My First Billiards Memory

I was thinking back to my first memory of playing pool. It took me back to the beginning of my passion for the game. I was so young and I did not think that it would amount to much.

I was probably five years old, when I picked up my first pool cue. That was 1968, my dad had a few of his friends over to have drinks, watch television, smoke and play pool in his downstairs game room, my first ever man cave. I was my dad's coach, telling him which shot to take next. I remeber one time he picked me up and let me take a shot for him.

They were cruddy, billiard room pool cues. They were not straight by any means. The pool balls were all dinged up and discolored as well. We still have that green and white flecked, six foot long mammoth. I could barely see over the rails to use the pool cue, so my dad's friend made me a stool to stand on to help me view the game better and eventually to play. I can also remember getting ready to take a shot with the pool cue my parents bought me, I was standing on my stool. It came out from under me and I cuffed my chin on the rail, and split my chin wide open. I think my dad about had a heart attack as I hung on the table, bawling and bleeding profusely on his felt.

As I grew older, I was able to play pool with my dad and his friends. I got good at playing and eventually they stopped coming over. Pretty soon I was beating my old man as well. I spent hours on that green monster with my little pool cue. I would be calling my shots and dropping the balls in the pockets. It wasn't just the pocketing, it was the sound the ball made when it started its journey to its final destination. It would hit the rails under the pockets, I can still hear the ball rolling under the table, then eventually a thud in a drawer at the end. The sound of a complete shot.

That table is still around, over 40 years old now. Sitting in my mom's barn, devastated in its own barren wasteland. The felt is loose, has holes and is faded. The pockets filled with nests of some unknown animal. It just sits there collecting dust, looking shabby. I am glad that we had that pool table around the house for me to keep playing as I did until I left home to go into the military. I find myself going out there and trying to play pool on that rickety old dog sometimes to this day.

Today, I have my own Man Cave, and in it sits my very own pool table. Its an eight foot beauty with copper felt. I play a couple of hours a day to keep my game sharp. I think about it from time to time, and find myself here with my own game room accessory store online, www.titancueandtable.com. I have a big selection of pool cues and I talk about the site all the time, I have finally taken what my grandfather told many years ago to heart. He said, "Find something you like to do, and then make money doing it." Stop in, have a look and you will see that we are more than just pool cues, but they are there because it is what has started me on the path of being an avid indoorsman.