rackmup
08-29-2003, 06:21 PM
Arlington Texas has lost another aspiring one pocket player. Read on.
<blockquote><font class="small">Quote "The Arlington Corner Pocket" (a North Texas Billiards Publication):</font><hr>
On his way to "Legendary", now gone from us forever"
Ken "rackmup" Kingan
Guest Columnist
I can remember only a short year ago walking into the first pool hall I would eventually become a regular of after relocating to Texas. It was Click's in Arlington, Texas. The first person I met was a rugged looking fellow, more befitting of a role in a Clint Eastwood western than a pool player banging balls.
He was quiet. You know the type: soft-spoken, polite when spoken to but mainly remained to himself as he practiced his craft.
I learned through the bartender that he was recently laid off from work and had been in the pool room every day from open until close, sharpening his one pocket skills and taking money from those foolish enough to think they had a chance at beating him. I watched as this stranger effortlessly made bank-after-bank and kick-after-kick.
His break was lethal. If he didn't pocket a ball he would at the very least, park it so deep in the hole that only God could have kicked it free. He would quietly say, "Well, that one's on layaway." Eight and outs were the norm. It seemed others were intimidated by his skills.
That was over a year ago and his one-pocket skills have only improved. I watched him play recently and was astounded by his bold accuracy on what looked like impossible shots. He could study the cluster, fire relentlessly into it and stand back as a ball rolled into his hole followed by three others that would sit right next to it.
His opponents would take their money out halfway through a game, knowing it would be easier to remove it from their shirt pocket than it would be from their wallet as that dreaded chore would be inevitable.
As quickly as his game improved and potential foes ran from any table near him, he seemed to disappear. Oh sure, we would see him on league night but we noticed something. Something very different. He seemed "distant." Many of us silently questioned, "Is he sick? I hope he's okay."
None of us asked because we didn't want to learn the horrible truth that we are all just now learning.
Who am I talking about? Many of you will have figured it out by now but for most of you that never had the pleasure of getting to know him over a cold beer and an ass-kicking on the table, His name was Alex Moore. To his friends his name was simply "Les" and to those of us here at the CCB he was simply known as "OnePocketChamp" or even simpler, "OPC."
He has left us with victory claimed by a terrible opponent known as: Relationship.
Yes, OPC has a steady, full-time GIRLFRIEND.
Sadly, his 3X7 Leather Instroke Cowboy cue case has been replaced with a Vinyl Franklin Planner, outlining Parent-Teacher Conference meetings, Soccer games and meal planning.
His sporty Mitsubishi is certainly soon to be replaced by an 8-seat minivan for hauling the kids to-and-from the mall and his gambling days will assuredly be reduced to friendly sideline wagers with fathers of other soccer-playing children.
No more late nights at the pool hall but rather late nights spent tucking kids into bed and watching obligatory romance videos from BlockBuster with the "GIRLFRIEND."
The APA patches he once proudly displayed on his "pool shirt" will be quickly replaced with bumper stickers on the rear of the kid-hauler that read, "I'm a Soccer Step-Dad" and "My other car is a Station Wagon."
It should have been apparent to those of us who watched as he slipped deeper and deeper into this dreaded...THING. But no! We just assumed everything would be okay.
But it wasn't and now, we have lost him forever. The last I heard, he was on his way to a weekend soccer tournament in Austin. I know there are pool halls in Austin and I bet he didn't even take his cues!
If you know a pool player who seems "different" lately, don't ignore it. He/She just might be in the feverish throws of a pool-player-ending relationship just as OPC was.
If you find out in time, they can be broken up.
I'm going to miss you OPC. The pool hall just won't be the same without you.<hr /></blockquote>
I hope this might help some of you before it's too late.
Regards,
Ken
<blockquote><font class="small">Quote "The Arlington Corner Pocket" (a North Texas Billiards Publication):</font><hr>
On his way to "Legendary", now gone from us forever"
Ken "rackmup" Kingan
Guest Columnist
I can remember only a short year ago walking into the first pool hall I would eventually become a regular of after relocating to Texas. It was Click's in Arlington, Texas. The first person I met was a rugged looking fellow, more befitting of a role in a Clint Eastwood western than a pool player banging balls.
He was quiet. You know the type: soft-spoken, polite when spoken to but mainly remained to himself as he practiced his craft.
I learned through the bartender that he was recently laid off from work and had been in the pool room every day from open until close, sharpening his one pocket skills and taking money from those foolish enough to think they had a chance at beating him. I watched as this stranger effortlessly made bank-after-bank and kick-after-kick.
His break was lethal. If he didn't pocket a ball he would at the very least, park it so deep in the hole that only God could have kicked it free. He would quietly say, "Well, that one's on layaway." Eight and outs were the norm. It seemed others were intimidated by his skills.
That was over a year ago and his one-pocket skills have only improved. I watched him play recently and was astounded by his bold accuracy on what looked like impossible shots. He could study the cluster, fire relentlessly into it and stand back as a ball rolled into his hole followed by three others that would sit right next to it.
His opponents would take their money out halfway through a game, knowing it would be easier to remove it from their shirt pocket than it would be from their wallet as that dreaded chore would be inevitable.
As quickly as his game improved and potential foes ran from any table near him, he seemed to disappear. Oh sure, we would see him on league night but we noticed something. Something very different. He seemed "distant." Many of us silently questioned, "Is he sick? I hope he's okay."
None of us asked because we didn't want to learn the horrible truth that we are all just now learning.
Who am I talking about? Many of you will have figured it out by now but for most of you that never had the pleasure of getting to know him over a cold beer and an ass-kicking on the table, His name was Alex Moore. To his friends his name was simply "Les" and to those of us here at the CCB he was simply known as "OnePocketChamp" or even simpler, "OPC."
He has left us with victory claimed by a terrible opponent known as: Relationship.
Yes, OPC has a steady, full-time GIRLFRIEND.
Sadly, his 3X7 Leather Instroke Cowboy cue case has been replaced with a Vinyl Franklin Planner, outlining Parent-Teacher Conference meetings, Soccer games and meal planning.
His sporty Mitsubishi is certainly soon to be replaced by an 8-seat minivan for hauling the kids to-and-from the mall and his gambling days will assuredly be reduced to friendly sideline wagers with fathers of other soccer-playing children.
No more late nights at the pool hall but rather late nights spent tucking kids into bed and watching obligatory romance videos from BlockBuster with the "GIRLFRIEND."
The APA patches he once proudly displayed on his "pool shirt" will be quickly replaced with bumper stickers on the rear of the kid-hauler that read, "I'm a Soccer Step-Dad" and "My other car is a Station Wagon."
It should have been apparent to those of us who watched as he slipped deeper and deeper into this dreaded...THING. But no! We just assumed everything would be okay.
But it wasn't and now, we have lost him forever. The last I heard, he was on his way to a weekend soccer tournament in Austin. I know there are pool halls in Austin and I bet he didn't even take his cues!
If you know a pool player who seems "different" lately, don't ignore it. He/She just might be in the feverish throws of a pool-player-ending relationship just as OPC was.
If you find out in time, they can be broken up.
I'm going to miss you OPC. The pool hall just won't be the same without you.<hr /></blockquote>
I hope this might help some of you before it's too late.
Regards,
Ken