A. Everyone was awful shook up, so they just wanted to boogie. The bill was The Mothers Of Invention, B.B. King, and Booker T. & the MGs. But the crowd was more into blues that night...

There was a great feeling of liberty then, which sadly has long ago left California.

Doc

 

[9BallPaul]

An old thread revisited

Decided to dig up this old thread, re-read the many excellent responses. It's now nearly three years later and somehow or other, I'm still kicking, and still playing daily on my home table. It's rare these days that I venture to the pool hall, because summer also means trout fishing and bicycling.

Plan to get back to the pool hall (Hank's in Denver) when the cold blows in.

In the past year I splurged (for me) on a McDermott G-core cue, and I'm convinced that it's slightly raised me game. So all is well,, except I'm older and weaker.

What about you other geezers?