The old guy that hangs out at the pool hall

cuejoey said:
No it's not a strange topic.it is part of nostalgia in life..as you get older you appreciate more and more things around you..you have reached that point in life..those elders surely have there memories..someday you will be that person and people will be quietly thinking of you that same way..you will be the one full of memories quietly moving about enjoying the world BUT thinking of the GOOD OLE DAYS....Best of luck in life.....sincerly Cj:)
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great response. I think that's got to be a big part of it. One day I'll get there. I hope no one thinks I'm talking bad about these older gentlemen, it's just that I find it interesting there are people like this in most every pool hall.

By the way I am pursuing a PHD in sociology. So things like this pique my curiosity.
 
twilight said:
great response. I think that's got to be a big part of it. One day I'll get there. I hope no one thinks I'm talking bad about these older gentlemen, it's just that I find it interesting there are people like this in most every pool hall.
In NO way can anyone take your post in the bad/wrong way..just the opposite.now that your a little older you are starting to have memories of your life... you RESPECT things in life and have learned to APPRECIATE also..congrats to you sir as too many people in this world will never achieve this in their lifetimes...you are the type of person that has/will earned the RESPECT of everyone you meet...take care..sincerly Cj......
:)
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sorry i cut off your part about you wanting a PHD ..just about anyone can do paper work for a degree but it's people like you that are into opening other aspects of life that will succeed greatly...:)
 
twilight said:
In my many halls I've frequented, I've come to realize that in over half the halls I know, there is that one older gentleman who is almost always there. He doesn't play on his table, but he does talk to the regulars and he asks them to play a quick game. He doesn't have a stick of his own, but plays a decent game. He mostly sits around and talks. He might sit at the bar but he rarely drinks. Most of the time he pulls up a chair near a table and watches. He's different from the regulars because all the regulars are friends of each other. He's just a bit different from them.

How many of you have one of these guys, or someone similar at your hall? Strange topic I know... I was just thinking off into space and this came up.
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If you look a little closer you'll find these people at several places, sometimes they seem to all look alike. I used to notice them a lot at the local poolrooms, the racetracks, and especially the old type bars. Like in the Billy Joel song Piano Man, "there's an old man sitting next to me making love to his tonic an gin".

Like Hollywood, California and the Boulevard of Broken Dreams, many of these people lived interesting lives at one time, or at least had hope, and now live their final years in quiet, failed desperation. Opportunity, hope and youth have already passed them by and they know it, know it well. The future no longer exists. The remainder of their lives are destined to to be lived remembering what was, or what could have been - if. And while they are waiting, sometimes wanting to die, they seek out human contact but not friendship in old, familiar haunts. Welcome them, for they have nowhere else to go.

Be kind to them, respect them, get as close as they will allow, touch them if you can, but try to not become them.

Jigsaw
 
Oh for Pete's sake. We're just guys!

Guys that have lived a few more days than some others. We're just guys hangin out. Nothing more... nothing less. Just guys hangin out shooting the sh^t with folks and spreadin a lil love for life. Shootin a little pool, sippin a lilttle beer, flirtin with a pretty filly, fartin, laughin. Just guys hangin out.
 
Ours is the best

Alexander "Pap" Henson is as much a part of Hagerstown Billiards & Cafe as the tables and the house cues. The most interesting, good hearted person I have ever had the good fortune to befriend. He has hundreds of storys from being shot up behind enemy lines in France in WW2 to some funny boxing stories from the military and even about the love of a good wife which he lost in the the mid-1980's. Pap is 89 years young and I think he is now the oldest member of an APA pool league. Pap loves the ladies and is a real gentleman always quick with a hug and a peck on the cheek for any female young or old (that ole dog!!!haha).. He also plays pretty good still and shows us youngsters some nice shots to open up a straight pool rack. I think this is a great topic... Sure... every room has a "Pap" some sort. But they sure make for some great stories and treasured friends.
 
JimS said:
Oh for Pete's sake. We're just guys!

Guys that have lived a few more days than some others. We're just guys hangin out. Nothing more... nothing less. Just guys hangin out shooting the sh^t with folks and spreadin a lil love for life. Shootin a little pool, sippin a lilttle beer, flirtin with a pretty filly, fartin, laughin. Just guys hangin out.
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Hey, I know that. I was just being silly!:o

Jim
 
Teddy Banks

Where i use to play in Troy NY (my home town) we used to have a gentleman sorta similar to the elder gent you described. His name was Teddy Banks. Thats what we called him as no one knew his last name. Now remember that this was back in the late 60's early 70's. He would always want to play for $.50 a game. Yup, 50 cents. His stratagy was to always ask for the break and when it was given to him (which was always) he would always ask his opponent this question. "If i make the 1 ball, which was always racked in front, in the side pocket, like the 9 ball players of today try to do, can it count as a point for me. Everybody always said yes. And be danged if he did not make it consistently. He would always play 4 or 5 games and then quit. Most times people would let him win and be happy about it. Funny now thinking about it. He always was dressed to the nines. Never a hair out of place. And dang it if he was not the most well mannered gent you would ever want to meet and play...I think that is why alot of kids, myself included always contributed to his little bank roll..... Oh well. what a great little walk down memory lane.....thanks for that...................mike
 
Sometimes the old man at my hall is grumpy, so instad of Total Eclipse of the Heart, I break into some Ace of Base and sing:


Don't turn around
Cause you're gonna see my heart breaking
Don't turn around
I don't want you seeing me cry
Just walk away

It's tearing me apart
That you're leaving
I'm letting you go
But I won't let you know
I wish I could scream out loud
That I love you

I wish I could say to you
Don't go
As he walks away he feels the pain getting strong
People in your life they don't know what's going on

Too proud to turn around he's gone

Don't turn around
Cause you're gonna see my heart breaking
Don't turn around
I don't want you seeing me cry

Just walk away

It's tearing me apart
That you're leaving

I'm letting you go
But I won't let you know
 
Bazooka Tooth said:
Sometimes the old man at my hall is grumpy, so instad of Total Eclipse of the Heart, I break into some Ace of Base and sing:


Don't turn around
Cause you're gonna see my heart breaking
Don't turn around
I don't want you seeing me cry
Just walk away

It's tearing me apart
That you're leaving
I'm letting you go
But I won't let you know
I wish I could scream out loud
That I love you

I wish I could say to you
Don't go
As he walks away he feels the pain getting strong
People in your life they don't know what's going on

Too proud to turn around he's gone

Don't turn around
Cause you're gonna see my heart breaking
Don't turn around
I don't want you seeing me cry

Just walk away

It's tearing me apart
That you're leaving

I'm letting you go
But I won't let you know
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One of these days he's gonna plant a BIG FAT kiss on ya, and you'll stop your singin'!!! :)
 
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trustyrusty said:
One of these days he's gonna pant a BIG FAT kiss on ya, and you'll stop your singin'!!! :)
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Roar! :p Ill be waiting with roses in hand.


*are you the old guy by chance?*

Ill sing some Hootie and the Blowfish if you want? :cool:
 
Ok Hootie it is :)




Time is wasting
Time is walking
You ain't no friend of mine
I don't know where i'm goin'
I think I'm out of my mind
Thinking about time
And if I die tomorrow, yeah
Just lay me down in sleep
[chorus]
Time, you left me standing there
Like a tree growing all alone
The wind just stripped me bare, stripped me bare
Time, the past has come and gone
The future's far away
Now only lasts for one second, one second
Can you teach me about tomorrow
And all the pain and sorrow
Running free?
'Cause tomorrow's just another day
And I don't believe in time
 
twilight said:
In my many halls I've frequented, I've come to realize that in over half the halls I know, there is that one older gentleman who is almost always there. He doesn't play on his table, but he does talk to the regulars and he asks them to play a quick game. He doesn't have a stick of his own, but plays a decent game. He mostly sits around and talks. He might sit at the bar but he rarely drinks. Most of the time he pulls up a chair near a table and watches. He's different from the regulars because all the regulars are friends of each other. He's just a bit different from them.

How many of you have one of these guys, or someone similar at your hall? Strange topic I know... I was just thinking off into space and this came up.
Click to expand...

I have been to many pool rooms and every one of them has this guy - that is what I think gives the sport and the room some flavor - if you talk to enough of them, you hear some great stories - true or not, worth the listen. Between the old guy and the sound of balls breaking/pocketing, well, I will just say that is what keeps me loving this game when I hate it - if you know what I mean :)
 
BillyKoda said:
The ones you have to look out for are the older guys who bring their mothers to the room with them! The one in our room brings his 90 something year old mother who thinks she is his wife, It's very sad. He is still a very talented player with stories from decades gone by.
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The guys you really need to watch out for are the ones that bring your mother to the poolhall.

"Where's Dad?!"
 
Rofl ....

arsenius said:
The guys you really need to watch out for are the ones that bring your mother to the poolhall.

"Where's Dad?!"
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You gave me my 'Belly laugh of the day'!!! LMAO ... :D :D :D

The only time my mom has been in a Poolroom was once when I took her for lunch at SidePockets here after it opened (upscale place), and to 3-4 rooms getting 'Pool shirts' for me for Xmas, but she has never seen me play in 45 years although she has lived with the 'side effects' of it .... lol

I remember when I was 16-18, and playing till late at night, and would have the Pool chalk fingers, she threatened me many times to stick my fingers in the Clorex bottle.
 
pooltchr said:
When my job required me to travel, I would often find a local room to go to in the evenings. This guy is in every one of them, and he is the guy I try to get to know. He was a strong player in his younger days, and while his eyesight may be going, and his hands aren't as steady as they once were, he still has a lot to share to anyone willing to listen.
We have one in the room where I play. He might spend 4 hours there and maybe play 2 or 3 games. The rest of the time, he is observing everything that is going on. Every player in the room knows him, and every one calls him "Mr. ----". He has earned the respect of everyone in the room.
Wherever you live, you should get to know this guy!
Steve
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Mr. Steve, was this guy in the pool room where I "grew up in", the Sports Palace of New Orleans. Mr. Steve had emphysema and could not sleep well. He was a little different from some of the old guys. He like to play for the time or a small wager. I played him one pocket for $5 a game and while his eyesight was poor (or so he said) and he would use the inhaler at the start of every match and he never played any of the top players he always seemed to always win one or two more games than I would. Often we would play for just the time but he did like to bet that half a sawbuck. After about a year and a half of meeting up with him between midnight and 2 am I had learned enough from Mr. Steve to give him a good run for his money. I knew it and he knew it and so by this time I was about $65 down overall and I saw him as usual one late night and asked him to play for our usual $5 a game to which Mr. Steve politely and kindly replied, "Oh no son, that money is all locked up now. Your game has improved too much for me to win". I was stunned to say the least and stammered for a few minutes but can only smile when I remember Mr. Steve Paternostra and the lessons I learned from him.
JoeyA
 
Ye Olde Tutor

One recently surfaced down here. He thinks he's an instructor and looks around for novices he can hoodwink into thinking he knows something. I was practicing banks one day and he comes over and says "Why aren't you putting any english on those?" I replied, "Because I'm practicing making them without any english." Since then he hasn't bothered me. ;)
 
Isn't this one of our goals? Some day I want to be one of those guys. And I'd like it to be said every now and again by one of the kids playing at table number X. "That old man over there was pretty good when he was younger." I just hope I make it till then.


Want to make one of these guys feel good? If he is watching you play, walk over and ask him if he thinks you made the right decision on a shot and sincerely listen. Make him think you value what he says. You never know, you just might learn something.
 
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