"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message ...
"PDQ" wrote:
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Would have liked to meet him.
My youth was equally as well wasted.
Squirrels by .22 - anything up to 300 yds was "done for".
Pool by night.
Our pool hall was in the basement of the town hall which also housed
the cop shop and the jail.
2 tables for "bang ball" and 2 14 footers for the serious pool and
billiards players.
No "bang ball" experts were allowed on the pool tables.
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My dad cashed in his hand in '59 at far too young an age, but that's
life

Sounds like we grew up in similar small farm community type
towns.(Mine was less than 20,000).

20,000 - that's a full blown city! My town was 675 when we got there in '51 and was 4 less when we moved in '58.


My dad belonged to the Odd Fellows and I received much of my early
pool hall training on their tables, so by the time I was 16, wanted to
venture out.

I had 7 years ot training by the post master who ran the pool hall. Being "old school", my dad thought it was an abomination that his son frequented this den of iniquity. He didn't have any alternatives when I asked him what other pass-times were available in the town.


Had a bar on the town square, that also served some good food, that
was mostly a 9 ball or an 8 ball house, both of which I found boring.

We had 2 hotels on the main street across from each other. One had a vintage pool table in an equally ancient room. Midnight used to be quite a scene - last call in one caused a trail of drunks leading across the street to the other.


Must say they did have one billiard table with honest to god ivory
balls, good felt, and live rails.

Had some interesting matches on that table.

Down the street, in the basement under the movie house was the hangout
for the younger set.

Had a full blown snooker table with good felt and live rails.

That table taught me finesse.

That kind of table taught me "pocket weight" and how to use some serious "juice".

I designed and implemented a 25x25 room in my basement to house a proper pool table. I went to our local emporium to get my 14 footer only to fine out all that is made any more is 3.5 x 7.5 (?).

Don't know what to do with that size band-box. Even smaller than the "bang-ball" tables.


By the time I went away to school, had developed some serious skills,
but school beckoned and I basically hung up my cue stick to pursue an
education.


Lew



Played all through school. Even had a friend who played on the night before his Actuarials and still passed with honours. I was never of that caliber

P D Q