superstar, your foolishness is only overshadowed by your ignorance.
With regards to grady, he is the sole reason why I no longer lend financial support to pool in any way. After the first announcement of the resurection of the world straight pool championships, I received a call from grady asking to be included by way of invitation. I explained thoroughly and completely to him that I was ONLY the financial benefactor for the event and in no way did I have any influence over any other aspect of the event. The only "demand" on my part was that the event be held in NYC. Furthermore, not only was I not in charge of the invitations, I had no say in who did or didn't receive one. I did promise him that I would inquire on his behalf with the folks at DP. It was unbeknownst to me at the time of the ongoing rift between grady and DP. I was told by DP to "not get involved".
Shortly thereafter, grady started a viscious smear campaign on this forum, against DP and myself. This was after I had taken the time to explain my role to him. This went on for over a YEAR. The ad hominem attacks on me were unwarrented, and his frustrations with DP were taken out on me. Of course, the Kool aid drinkers on this forum took this as a cue to begin piling on me too.
Since your in the searching mode, follow up with his posts during this time frame and inform yourself.
What I gleaned from your statement of me tooting my own horn is that your a simple man, superstar. Am i right? Anyone with any business savy, and any modicum of success knows that setting goals when undertaking a project is the prudent thing to do. Apparently, you are neither.
When I was approached about being involved with this particular event, I agreed to participate with one goal in mind. I had other ancillary reasons too, like my friendships with john schmidt, tony robles and Charlie Williams. As an avid lover of straight pool, though, my goal was to see this particular genre flourish again. You can call it horn tooting, or anything else your simple mind can think of. I call it an achievment, a job well done and the fulfillment of my goal.
At the end of the day, and after all the I'll informed keyboard warriors had their say, I decided to walk away and leave pool where I found it, going nowhere, fast. Contrary to your opinion, I don't need the spotlight or adulation of strangers to feel important. I lead a very different life away from this game. As a retired 42 year old, I seek out the opposite of what your preconceived notions of me are. Ideally, I choose to be left alone with my wife and daughter, without stress or a care in the world. There is no greater achievemnt in the world. I promise you this, superstar, that if you roll up your sleeves, work hard and set goals for yourself, maybe you too can someday experience this bliss I'm referring to.
Rg