Best, Worst, Fastest, etc.

Best Drive: California and Oregon coastlines

Fastest speed achieved:
1. Over 120mph on the taxiway at the Longmont, CO airport
2. Many other triple-digit-plus speed bursts in every state

Biggest Pleasant Surprises:
1. 28mpg in non-stop traverse of Wyoming at 80mph.
2. no back problems - I thought the Corvette would be torture!
3. OnStar "concierge" service was great for making hotel reservations at the last minute and with no hassle whatsoever.
4. The head-up display also shows navigation info (next turn direction/distance)

Best Pool Shooter - "Georgia Boy", Aurora, Colorado

Best Performance in a Tournament - Paradise Pool Hall, Denver
Worst Performance in a Tournament - Table Steaks South, Denver

Best Hotel:
1. The Hilton in Santa Fe, New Mexico
(Best Pillows and Best Toilet Paper)
2. The Westin in Whistler (the bed)

Most Overpriced Hotels:
1. Westin in Seattle
2. Rennaisance in Vancouver

Best Looking Women:
1. Barbie, the bride at the wedding in Whistler, Canada
2. The Front Desk clerks, Hilton in Santa Fe, NM (Amanda and Red)
3. The Hostess at the (???) restaurant in Philadelphia, PA,

Best Party:
1. George's bachelor party, Whistler, Canada
2. My father's 91st birthday party in Philadelphia, PA

Best Meal: At the Terra restaurant, in Vail, Colorado,
with Samm and Chisolm

Best Memories:
1. Spontaneous standing ovation by dozens of high school kids as I blasted past them along the California coast, top down.
2. Close wins against "Georgia Boy" in straight and 8-ball
3. Visiting friends I haven't seen for way too long: Kate, Susie, Samm, Heather

Signs of the times:
1. Fat-man shower curtain rods that bow out are almost standard in all hotel rooms nowadays. They were unknown 10 years ago.

Day 54: Del Mar, CA

There was a powerful magnet pulling me home,
and I drove non-stop until I had used
the entire full tank to the point where
the low fuel warning came on.
Then a quick stop for gas only and then
back on the road until I hit home!

I was so wired after this marathon high speed drive
that I unpacked everything and went thru
two months of mail before I re-hung my hammock
and hit the first ball on my Gold Crown.

And so, in the fullness of time,
Fast Mikie's Epic Road Trip is over.
As I write this, there are only 26 days left
until the US Amateur Championships
so I better get back to some serious practice.

I learned a lot, about life and pool.
Now all I have to do is execute...

Day 53: Flagstaff, AZ

Damned if you do, damned if you don't...
I left the windows open a crack in the Corvette,
so it wouldn't build up so much heat in the sun
while it was parked, and it rained and now
the carpets are wet!

While on the subject of rain, it's not supposed to!
Not this time of year, and not around here.
But it has rained a lot recently
because everywhere you look it is a light green color
instead of the expected dirt burned-out brown.
A green desert! Go figure.
It must be El Nino, or the Greenhouse Effect.
Unquestionably, it is the fault of Man,
and his opposable thumb.

I couldn't wait to get out of Santa Fe, New Mexico
and blasted off without filling up the tank,
which is a good thing because I accidentally found
the cheapest gas of the entire trip, only $2.91
for premium, at a no-name exit in the middle of
nowhere, New Mexico.

Didn't even stop for lunch, just grabbed some
trail mix and kept on going, going, going,
straight through to Flagstaff, Arizona.
Only one more state to go!

As trashed as I was when I got to Flagstaff,
I had to tour a bit on historic Route 66.
It sure ain't what it used to be!

Day 52: Santa Fe, NM

The pool hall opens at 4 in the afternoon,
an indication that the game is not a priority here.
With nothing better to do, I toured the city on foot.
There is only so much native art, jewelry, pottery, and junk
that I can take, so after thoroughly covering the
historic center with all the tourist traps,
I became totally bored and went back to the room for a nap
until the pool hall opened.

The place is called The Catamount, upstairs over
a restaurant and bar.
About six tables, all set low enough for midgets.
The cloth is very slow, probably the IPT stuff,
and was a real challenge to get used to.
Really have to let my stroke out and even then
it was difficult to get around the table using 3-4 rails.
This was the first time I had the opportunity to
spend some quality practice time on the slow cloth,
so it was a real education.

The place was filled with tourists,
daters, mom/dad/kids,
and none of them seemed to be serious shooters
except for one guy dressed in hideous pastels
getting his brains beat in by a guy who looked
like he had just escaped from prison.
There was no way I wanted to get in the middle of that!

So I practiced a good bit,
studying the nuances of slow cloth,
and left early (before closing time)
so I can get up early,
and get outta this burg and back on the road.

I'm getting antsy for home.
It's almost like I can smell the ocean...

Day 51: Santa Fe, NM

If ever I needed a change of scenery, it is now.
Denver is a great pool town, but it's getting old.
I forget how long I've been here;
the days have all blended together into one too-long blur.

I crammed the Corvette with all my stuff,
which by now seems to be a lot more than I started with,
and slipped it into gear, only to realize that
I had no idea where I was going next!

So I entered a few places into the navigation system,
just to see how far away they were,
and if I could make it in a reasonable drive-time.
I wanted to go to Durango, CO but it was too far (8 hours).
Santa Fe, New Mexico was the better choice because it
showed up as only 5+ hours, and better yet,
it was a whole new state!
I need a new state.

It was a great ride, especially getting to
the far south end of Colorado,
and climbing up into the mountains into New Mexico,
then into some magnificent wide open spaces.
For the entire drive, the horizon was filled with
huge thunderstorms, punctuated with flashes of lightning,
fingers of fire from an angry god.
Intermittent rain, some light, some very heavy,
but always brief and unexpected.

In one instance, I could see in the roadway,
just about a hundred yards ahead,
an extremely heavy rainshower, but it was only
about 10 yards in size, and on all sides of it
there was clear road!
I have always been fascinated with weather, in all forms.

New Mexico is truly the Land of Enchantment.
The geography is spectacular, with huge mesas
and rock formations and mountains, all separated
by such vast expanses of nothing at all.
I found myself driving for more than an hour
and the horizon had not changed a bit,
as if I were on some slow-motion treadmill.

I had never been to Santa Fe before,
but from what I have heard of it,
I always wanted to check it out.

My first impression of the place was
unfavorably tainted by frustration in finding
the hotel because my navigation system
insisted in having me drive the wrong way
down a one-way street and no matter how
I tried to come at the place from a different
angle, there was just no reasoning with the computer.

The solution was to push the OnStar button,
and an assitant pinpointed my location immediately
and gave me turn-by-turn realtime instructions
to come at the destination from the
other end of the city. Success!

First impressions of the place were that the place
is filled to capacity with tourists who seem
to have bags full of money and little imagination
on how to spend it...
Santa Fe is a town of small shops selling all sort
of native jewelry, art, pottery, clothing,
and just plain stuff; all greatly overpriced.

The singular attraction which draws the tourists
is that Santa Fe happens to be high in the mountains
and therefore much cooler than any place for
hundreds of miles in any direction.
And in August in the southwest, that is Huge!

The bellman who assisted with my luggage
noticed my cue case and identified himself as
a pool player, saying he shoots with a Meucci
and a Pechauer, but he had never heard of Samsara,
the maker of my playing cue.
He told me about the only place in town
with decent tables, and I went to check it out
but it was completely dead at 10pm,
although the tables were in good condition
and recently recovered in what looked like
the new IPT cloth.

I was just too exhausted to practice,
so I left with the intention to return the next day,
went back to the hotel, and crashed,
drifting off to sleep with thoughts of
the intriguingly cute Amanda, the front desk clerk,
who reminded me of the line from an old song:
"You don't have such a beautiful face, but ba-by,
you got what it takes for me!"

In the morning, as I delivered my laundry to the
front desk, half expecting to see Amanda again,
I was floored by a spectacular, tall redheaded beauty,
to whom, when she asked if she could help me,
I could only stammer a few unintelligible words
as I handed over my bag of used knickers and t-shirts.

This is a signal that I have been on the road way too long.
My condition is now elevated to "Critically Vulnerable".
When random hotel clerks can get me acting silly
and thinking thoughts which can only lead to
a complete and utter destruction of life as I know it,
well, it is time to seek the safe harbor of Mikie's Fun House.
Hermits should not be allowed away from their caves
for extended periods.

I need to be reminded that for every completely
amazingly beautiful spectacular and magnetically
attractive female in existence, there is most likely
some guy who is totally at wits end having to put
up with her, or who has just booted her out.
This is the great Circle of Life, a viscious circle
if ever there was one, and one which is addictive.
It is only by great focus and will that one can
break free of it, but like alcoholics and gamblers,
no person is ever cured, we just live one day at a time.
While I have never had alcoholism or gambling
addictions, I have suffered greatly with my fascination
for extraordinarily attractive females, the cure for which,
as I have found, is the complete withdrawl from public
places where such potential disasters seem to lurk.

Sex is a Madness, to which we give ourselves willingly,
and delude ourselves with the rationalization that it is Love,
the kind of Romantic Love which is the stuff of poets.
We have been brainwashed since birth with this delusion
which must be followed, lemming-like, by the masses,
if only to guarantee the suvival of our species.

I can not expect you, dear reader, to understand this,
but I can only assure you that since I have adjusted my life
to conform to these principles I have found a peace
and harmony in my life as I have never previously known.
I have come to describe it as the Sweet Serenity of Solitude.

Day 50: Aurora, CO

Awoke feeling amazingly refreshed and alert,
ready to shoot pool for the first time in a week.
But first I had to endure a marathon phone conference
for the bank's board meeting.
After that, which ran to 7:30pm local time,
I rushed over to the pool hall, without eating.
Can it really be that I prefer pool to food?

"Georgia Boy" was engaged in a friendly game of 9-ball
with some rube who had no hope of winning
the 'friendly' stake of 5 bucks a game.
GB saw me come in, and without exchanging a word,
he pointed to the next table, his favorite,
making it obvious that he would be with me soon.
The Rube was nearing his limit of 50 bucks in the hole.

So I bellied-up to the counter, got the balls,
and started in shooting, just to get loose,
not expecting much after a week of inaction.
But YO! I was shooting like Willie Himself!
It was like I had super-vision because I was
cutting stuff in from all over the table.
Even Quiet Pete who was sitting in a nearby chair,
and who, as his name would imply, rarely speaks,
was driven to exclaim "Nice shot" several times
when I would pull off some amazing display.

He was a bit baffled when I chose a shot that
was a virtual guaranteed scratch, and also
a close to impossible cut, and I accomplished both,
simultaneously... always a fun thing to watch and do.
He asked why I didn't take another much easier shot
that was available and that would give me better
position for the runout.
When I told him that I was running the tables
in Rotation (always lowest ball first),
he went back to Quiet mode and never said another word.

Soon enough, Georgia Boy had cleaned out The Rube,
and he sauntered over with his Balabushka already
stowed back in its case, which he put next to mine,
and went off to wash his hands of the blood and grime
from his last battle, and to prepare himself for me.

We played for four hours, all 8-ball games,
even though that game is way down his list of preferences,
but since it is the game I need improvement with,
and since he is my teacher-in-absentia,
and since I am paying...

Our session taught me a lot, or it might be more precise
to say that our session reviewed a lot of what I
already knew, but needed to get hammered into my head again.

How many times must I hear things like:
Full Stroke.
Use Less English. (especially when using Inside English)
Center Ball.
Shoot With Confidence.
Keep It Simple.
Don't Overthink.
Killer Instinct: Finish Him Off.

His slip-stroke is mesmerizing and his presence
at the table is smooth, natural, and so full of confidence
that the rare miss leaves any witness, and himself,
completely dumbfounded.
But it isn't about him, really, it's all about me, learning.

He tells me, several times: "Don't open your legs!"
But I have absolutely no idea what he means, until I ask,
and he gives me a look of complete frustration,
the way Einstein might look at an idiot doing 2+2=9.
And explains (?) that I am opening my legs when I shoot,
as if that is the explanation I needed. Duh.
And then he translates again, this time with success:
"Stay Down".
OH!! STAY DOWN! Why didn't you say so?
Probably because he speaks a different language
learned from 50+ years of playing for the rent money.
A language I could barely expect to understand
especially after playing him only a few times.

And, of course, if HE is frustrated with my stupidity,
just think about how frustrated I am.
And there are all the normal miscommunications too,
such as him telling me to hit with low left
when he really means low right,
and I would normally hit the shot with low right,
but since God is telling me low left, I figure
low left is going to reveal some secret result,
but of course I miss the shot and it looks
utterly moronic to him and he tells me again
to hit it with low left, and I do, and I miss,
and then he takes the table to show me how to
hit the shot and he hits it with low right
and gets perfect shape, and I remind him that he
told me to hit it with low left and he tells
me that the shot needs low right, not left,
as if I had it wrong all along and I would have
to be the complete buffoon that I look like
to hit it with low left regardless of what he says,
(if in fact he did say such a thing, which is ridiculous).

It's not worth arguing about, of course,
and as the student I need to just let it go
and learn the lesson.
Another instance comes up where he tells me to
hit with low inside, but I tell him that I think
I should use outside middle english, so that
I push another ball to the rail to shape the next shot.
He shrugs and says "Show me", so I do, and it works.
And now we reach a place where he lets me try stuff my way.

I explain to him that when he tells me how to hit each shot
that it slows down my rhythm, and makes me think too much
and then I can't hit anything right, and that maybe
if we just played a few games without comments from him
I would shoot better, so he goes with that plan.

He wins the first game, I win the next two.
He wins two, I win one, and on it goes and I shoot good.
Good enough to stay with Georgia Boy,
and that's plenty good enough for me.

It's midnight.
No food since lunch.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Gotta call it quits so I can get some sleep,
so I can get back "on the road" the next day.

I drive GB to the 711 near his home,
he gets out, we shake hands, and then we are gone.

He's one hell of a shooter,
with a slip-stroke that is pure butter,
and probably knows as much about the game
as any man alive.

It was an honor to be his student,
just for a little while.

Day 49: Denver, CO

The Road Trip is back in session!
After 3 hours sleep last night,
I got up at 5:30 this morning
to shuttle to the airport for the flight
from Philly to Denver.

Checked in to the hotel,
but all they had was smoking rooms.
YUK!

Went to pick up the car at the Chevy dealer
after they did the 5,000 mile service.
I asked them to wash it before I picked it up.
That was a week ago.
They hosed it off, but they sure didn't wash it.
Still bugs on the windshield, and dirt on the rims.
And the trunk latch, which was only working intermittently,
and was supposed to be fixed under warranty,
failed the second time I tried it.
So much for earning my "complete satisfaction"...

Then, back to the hotel, to check out of the smoke,
and into another hotel, which is nicer, cheaper, cleaner.

I'm dead tired.
Couldn't shoot pool now if my life depended on it.

Georgia Boy called to see if I'm back in town.
We'll shoot some pool tomorrow night, for sure.
And then the next day I'm heading out of Denver for good.
I'm thinking maybe Durango is the next stop.
Then Santa Fe, New Mexico, and then Winslow, Arizona,
then Phoenix, then HOME!

El Maestro is in Las Vegas, with his 8-ball team,
playing for the championships of the whole USA,
and on a personal mission to win
as many of the mini-tournaments as he can.
I wish I could be there to watch,
but they allow smoking in the tournament rooms,
so there is No Way I'll be there.

Day 44: Philadelphia, PA

No, I didn't drive from Colorado to Pennsylvania
in one day. I flew.
It's my annual pilgrimage of homage to my father
who turns 91 years old this week.
My deal is that as long as he keeps having birthdays,
I'll keep coming home for the party.

I left the Corvette at a dealer in Denver,
for a 5,000 mile checkup, oil change, and wash.
And I left my cues in Denver too,
so I'm probably not going to play a lot of pool
over the next week.

Day 43: Vail, CO

Chateau Woodson is the epicenter of hospitality.
Samm and Chisolm collaborate on preparing a great meal,
and lucky me is the guest of honor. Yum!
These people are first class.

That is the good news.
The other news is that before dinner
Chisolm kicks my butt at 8-ball
his favorite game, and the game
with which I need the most practice.

Chisolm is a recognized BCA instructor,
so I asked him to critique my game,
and he said that my fundamentals reveal no flaws.
(That's good to know!)
And then he gives up some cool stuff,
showing me some shots that I had never seen before.
I'll reveal these later, when I get back to San Diego,
and in my regular "Adventures of Fast Mikie" blog.

After dinner, Samm and I play another two sets
with results similar to the previous night.

Sleep comes more easily tonight
as I get acclimated to the elevation.
I understand that triathletes train at
high altitude so that they perform better
when they get to the big competition.
Kind of like Superman and Kryptonite in reverse.
Maybe tomorrow, when I get back to Denver
I'll shoot like Efren Reyes!
Yeah, right.

Day 42: Vail, CO

After a week's delay while her pet turtles recovered
from a nasty case of some kind of fungus,
I finally got the green light to visit with
Sammantha Diep and Chisolm Woodson
at Chateau Woodson, their retreat in Vail, CO.

About 2 hours west of Denver, at an elevation
of almost double that of the Mile High City,
Vail is one of the foremost ski resorts in the USA.
And at that elevation, it is difficult for
flatlanders like me to breathe.
But I did ok.

As soon as I arrived, I was shown quickly around,
put my bags in my room,
and was instantly engaged in some 9-ball with Chisolm.
He ran the first rack outright after I missed on the break.
Then he ran the next rack, and I was two down
having lifted my cue only once.
This dude is one excellent player.
The walls of his pool room are lined with trophies,
and there are many more propped up on the floor
because he just hasn't got around to hanging them up.
And they are all from 2004/5/6, so he has been BUSY!

Back to the game...
The table is absolutely the finest Diamond table
I have ever played on.
Covered in Simonis 760 (yeah, SEVEN sixty!)
it is faster than anything in my experience.
You can draw the ball almost with thought alone!
And the cushions are very lively.
Flat, level, and great lighting make this
a true pleasure to play on.

After the first two games, Chisolm showed
signs of being human, and I won the next several,
and then we started trading back and forth.
We weren't keeping score but we agreed that
we were about even, so I can feel good about that.

We took a break for dinner, and I insisted my treat.
The took me to what must surely be the finest place
in all of Vail ("Terra"), because the food was spectacular.
Best meal I've had on the road so far.
We were all stuffed, but went back to the retreat
and Samm and I played some 8/9-ball in the
US Amateur format until about 3AM, and that was
all I could take so I called it quits after
winning two sets, 7-4 and 7-3.
Samm said I was shooting pretty good, and
I do remember making some nice shots,
but I think I got lucky a couple of times too.

As tired as I was, I had difficulty getting to sleep
because of the elevation and thin air,
but probably conked out at around 4AM.

We will be playing a lot more.

Day 41: Aurora, CO

Forty one days on the road,
and forty one days left until the US Amateur tournament.
Seems like some sort of turning point.

Last night was another trip to Rack 'em Billiards,
and this time I got lucky.
"Georgia Boy" CJ Carlton Hines was there,
and I got his attention with a discussion about
how to practice.
I challenged him with The Sorto String,
and told him I have only seen two people on the
planet do it successfully (El Maestro and me!),
and although I set it up for him at least
a dozen times, and although he got close,
he joined the ranks of all the others who
have tried and missed.

But I have to say that his stroke is so pure
that it was a real pleasure to watch him try
and I felt sure that he would be able to do it
if he bore down and gave it a few more tries.

Then I gave him the toughest one I know,
an exercise with only six balls,
with the 1, 3, and 5 on the lower long rail
and the 2, 4, and 6 on the foot rail,
all placed at the diamonds.
The object is to run them all into the corner
without touching any rail
except the one on which they are frozen.

"Georgia Boy" gave it a few tries,
and did quite well,
but the shape from the 5 to the 6
at first gave him trouble,
then he became fascinated with this shot,
and then he fell in love with the shot,
and after a few more tries he succeeded
with running all six balls, as required.

I have never seen anyone do this!

He liked that shot on the 5 so much,
with its very difficult position on the
short side of the 6 ball,
that he kept shooting it several more times,
just for the fun of it.

It felt good to be able to show him something
that he got so much enjoyment out of.

Next he showed me an exercise he does,
which is set up a lot like The Sorto String,
except that the 1-ball is off the foot rail,
and the object is the same, but using draw
instead of following to the rail.
I tried it and instantly saw the challenge.
He said he has done it once or twice.

We went on to play some nine ball,
not as a real challenge to him,
but as a learning exercise for me.
When I would miss, or have a question,
we would stop and play the shot different ways,
or play alternate shots for different shape.

It was in the middle of one of these games
that I had an epiphany regarding reverse english draw
to get precision position.
I have used only outside english, if any,
on my draw shots, almost never inside english,
but once the situation arose in our game
that absolutely required it, and he made me do it,
did I see the beauty of this obscure shot.

Now I'll be looking for opportunities to use it,
so that I burn it into my brain so well
that maybe I remember it when/if I need it.

I talked with El Maestro about this shot this morning
and he reminded me that he has shown me this shot
in the past, (but my feeble brain can only hold so
much wisdom at once), and that this one shot could
easily be the difference between winning and losing
an entire match.

I am humbled again by the prodigious knowledge
of my instructor, El Maestro.
And I am reminded of these eternal words of Lao Tsu:

The greater the island of knowledge,
the greater the shoreline of wondering.

Day 40: Aurora, CO

It has now been forty days that
I have been wandering in the wilderness!

Yesterday morning a man walked in to my bank,
the bank I have been working to build for
the past 6 years, and slipped a note to a teller
saying he has a gun, and demanding cash.
He walked out with $6,500.
Here's the news item.

What's all this got to do with pool?
Not much, but it pisses me off,
which harshes my mellow, and I need my mellow
to shoot good pool
so it took me some time to deal with the issues
(anyone hurt? no. etc...)
and get back to pool.

However, I did have some good fun with it.
I called a few friends who are depositors,
and told them about the robbery,
and that nobody was hurt, but that they
got $6,500 and that it was all (my friend's)
money, because we just happened to be
counting it at the moment and it was
sitting on the counter at the time.
Darn bad timing, good buddy...
Another few minutes and it could have been my money.
I'm sure you have insurance for this sort of thing,
right? I'll help you fill out the paperwork,
when I get back in town...

Ha ha ha...
Well, I guess you gotta make lemonade, etc.

Later, when the excitement wore off,
I headed out into the night to Rack 'em Billiards
to see if I could get a game.
As I open the door leading down the stairs to the room,
I hear... nothing! Absolute quiet!
The place was like the catacombs in Rome.
(I've been there!)
There being no chance of a game,
I set into my practice routine,
and got more familiar with my new shaft,
the Predator 314 series 2.

I definitely am noticing a reduction in the
amount that I have to allow for deflection with this
shaft compared to the standard 314 shaft.

And the extra length is coming in handy too.
It seems to give a better balance to the cue
and I notice I'm holding it more forward,
which has got to be a good thing.

My practice session started out great.
I was running 8-ball racks easily,
first the stripes, then the solids,
then the next rack the same way, etc...

And then draw practice,
the Sorto String,
short rail shots with precision position,
then long cut shots with position.

I felt good, and was shooting good,
especially after 4 days off.
Fast Mikie's back!

Day 39: Denver, CO

No pool yesterday.
Didn't even think about it, except once.
And even that one time I did think about it,
was when I had the thought that
I hadn't thought about pool all day.

This morning, I feel like my sleep deficit is gone.
I feel energized,
ready to take on the great unknown of the day.
I do my yoga, and because I am feeling so strong,
I do my cherished headstand yoga posture,
which I have neglected for far too long.
The headstand (aka "sirshasana") is the
King of all yoga postures because of the
great benefits it brings to mind and body.

Yoga legend says that it brings
droplets of immortality to the practitioner.
And with immortality, invincibility.

I am reminded that I must rededicate myself
to continual physical and mental conditioning.
And I am reminded that it is highly unlikely
that I will face another pool shooter who
has done a headstand today.

Today is a good day to shoot pool.

Day 38: Englewood, CO

Just when I think I have escaped my addiction,
they pull me back into it.

Yesterday was supposed to be another day without pool,
a third day of rest and recuperation
from the excesses of billiards to the point of bonkers.
But my reputation and past have conspired to do me in.

I have a very good friend, Scott, who lives in the area,
and I have not seen him and his wife Sally since
this time last year when I spent a week at his cabin
high in the Rockies, breaking in his new pool table,
and giving him some beginner-level pointers in the game.

Yesterday we got together for lunch at the Cool River Cafe
which is a very upscale place, even with valet parking,
so the last thing I expected to see was the 6 green tables.
We had a great meal, and Scott kept me spellbound with
stories of his mountaineering exploits.
There are 50 peaks in Colorado over 14,000 feet,
and Scott has ascended all but 10 of them,
with plans to do them all.
He told me a most amazing story about a recent adventure
in which he hired a professional guide to climb with him
in a 3-day adventure to climb 4 of the remaining peaks,
but this highly experienced guide took him up the wrong
mountain, ("Peak 18") which was much more difficult
than any of the planned peaks, but they made it up
and down without mishap, so it is a testament to Scott's
extraordinay conditioning, skill, and powerful will.

After lunch, Scott surprised me with a visit to
the Cool River Cafe billiard room, which was
outfitted with six 8' tables in good condition.
Unfortunately they were all booked,
so we moved on to another high-end night spot
which had about 10 tables but only one of which
was a 9-footer, so we played some 8-ball
for several hours.
Scott's game has improved substantially
over the past year, and shows how much he
focuses and dedicates himself to excellence.

Later on, Scott's wife Sally joined us for dinner
back at the Cool River Cafe, with some more pool
and appetizers before the main meal.

Scott has some strong political feelings,
and we got into a great conversation about the
current world events and what needs to be done.
By the end of the meal, we had solved ALL of
the major global problems, so if you notice any
remaining problems in your area, just let me
know and I'll bring it up with Scott.
I'm sure he can deal with it to your satisfaction.

In fact, I made the suggestion that Scott should
consider running for President of the US.
He is eminently qualified, having been an Eagle Scout,
father of 3, legal degree, international businessman,
(software business in Moscow, Latvia, ++++),
very intelligent, solution-oriented,
happily married only once, Christian, and even has a dog.
And, Sally would make a great First Lady!

So remember, you heard it here first:
Scott Robertson for President!

Although my plan to escape pool for the day
was a complete failure, it was a great time
with a great friend.

Day 37: Longmont, CO

In another day escaping my Destiny (pool),
I looked up my best flying buddy Art Annecharico
at the Longmont airport where he keeps his biplane.

We had lunch with Dan Murray,
a builder of flying machines,
a true artist in wood and metal,
and, like Art, a most excellent pilot,
and, like Art, wingman on some
of my flying adventures.

We hung out at Dan's hangar,
and told some of our true but amazing flying stories,
some of which we have told many times together,
but they never grow old,
because they keep us young.

Art has a Maserati Quatroporte,
with a V-12 engine of 425 horsepower,
so he was eager to see what my Vette would do,
and encouraged me to open it up on the airport taxiway.
It's a small airport, so the taxiway is not very long,
but I got to 120mph before I figured it was time to brake.
That was with the transmission in automatic mode.

Next, Art wanted to see how fast I could go
using the paddle shift (manual mode).
I should have suspected something right away,
as Art and I like to play practical jokes on each other.

One of the things he taught me
early on in my flying career,
is that you can get away with almost anything once,
but never, never, go back and do it again.
(this in regard to flying under bridges, etc)

I had always taken this very good advice,
and played a very nasty practical joke on him
which involved him flying under a bridge in Cairo, IL
TWICE, in the summer of '96 on our USA tour.
For that story, click here.

That's one of the stories I re-told at lunch,
and we all had a good laugh about it,
so when Art wanted me to take a second high speed pass
with the Corvette down the taxiway today,
I should have been more tuned in to the situation.
But I did it anyway.
When we got back to the hangar,
Dan mentioned a police cruiser had shown up just 5 minutes later.
But Art and I had already exited the area.
Close call...

Art is one of those "most unforgettable characters".
He is truly generous, compassionate, funny, open,
and full of life.
I have learned a lot from him.
He had one errand to do, and I tagged along.
We went to the home/office of Louie Psihoyos,
an extraordinarily celebrated photographer.
Here's one of his more famous shots
taken in 1995 of Bill Gates demonstrating
the capacity of a CD:


Louie was in the South Pacific at the moment,
on board the sailing ship of Jim Clark
(one of the founders of Netscape)
working on a five year Hi-Def video project
designed to help raise global awareness
of conservation and protection of our oceans.
Art was there to review the early video clips
and to offer advice on how to proceed with the project.
Click here for story about Louie Psihoyos
Click here for story about Jim Clark's awesome $30 million, 289' sailboat
(it is the world's largest privately owned sailing yacht)

This was just a small part of
just another day in the life of Art Annecharico.
Did I mention that Art is "highly connected"?
;o)

That was a real kick seeing something so big, and yet
in the embryonic stages.
Look for it in 2011...

Too soon, it was time for me to head back to Denver,
and on the way out of the airport,
Art pulled alongside in his Maserati,
ready to test his V-12 against my V-8.
I pulled ahead by a car length before
we had to rein it in for the stop sign,
and Art claimed he missed a shift
and wanted a "do over"...

Yeah, right, Art.
I'm not going to fall for that one again!

Day 36: Denver, CO

No pool today.
Didn't play, didn't read about it,
didn't even think about it.
Pure rest and relaxation.
Alone.
Ah, the sweet serenity of solitude!

Day 35: Far, Far Away

This post is coming to you from
"Far, Far Away" because that is where my mind is,
or rather that is where it must be,
because it certainly is not on pool.

Samm called me out yesterday, at 5:30pm,
for 10pm on Sunday night, my choice of pool halls,
and to bring my video recorder to tape the event.
That gave me 4 and a half hours to prepare,
but I did not prepare for this match in the way I should.

Instead, I had too big a meal (Chipotle)... yum!),
and wasted time watching a monster thunderstorm go by
(I love the thunder and lightning).
I did not go through my pre-match routine,
did not meditate, did not rest, did not stretch.
Nada, zip, zilch, zero.
What can I expect from such a lakadaisical attitude
except poor play on my part, and defeat?

And that's exactly what happened.
I certainly played poorly, according to my own standards,
but I was very lucky to have won the first set
after struggling to hill-hill.
The second set we agreed to shorten to a race to 5
instead of the customary 7 games
because the pool hall was closing and wanted us OUT,
so they could go home.
I was all in favor of that, just to stop the madness,
because I was missing balls my little sister would make.
My mind was all over the place, even thinking about
how I would have to admit all this in my blog today.
Samm won the second set, so we split for the day.

Am I taking our matches for granted?
Has Samm become a friend instead of a deadly enemy?
Am I just getting sloppy?
Where is my discipline?
Am I playing TOO MUCH POOL? (is there such a thing?)

I do know one thing for sure,
trying to shoot pool at 2am is a real challenge for me.
My whole schedule is completely shifted.
It's not like a simple time zone change (jet lag)
which I can adjust to in a couple of days.
Rather, this is a shift of my whole light/dark rhythm.
Note: do research on "circadian rhythms".
When I wake up at noon, because I got to sleep at 4am,
I have missed at least 5 hours of sunlight that
I have been used to for most of my lifetime.

But that would be only a part of it.
I must get back into pre-match routines which I
have established and which will work for me.
I must treat every opportunity to shoot pool as
an extraordinary event, and to prepare for it,
and to treat every shot in the same way.

Meanwhile, I'll take a bit of a break, do some reading.
I brought three books with me:
Point The Way, by Timothy Miller ("The Monk")
The Pro Book, by Bob Henning
The Advanced Pro Book, by Bob Henning
All three books have excellent material on the mental game.

During this break from competition,
I'll visit with a couple of friends in the area.
Art, my flying buddy and wingman on our USA Tour
(see my Biplane Adventures)
and Scott, who was on my board of advisors of my TeleMagic software adventure.

And during this little break,
I will have some time to get my rhythms back in sync,
to exercise, meditate, and consider again the
Meaning of Life, and Pool.

Day 34: Aurora, CO

Playing pool late into the night,
and beyond into the wee hours of the mornings,
and the necessary sleeping late into the day,
breakfast eaten at 2 in the afternoon...
all of this leads to a blending of one day with the next,
a continuous blur of tables, faces and food,
and any meaning of life seems to evaporate.

After more than a month on the road,
I have become a pool hall junkie,
an automaton driven into the night to seek out
colored balls and green cloth in dark and dirty places.
Can nothing save me now?

Last night I shot pool with "Georgia Boy",
who is also known locally as CJ and/or Carlton,
the 67 year old black dude with a slip stroke
and a quiet, easy, confident manner developed over 50 years
of shooting pool for a living... successfully.

The day before, after I met him and watched him play,
I asked him to give me a few lessons,
he tried to get rid of me as some pest
(as he told me later)
by telling me it would cost me 35 bucks an hour.
But, being addicted to pool,
I could not be put off so easily,
and I agreed to the price without question.

Now that I had called his bluff,
he had to deliver,
and we met up at Rack 'em Billiards in Aurora, CO
at 5pm, whereupon he said "Let's shoot some pool".
I told him that he would probably do very little shooting,
but mostly teaching and showing me what I'm doing wrong,
and how I should be doing it right.
He liked that, and we started in on my biggest weakness.

I told him I could not draw the ball,
and he said of course I can,
set up a short, straight shot and told me to draw the ball,
and sure I can draw the ball on a short shot,
but as the distance increases between the cue ball and object,
my draw wanes and eventually disappears altogether,
which I demonstrated to him.
I told him that Strickland and Fisher can draw the ball
the length of the table with apparent ease,
and that I was certain that there is some secret technique
or unpublished way of thinking that creates such magic.
So I asked him "What should I be thinking, to draw the ball?"
His answer was very Zen: "Draw the ball".

He also reminded me that Strickland and Fisher have
spent years of practice on this one shot alone,
and that the cloth used in their matches is new,
and therefore offers almost no resistance,
while the stuff we were playing on is like
wading through molasses.
I felt somewhat better, but still could not draw better.
Then he told me to focus on the bottom of the balls,
not just the cue ball but also the object ball.
That got my attention as a new technique,
and it seemed to help.
I hit a few dozen shots for him,
and my draw actually improved,
but there is no shortcut to hitting a million shots.
Practice, practice, practice.

We moved on to some of my other trouble shots:
Shooting over a ball, shooting from the rail,
break shots, reverse english shots...
I guess I have trouble with just about every shot,
except maybe straight in short shots,
and I've even missed a few of those too,
but I'm not going to waste his time
and embarrass myself by mentioning that.

He patiently watched me flub along,
and gave me pointers on each of these shots,
showing me how he does it,
telling me about variations of each shot,
and setting up the balls for me to try over and over.

I'm not going to get into the details of each shot,
and the secrets of how to shoot them,
as it would take too long for this forum,
and also because I ain't gonna give away his secrets!

We took a break for dinner at the local Olive Garden,
where he said grace before the meal,
and kept me fascinated with stories of all the names
famous and obscure, who he had the pleasure to
come in contact with over the years.

He lived and played in New York City,
shooting pool at Ames' before it was used in the
movie "The Hustler".
He was there in the audience when Luther Lassiter
beat Cicero Murphy (another black pool champion)
for the world straight pool title.
What is little known is that Cicero Murphy
had just previously beaten Lassiter in the tournament.

I'm sure the stories could have gone one forever,
and his language is colorful and funny
(he calls people he doesn't like "mammerjammers"),
but I'm more addicted to pool than I am food
(especially after I've eaten)
so it was back to the pool hall for more...

This time we just played 9-ball,
and as I would run a few balls
then screw up on position or miss,
he would set up the shot again,
we would have a little discussion about it,
and I would have another go at it,
several times if need be,
then continue the rack.

After 7 hours, he called it quits,
and I drove him home.
He asked several times if I felt I had learned anything
and if I got value for my investment in his time.
Of course, I did, and I just hope that I can
remember it and put it into practice when I need it.

We'll probably meet up again for more,
either in this life or the next.

If there is a heaven for pool shooters,
the cloth is new, you never miscue,
the tables are level and the toilets are clean.

And I'll be able to draw the ball
the length of the table...

Day 33: Aurora, CO

I read in the Cue Times
that there is an 8-ball tournament on Friday nights
at the "Rack 'em Billiards" pool hall in Aurora,
so I drove over there hoping to get some more 8 ball practice.
When I got there, I learned that the tournament
is played on small bar tables, not regulation 9-footers.
That killed it for me, as I have no interest
in playing on the mini-tables
because the US Amateur championships are played
on the big tables, so that's where I focus.

OK, so I decide to shoot some balls, solo,
and try out my new Predator 314 series 2 shaft
which I just had shipped in to me from home.
I ordered it before I left on this trip,
and it didn't arrive in time for me to take it with me.
The new shaft is supposed to have even less deflection
than the standard Predator 314 shaft,
which is alread one of the lowest deflection shafts
available on the market.
I ordered this new shaft 1 inch longer than my others,
figuring maybe it might come in handy on stretch shots.
I did notice that it changes the balance of the cue
but just a bit, and I quickly got used to it.

On the table next to me was a solo guy setting up
straight pool break shots, then going for the runout.
Imagine, straight pool!
Nobody plays that anymore, but that's the game I love.
So I asked him if he wanted to shoot some straight pool,
and he jumped at the chance.
In no time at all I had a comfortable lead in points,
when in comes an old black dude, white hair, and
he sits down, starts talking with my opponent (Calgary Dave).
They were doing a lot of talking because Dave was
doing a lot of sitting while I was doing a lot of shooting.

But every once in a while I would miss, and go talk
with this black dude who turns out to be the most
interesting guy I have met in this entire trip, so far.
Check this out:
He is 67 years old, and has played pool for more than
fifty years, and still plays with the same
BALABUSHKA cue he had made by George himself,
which he showed me and allowed me to hold in my hands.
It was the first time I ever touched one of these
legendary cues.
He said he paid $250 for it but now it is worth
several thousand dollars, but of course he would
never sell it, and plans to leave it to a friend.
We talked some more, as I had really no interest in
playing any more straight pool with Dave, when I
could be talking to this living repository of
all things pool for the last half-century.

I told him that Cecil Tugwell,
a legendary black player, showed me how to
shoot one-pocket, and soon he was going on about
a whole list of great black shooters,
who he knew and played.

I asked him if he would like to shoot some pool,
and he said he only shoots for money, period.
I told him I don't gamble and so it looked like
I wouldn't see him play, but after a while he
seemed to be getting the itch to hit some balls,
and he made the proposition that he would
take Dave's place and the lower score and
we would finish out the game in progress.
When he made that proposition,
he didn't know that I only needed 3 balls to win,
and Dave needed something like 25,
but he went ahead anyway.

And then the magic happened...
Without any warm-up at all, this man just
started running balls with an ease and fluidity
I have very rarely seen.
His stroke is so smooth it must be seen to
be believed.
Pool players call it a "slip stroke" because
the cue moves forward in the grip hand,
so that instead of pushing the cue forward
using a grip, he actually throws the cue forward
and catches it in one motion.
Extraordinarily beautiful, and very effective.

Soon enough, he only needed a few balls, maybe three,
so he counts what he needs, continues to shoot,
and then the strangest thing happens: he misses
the winning game ball!
So he IS human, after all.

I hardly felt right about running the few balls
I needed to win, but I did it anyway.
And that is the story of how I beat
the team of Calgary Dave and "Georgia Boy"
(his pool hustler name)
on a Friday night in Aurora, Colorado.
And it's all true.

Georgia Boy and I agreed to meet again on Saturday,
and he will give me some lessons.
I would love to get a video of his stroke,
but he wasn't too excited about that idea.
Maybe I can sweet talk him into it.
After all, I did get him to play without gambling.
Stay tuned...

Day 32: Aurora, CO

Last night's Nine-Ball tournament at Paradise Billiards
came out pretty good for me, better than I expected.
Samm told me there would be some real good shooters,
and there were definitely some pros there, including
Melissa Little and Meghan Meinrich from the WPBA,
and probably some local pros, judging from their
performances, but since I'm a stranger in these parts,
I wouldn't recognize their faces or names.

The rules were more to my liking, with races to 5,
so the longer the race, the better for me.

My first match started out looking like it would be
a repeat from the night before where I took two losses
in my first two matches, and was put out of the competition.
So, last night, my first opponent dropped the 9 on the break.
Then popped an early 2-9 combo, and I was down 2-0
and only had one shot!
It was looking grim, but I came back and won the
next 5 out of 6 games to win the match.

The next match wasn't so easy.
This guy was shooting them in from all over the place,
and while I took a couple of games from him,
he was definitely controlling the table and
deserved the win.
I told him I would see him again in the finals!

My next match went well, as I was shooting good.
There was no stress, no nervousness, and even
though the place was poorly air-conditioned,
I was maintaining my cool.
I kept telling myself just one ball at a time.

In a big surprise, the next match was with Twitchy
the guy from the previous night's 8-ball tournament.
Since he was shooting so well in that one,
I started thinking maybe he was going to be the
guy who would put me out of this one.
But, again, I just focused on one ball at a time,
and soon enough I was winning 3-0.
That's when he said:
"OK, now you've got my attention!"
and he really started bearing down hard
and came back to win the next few games,
but it wasn't good enough because I won the match.
That really felt good!

My next (and last) match was a real heartbreaker.
We went back and forth until we were both "on the hill"
needing only one game to win the set.
I was faced with a relatively easy cut on the 8-ball
to get position on the 9 for the win,
but I gave it a tad too much reverse english
and threw the 8 into the tip of the cushion
and rattled it.
Of course, my worthy opponent got out easy,
putting me out of the tournament.
He lost his next match to the tournament winner.
Twitchy, who had been hawking my action since his loss
said "That was the first shot I saw you miss all night".

The only real highlight of that last match
was a really fun shot I made.
During my early matches,
I had been having trouble with combination shots.
And that really bugged me, because they didn't seem
to be that hard, so when I was faced with a
FOUR BALL combination along the rail to sink the 9,
I was thinking it would probably be smarter to
play safe rather than go for the win.
But it just looked sooooo tempting.
It was not really lined up, with some slight
jiggy mis-alignment, and with 4 balls,
(five with the cue ball) to figure out the angles,
it was hurting my brain to calculate the exquisite
details, and considering the double & triple shimmed
pockets, I went back and forth on the wisdom of
even trying it, and then figured, what the heck,
and let the force be with me, hauled off and
went with my gut, and pop, pop, pop, pop, plop..
the 9 ball dropped clean!
How sweet it is...

Day 31: Wheat Ridge, CO

Yesterday afternoon I drove out to Table Steaks South,
to check out the tables and hit some balls.
What a palace the place is!
Frank Burgess, the owner, spent some serious coin
on making this the best pool hall I have been in, ever.

The tables are triple shimmed, and tighter than
anything I have experienced.
Shots I could have sworn were IN,
just rattled and laughed at me.
Playing on a table like this could definitely
sharpen the eyes.
Note to self:
Consider triple-shimming my Gold Crown IV.
Last night was, um, interesting.

The manager Mike ("Kermit") O'Connell treated me right.
And knows some San Diego players, and wanted me to
give big-ups to Tina Pawloski (sp?) who he met when
he was in the area for the WPBA Viejas tournment (March?).
Says he was a good shooter but prefers poker,
where there is less practice required and more money!
Can't argue that point.

So I shot a couple of hours,
then back to the hotel for some rest before the tournament.
Eight ball, double elimination, race to 4 on the winner's side,
race to 3 on the loser's side. Ball in hand.
No 3-foul rule.

Samm told me that this tournament draws the best players,
and that there are NO easy draws.
But I had no problem in the first round.
I made it through the first round without missing a shot.
That's because I got a bye.
;o)

But Samm was right, of course.
My first match was with the guy who came in second.
I got two games from him, but he ruled.
My second matchup was about the same story,
but I was not shooting my best.
I felt a bit off, distracted, and the
triple-shimmed pockets weren't helping any either.

After my 0-2 barbeque, I stuck around to sweat the action.
It was great people-watching, for sure.
The most noticeable was a guy I called Twitchy.
By far the most hyperactive player I've ever seen.
Could not be still for a second.
Probably twenty warm-up strokes,
raced around the table, up/down/up/down on the shot,
and talking to himself and anyone else constantly,
acting out his displeasure every time he missed,
pointing to where he should have left the cue ball.
I guess we have all seen players like this.
Maybe they think they can get over on the opponent
with all the hystrionics, but they are all bluff.
He made it to the semi-finals, but was bumped
by a guy I call The Fat Man.

The Fat Man was a consumate player, in my book.
He was quiet, composed, and never rattled.
He glided around the table just like Jackie Gleason
in the movie The Hustler, and his gut was just as big.
Watching The Fat Man and Twitchy go at it was
a study in contrasts.
I couldn't have been more pleased when The Fat Man won!

Jackie was another quiet player.
She won a spot on the IPT tour.
I mentioned Samm's name and she smiled and we talked.
I asked her why not WPBA and she says she feels
that men and women should compete on an even level.
I totally agree, of course.
She seemed to be suffering from a head cold,
and didn't make it all the way through.
She was put out of the tournament by The Kid.

The Kid seemed to be no more than 19 years old,
and had one of those side-arm strokes like
Keith McCready.
Real quiet type, but he could sure shoot pool.
In fact, he eliminated the owner Frank Burgess.

In the semi-final matchup of The Fat Man and The Kid,
it was the age-old story of Experience vs. Youth.
Experience won, giving me reassurance for my own game.
But it was close!

The finals were between The Fat Man and The Mouth.
The Mouth could not shut up.
There was nothing he, or his opponent, did that
did not get some comment.
If he wasn't talking about something in the game,
he was complaining about his bad back or knees.
The match went hill-hill, and when The Fat Man
racked the balls for The Mouth to break,
The Mouth complained that the balls were
not racked properly according to BCA rules.
They went back and forth about this for 5 minutes,
The Fat Man refusing to re-rack.
Finally the deadlock was broken when The Mouth
banged the rack with his stick, and then
of course a re-rack was mandatory,
The Fat Man relented and the final game was on.

All during the match, both players were doing soft breaks.
This set up a chess match of safeties
so the games lasted forever,
until someone saw the light of day and went for the run.
It was really good pool to watch,
and of course I was rooting for The Fat Man.
The Mouth missed his runout, leaving The Fat Man
partially hidden behind a ball for a long shot on the 8.
He took his time, considered his options for safety play,
walked around the table, decided the only option was to
go for it, knowing he would have to juice the cue ball,
and without any fanfare, and not a word, got down,
lined up, fired at the 8 ball, and...
I wish I didn't have to say it,
but it rattled!
Damn!

The Mouth ran his remaining 3 balls for an easy out,
and the win.
This was not a night for the good guys.
Including me.

Samm text-messaged me this morning,
asking if I had fun.
My reply was "Does the mouse have fun with the cat?"
Maybe you catch my drift.

Tonight is a 9-ball tournament in Wheat Ridge,
with more top players...

Day 30: Englewood, CO

Short note about yesterday's entry,
which was written at 3am and therefore
while I was mentally and physically Gonzo,
so it may be excused that I forgot the best part.

Samm treated me to a meal of Pho, (say "fuh"),
her native Vietnamese specialty,
which is a soup of noodles and meat
(I chose chicken, which tastes like chicken).
However this soup requires some skill to consume.
Hold the spoon with your left hand whilst
using chopsticks to load it with noodles,
a bit of meat, and some seasoning,
then pop the whole thing in your mouth.

Yeah, right. Have you ever tried using
chopsticks to load slippery noodles onto
a spoon held in your left hand?
I think this whole chopsticks invention
is simply another way for Asians
to show their superiority over Westerners.
After all, they train from birth to use chopsticks,
so of course I am going to look like a complete buffoon.
And from that lowly self-image,
I am supposed to go shoot pool with her!
Very crafty, Samm!

Samm could probably draw the cue ball table length
whilst holding the cue with chopsticks!

It should be said, however, that the little bit of food
that finally did find its way into my mouth
was very tasty.
The starter, a nicely done springroll with a peanut sauce
was also very tasty, and didn't need tools to eat.
Great meal, Samm.
Thanks again for the most blog-worthy experience.

During our meal, the sky opened up and rained,
like a fat cow pissin' on a flat rock.
(one of many colorful expressions picked up on the road)

After this very generous gesture on Samm's part,
we went over to Table Steaks East, where she is the pro,
and I sat in on a class she teaches, for free.
It's all about pool, of course.
This evening there were two students, Jennifer and Eric,
both of whom agreed (me too) that she is an excellent teacher.

All of the above happened last night,
before we went back to "Rack 'em" for our two sets.

---

Tonight I'm on my own and
plan on entering an 8-ball tournament.
Samm has other business.
Stay tuned...

Day 29: Aurora, CO

Samm and I split sets in the US Amateur format.
Close scores.
Good practice!

She is excellent at picking her way through a rack,
and it seems she is better at 8 ball,
while I seem to do better at 9 ball.

My strategy of just focusing on the shot at hand
appears to be paying off.
And my emotional control is better because of it.

Break needs work.
Long draw needs work.

Samm will be taking a few days off for other biz,
and I'll be entering a couple of tournaments
over the next couple of days.
Should be very interesting!

Day 28: Aurora, CO

Here I sit all bleary-eyed, the morning after,
trying to make sense of the previous evening's events,
and wondering if there is any sense to be made
of anything, ever, and questioning the essence of
winning and losing.

It has been observed quite rightly that
"every dog has his day" and that
"even a blind squirrel finds a nut"
and that given enough time
a hundred monkeys with a hundred typewriters
will eventually rewrite Shakespeare.
So, Alfie, what's it all about?

After the previous evening's Mikie-destruction derby,
I resolved to play only one ball at a time,
and to start fresh, forgetting the past,
letting go of the future,
not needing or wanting a win,
just playing the game in the Here/Now.
Only This Ball.

I got a haircut, did some laundry,
and listend to my self-made hypnosis tape
just prior to our rematch scheduled for last night.
My mind was clear.

Samm and I met up last night at "Rack 'em" in Aurora,
a fine billiards establishment with lots of
honest Diamond tables, with challenging pockets.
First on the agenda was a race to 7
in the US Amateur format (8 and 9 ball).
I got off to a good start, and it stayed that way,
all the way to the ultimate ball,
which I rattled in the jaws,
which, if I had made it would have given me
a most incredible 7-0 win
over a most worthy opponent.
But that 9 ball just sat there,
deep in the pocket, but still not dropped,
making everything that came before it irrelevant.
Samm dropped the 9 and went on to win the next 2 games
before scratching on an 8 ball,
giving me the win at 7-3.

After the match,
which progressed without a word between us,
I had to admit to Samm that her absolute rock-solid
composure is extremely effective.
There was not a single change of expression,
nor a single display of any emotion whatsoever
from her during the entire set.
This is most intimidating, even for a player
who is winning 6-0 with a shot on the game ball,
and that could very well be the reason I missed it.

So, Samm, what you have shown me is
the art of doing nothing,
the strength of quiet,
the power of composure.

I had noted this style of yours in
the matches we played the previous evening,
and I was determined to reign in my emotions,
and was generally successful, except
for once when I miscued after running
thru a rack of 8 ball and getting perfect
position on a very tricky shot,
and it was then that I lost my composure
and blurted out something stupid and irrelevant,
which only serves to reduce my own power
and increase the confidence of the opponent.

I came here to learn.
I sure hope I have learned to keep my mouth shut.

Again, on that very topic,
I was reminded that even in victory I have much to learn.

I was born and raised in Philadelphia,
shot my first pool there at Willie Mosconi's place
near my high school.
Philly is a trash-talking town.
It's what we do, it's who we are.
Bluster, bravado, bluffing, smack-talking...
it's all the same.
We do it because we learned it in the streets.
It's a survival tactic, I suppose.
Think Rocky, think Muhammad Ali.
This means that we talk smack before a match
to get over, to get an edge on the opponent,
and we talk smack after a win, rub it in,
to demoralize the opponent in case of a rematch.
And when we win, we glory in it, we bathe in it,
we wallow in it in a most disgusting,
but very Philadelphia way.

And here in Aurora, on the last day of July 2006,
our two cultures collided, and Samm showed me the way,
reminded me that there is a more perfect way to win.
With composure, with style, with grace, and with compassion.
Especially compassion... knowing that on any given day
even a dog like me can win, if the planets align,
my opponent is having an off day, and
the balls roll favorably for me, not her.

How much of any win is the result of personal power
and absolute control of the situation?
Does any single win prove anything?
Or is it just a moment in time, of no importance?
Is there any value in a victory dance and trash-talk?

Or would it be best to simply let it all go
and remind myself that on another day, another place,
the tables will surely turn, and
it would be best if I simply kept my big mouth shut.

I can hear my father's voice,
telling me this as a wee lad:
"You can't learn with your mouth open."

This is a most excellent opportunity for me to
grow by playing and watching closely a true champion.

Thank you, Samm.

---

During some quiet moments on the road
I get the chance to check out some pool-related sites
and here's one of the more fun/interesting
on the subject of snooker:
"Adventures of a Northern Snooker Hero"
I found this site after seeing that a lot of hits
were coming to my site after being referred by his site.
Check it out. Funny, no-holds-barred style of writing.

Day 27: Aurora, CO

Before I go one moment further with this blog,
I must add something to yesterday's entry.

True, I did snivel and whine about how poorly I played,
and never once did I mention my worthy opponent's play.
How completely egocentric of me!
(What else is new?)

So then, let me set the record straight:
Samm Diep is an awesome pool player.
I came here to learn from her,
and here are some observations:

1. Totally focused, no talking, no emotion while shooting,
but when not playing pool, she is a total sweetie,
a real, warm, funny, and compassionate human being.
2. Great preshot routine. Always sets up the shot right.
3. Excellent shot maker.
4. Excellent strategy player.
5. A real credit to the game. No trash talking.
Perfect manners and composure.

(She didn't get to be BCA 9-ball champion for nothing!)

I need a lot of work to be just half the player she is.

---

Today is turning out to be a great day!
I discovered a Whole Foods market across the street.
Although I have never been inside one of these stores,
I have heard about them.

When I walked in, I almost wept with joy!
(Good food can do that to a guy.)
What a wonderland of tasty, nutritious treats!
These people know how do do things right.
I going to buy some of their stock.
Click here for stock info.

So, goodbye greasy french fries at Table Steaks East.
Hello fresh fruits & juices, McCann's Irish oatmeal...

Where, you might ask, have I been that
I have not been inside a Whole Foods market?
Well, remember the bit about me being a hermit?
OK, but even hermits have to eat, right?
True enough, but I have a secret weapon which
shields me from the world in general,
and from food stores in particular.
You see, I have had the same cook for the last 20 years.
Amazing, but true!

Carol, if you are reading this,
you probably already shop for me at Whole Foods,
but if you don't, check it out, if there is one nearby.

I'm really looking forward to my next meal!
Road food totally sucks, but I have found
"acres of diamonds" directly across the street.

In other, totally non-pool related and
completely insignificant news to anyone else,
the hotel returned my dry cleaning in half a day,
and done to my specifications (no crease in the pants).
Isn't it amazing what life on the road will do to a person,
that they obsess over the smallest comforts?

Good food and clean clothes.
Life is good again.

---

Tonight I will again shoot pool.
One ball at a time...

Day 26: Aurora, CO

Allow me to introduce Sammantha Diep,
the 2004 BCA women's 9-ball champion.
(check out her website)
We met up last summer when I was in Denver,
and played some pool in the US Amateur format
(race to 7, 8 games of 9 ball, 5 games of 8 ball)
and although I won against her last year,
just prior to her winning her 9-ball crown,
last night she won all 3 of the sets we played.

I got started slowly, down 3-0,
and while I won half of the next 8 games,
so did she, and won the set 7-4.

We played at the place where she is the house pro,
a place called Table Steaks East
just a few miles from where I'm staying.
I visited the place in the early afternoon, solo,
just to check out the tables.
There's an old beat-up Gold Crown III,
with tight pockets, and a bunch of no-name tables.
I chose the Gold Crown, just to check out
the tight pockets, and test my skill with them.

In the afternoon practice, I felt real good,
and was sinking balls from all over,
hardly even noticing the unforgiving pockets.
After a couple of hours I started getting real tired.
I think it was that big mess of french fries I ate.
So I called it quits and went back to the hotel for a nap.
I felt I would need to rest up for my match with Samm,
who is a true night-owl.

We started playing around 9pm, and didn't quit till 2:30am,
and even though the hour was way later than I typically play,
I was feeling good, strong, and alert the whole time,
so I can not attribute my poor play on the late hours.

What was it?
I'd like to say it was the altitude.
Denver is the "mile high city" and it takes a day or so
to acclimate to the elevation of 5,000+ feet.
But I'm not going to blame my performance on anything
but my mental condition.
I was just not playing the shot in front of me.
I was playing the whole set, the last time we played,
I was writing this blog (in my mind)
and what I would say if I lost, or won.
And, once I got down in the score, I was playing the score,
not the shot at hand, and I was thinking negative,
and the whole downward spiral that comes from that.

I guess this is what they call "paying your dues".
There's a whole lot of losing that comes before winning,
and yesterday was just some more of the un-fun stuff.

I KNOW I can play better pool than I did last night,
and I will.
I absolutely will.

Day 25: Aurora, CO

Another long distance drive,
the full length of Wyoming,
from Sheridan all the way thru to Denver, CO.

Interstate 25 in Wyoming has more roadkill
than any place I have ever seen.
Probably 2-3 flat animals every 20 yards!
Mostly jackrabbits, I figure, judging
from the fur and feet.
Maybe a coyote here and there.
What a mess!

Speaking of dead stuff,
I'll bet I collected every bug in eastern Wyoming
using the front of my car to catch 'em.

I stopped for a brief rest in Cheyenne, WY
for a cup of Starbucks,
and noticed a curious thing:
there's a lot of people wearing cowboy hats!
Men, women and children all wearing Stetsons.
Do they wear suits on Halloween?

Also did a hand-wash on the car, myself!
It is said that a man only truly gets to know
his car when he washes it himself.
So now me and the Puple Penetrator have shared a moment.
It is also said that a clean car runs better,
and it sure ran fine for the final push of 120 miles
into Aurora, CO.

I expect to be hanging out here in the Denver area
for a while, shooting LOTS of pool,
and catching up with some good friends.

Day 24: Sheridan, WY

I was thinking I'd head out to Bozeman, MT
but when I got there I was feeling good,
so I stretched it to Billings, MT
and then figured I'd had just about enough of Montana,
and went all the way into Wyoming.

Right at the state line going into Wyoming
the road turns red. Red asphalt!
Further down the road, the sky turned red-ish
because of smoke from a wildfire a long way off.
Red road, red sky, red car... it looked like I was
driving straight into HELL!
Freaky!

Today's run was the longest leg so far,
and the road was straight through some of the
best looking geography so far.
We crossed the continental divide at 6,393' elevation
between Missoula and Bozeman,
and it was all downhill since then (mostly).

This is the land of Little Big Horn
where Custer got his butt kicked (terminally),
and there is nothing but meat on the menu.
Cowboys don't eat no veggies.

I looked in the Yellow Pages for Billiard Parlors,
found only one listed,
and asked the hotel front desk clerk
to direct me to the place,
and she told me it was about three hours down the road.
Yikes!
It was just a small Yellow Pages, but included
a major hunk of Wyoming, the least populous state.
I won't be shooting pool there tonight.

I'm feeling kinda grumpy without some competition,
but I sense it might be close.
Denver!

Day 23: Missoula, MT

Only 58 days left before the US Amateur Championships.
Gotta pick up the pace with more focused practice.
So it's back to school today (Univ. of Montana)
and those beautiful 15 Gold Crown IV tables.

Yesterday's table was "Reserved",
so I took one of the others which are all
covered in nappy stuff.
While they look slow, they aren't that much slower
than the table with the black smooth cloth.

The place was deserted,
so I started into my practice routine:
1. Two dozen long draw shots
2. Two dozen short draw precision position shots.
3. Sorto string till I do it. (I did in 7 tries.)
4. Alternate Rail position with 6 balls. (10 reps)

After 100 minutes I needed a break.
Would you believe table time was only 4 bucks?

I'm going back tonight for competition...

---

Well, the competition didn't happen.
Adam, the guy who I played last night,
and who I was intending to play again tonight,
called to say his buddy got arrested,
and he had to deal with that.
I guess if you're going to get arrested,
the time to do it is while you're still in college.

So I just did some more focused practice for 3 hours.
This time I worked on the tough shots.
Table length, cue ball frozen on the head rail,
with the object ball frozen to the side rail.
My success percentage was pretty low until I
focused on three things:
1. exaggerated follow through
2. disciplined pre-shot routine
3. take a good, full stroke (not soft)
With these working for me, my success ratio soared.

The follow through helped somewhat,
but it was the pre-shot routine that helped most.
I remember Samm Diep's pre-shot routine and how
absolutely focused she is, and I tried to model her
and it was a big help.
Thanks, Samm!

Samm won the BCA 9-ball women's championship!
I played her last year when I was in Denver,
and I'm looking forward to playing her again
when I get there on this trip.

---

Even with cheap table time and great tables,
I'm burning out on this place.
I need some serious competition, not just practice.
The road is calling my name...

Day 22: Missoula, MT

The speed limit is 75 on the road to Missoula,
and that let's me get my right foot into it a bit more.
I didn't see any police cars for the entire 3+ hour trip.
This is real boondocks territory.
But the road is great, with lots of long sweeping curves
winding through majestic conifer covered mountains
guarding picturesque meandering valley streams.
I could live here if it weren't for the winters.

I planned to hit Missoula early in the afternoon
to deal with a board of directors meeting by phone
and that lasted more than 3 hours.
I checked out the Yellow Pages under Billiards
to find the place I've been planning to play,
but there was no "Cue Ball's" listed.
I checked the story I read about the place online,
and noticed that it was dated 2001, so it seems
that the place went out of business.
The only other place for pool I saw in the book
was called The Palace, so I called and felt lucky
to learn that there was going to be a tournament tonight.

When I got there, The Palace is really a Dungeon.
It's in the basement of an old building.
Narrow stairs off the sidewalk lead down to
a low-ceiling cave that smelled of stale tobacco smoke.
The tables were covered with treadbare cloth, but
I would have played on them anyway, except for the smoke.
I made the commitment a couple of years ago to never
play where they allow smoking.
These people may be suicidal, but not me!

So it was back to the hotel, and I was ready to move on,
but I checked the Yellow Pages one more time,
(the book seemed newer than the last one I checked)
and found an ad for the Univ. of Montana's Game Room
with 15 brand new Gold Crown IV tables (plus ping pong)!

Long story short, I was there...
Played the guy who manages the place,
and out of about a dozen games of 9 and 8 ball,
I won all but two.
It wasn't fair, really, because his girfriend arrived
in the middle of the set and he lost his focus.
She's a hottie, so I missed a shot or two as well,
but then I got back into it.

Tonight was a first.
First time I played on black cloth.
Didn't seem to make any difference.

Day 21: Sandpoint, ID

Sandpoint is described as the place where
God wakes up each morning and kisses the earth.

I'm sure there are at least two arguable points
in that hypothesis, but it's poetic anyway.

Today was a simple day with simple pleasures,
enjoying the lake, the beach, and the company
of Heather and her extraordinary children.
Early this morning Bruce went to San Francisco on biz.

It was a no-pool day, as I could not bring myself
to play on the small bar tables at Slates restaurant.
There is not even a listing in the phone book for Billiards.

So it's back on the road in the morning, south and east,
to Missoula, Montana, and some serious pool.

Three weeks on the road so far,
far from home,
and this evening I am feeling it.

Day 20: Sandpoint, ID

Beutiful territory around here.
A giant lake where you would never expect it.
And I got the last room right ON THE BEACH,
so I feel right at home.

I'm visiting with friends Heather and Bruce & 3 great kids.
Bruce and Heather operate BookCrossing.com
which is an extraordinary and original concept
with a huge following.
Check it out and join the party!
That's just one of many hats they wear.
Also into other online businesses, plus real estate, plus...
Another claim to fame is that they vacationed in Paris
with their friend Mark Furhman,
the perjured detective in the OJ Simpson case.

Tonight I shot some pool on small bar tables with Bruce,
and got challenged by a young guy, Sean,
who was a good shot, but was missing the strategy of
safety in 8-ball.
We only played one game, and I coached Bruce to play
safe with 7 balls, with clusters, until he finally won.
Sean was appreciative for the opportunity to learn.

I remember when, not too long ago,
I had very little knowledge of safety play,
especially using safeties as an offensive strategy.
Thanks to the brilliance of Tony "El Maestro" Sorto,
and his unlimited patience in teaching a pig (me) to sing,
I'm starting to get the idea, and see the opportunities.

Sean and I will probably play again tomorrow night.
After that, I'm outta here,
and will most likely head to Missoula, Montana
for some serious pool on regulation tables.

Day 19: Spokane, WA

Pay It Forward

It was a morning like any other,
doing all the morning things,
shower, coffee, breakfast, floss...
oops! pop goes a tooth crown!
And here I am 1500 miles from my dentist.

I can click the crown back in place,
and there is no pain, yet,
but I'm thinking it could easily come off
when I'm eating, and I could swallow the tooth,
and that could lead to all sorts of complications
not the least of which would be the need to
poke around in my own excrement to find it.
Yuk!
And, if I did find it, do I really want it back in my mouth?

A call to my home dentist is returned right away (Sunday!)
and as always, he is a calming influence,
saying that he would gladly see me tomorrow if
I jumped on a plane to get to his office, (which I would gladly do)
but advises that a local dentist could deal with a temp glue-job
that could last until I get back to home base.
More calls to local good friend Kate for number
of her family dentist, then messages to his home,
but he is on the road, on the way home,
so now it's just a waiting game.

It's always interesting to see how life can change
in an instant, and based on the smallest of details.
I am reminded of this ancient children's rhyme:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

---

Within the hour, Dr. House, the Spokane dentist,
called me at the hotel, and offered to see me at his office
in half an hour... on Sunday! Wow!
And in no time at all, I was all fixed up.
We were walking out to the parking lot,
when I was struck by the fact that
he had not even mentioned payment for his services,
so I asked him: "How much?" and he simply smiled and said:
"Pay It Forward".
How incredible is that!?

I have seen the movie, and
I subscribe to the principle in my life,
and extend the same terms to those people I mentor,
but I was completely surprised to meet someone else
who lived by the "Pay It Forward" philosophy.

At a time when the world seems to be coming apart at the seams,
there are rays of hope that we may be intrinsically good enough
to save ourselves.
If it were possible to have a critical mass of people
committed to the Pay It Forward principle,
we just may survive, and prosper.

What can YOU do to Pay It Forward?

---

The Pool
The finals of the WPBA qualifier were extraordinary.
The winner, Canadian Joanne Ashton, was being crushed 5-0
and yet won the next 5 games to bring the score even,
and continued with a knock-down, drag-out match
and eventually won 9-8.
She played very smart pool, and I learned a few things
which I'm sure will help my game.
Congrats Joanne!

Sean and Susie didn't show up today,
probably already left for the long drive home to Seattle,
so I didn't get the chance to play him again.
I shot a few racks after the women's final was over,
but didn't get a game.

---

Tonight I treat Katie, Richard, Maggie and Evie
to a first class meal at the Luna Restaurant
(absolutely excellent, by the way)
for having taken such good care of me
for the last few days. I'll miss them.

Riding solo from the restaurant back to the hotel,
I dropped the top and luxuriated in the 82 degree
evening air, cruising slowly along thru curvy streets
still wet from sprinkler runoff.
It was one of those perfect summer car-times.
It could have been any car, and I could have been 18 again.
It felt great!

I leave Spokane tomorrow morning,
and have no idea where I'll go next.
Probably east, maybe south.
Another scorcher today, with temps over 105 degrees.

Day 18: Spokane, WA

The People
Katie and her husband Richard are artists
who met at Art Center in LA about 20 years ago.
Richard is an absolute genius, and has
distinguished himself with work on movies (Alladin)
and comuter games (Riven) and much more
than I could list here.

Katie is currently doing work on the TV animation
series Squirrel Boy and has also done Duckman.
One of my most prized possessions is a t-shirt
and a painting of a frisbee flying over the beach,
an original, which she made for me many years ago.

Their daughter Helen, only 15, has her own radio show!

Last night, Richard prepared a fabulous meal,
salmon, mashed potatoes, asparagus,
all done to the highest level of perfection of his artistry.
I think I have never had a tastier meal!

It was a great time, with lots of stories by/about
all the guests and family.
It seems that the planets aligned to bring us together.
Katie's sister Maggie was visiting with her daughter,
and Richard's brother Tom and new bride were here for a visit
on their way to a tour of the USA on his Harley
which he shipped over from his home in Hawai'i.

The Car
This morning it had it's first real personal attention
in 2500 miles, tended to by the guys at
Gentle Touch Hand Wash, just a few blocks from the hotel.
With all the road-schmutz removed, I noticed a few more
of the dings from the debris torrent we suffered in Canada.
The windshield is definitely screwed with pits galore.
But, after a thorough cleaning, it looks WOW!!
I am not going to get tired of that color.
In the sun, it really comes alive with highlights!

The Pool
Checked out the action at McQ's Billiards and Sports Bar,
and the women's qualifier for the WPBA tour.
Watched them for an hour or two,
and I could see them make some of the mistakes I make.
Sure is a lot easier watching than competing!

Then I got into a set with Sean,
the guy who beat me at the Jillian's Seattle tournament.
(He was here with his wife Susie who was in the qualifier.)
I was really looking forward to playing Sean again,
to show him, and me, that I could shoot better than I did.
He started off good, and I was slow to get going,
and soon Sean had me down several games in a race to 7,
but I hung in there and won the set 7-5.
Needless to say, I was feeling great about that.

One of Sean's friends, Dan, was waiting for winners,
so I played him a race to 5 and won that set too.
Fast Mikie rules the day!

But then I started being Mr. Nice Guy,
socializing with Sean and Dan,
and you know what happens when I start talking:
I lose focus, and start missing shots.
By the way, Sean Gray is a tobacco chewing
Ph.D. in biochemistry, working on a cure for AIDS.

But, hey, let's remember the bright spot of the day...
I got even with Sean, in a hard-fought come-from-behind victory,
and then beat his buddy, who is the same speed as Sean,
both A-level players.

I really couldn't ask for more than that!

The temperature at 6:30PM was 103 degrees. Ouch!
The pool hall was the perfect place to be today.

Tonight, when it cools down,
I'll celebrate with another great meal
in the company of friends.
Life is good.

Day 17: Spokane, WA

The Car
The road from Moses Lake to Spokane is
a high speed straight shot along I-90.
The road surface is smooth and clean,
and just begging for high speed running.
The mid-day temperatures were hitting 98 degrees,
so I kept the top up and the AC full blast.

Cold, the tires are at about 30 psi,
but on the hot road, they get as high as 37 psi,
making for a rough ride... but I ain't complaining!

I was surprised that I have put on over 2300 miles
so far on this trip, so it look like I'll need to get
some service done, maybe in Denver.
I'm thinking I might leave the car at a Chevy dealer
while I zip out to Philly to visit my father on his 91st birthday.
That's about as much planning as I want to do!

The People
Hung out with my good friend Katie,
who I haven't seen for way too long.
She and I played frisbee on the beach
for many years, so we are very close,
even though I have not visited her since
she moved to Spokane.

Pool
Before dinner, I slipped over to Far West Billiards
and shot a few racks solo,
then decided to practice my draw shot,
which seems to be just one of the many
weak points in my game.

I tried a few of the pointers that Roy Yamane gave me
on Day 2 of this trip.
I must have tried the same shot 100 times today,
and after about 30-40 shots, a dim light came on.
After about 80 attempts at the exact same shot,
it almost seemed as if I might be able to draw.
I could feel my focus getting clearer the more I shot it.

Practice!
What an interesting concept!
I might try more of that stuff...

The shot?
Object ball at 2nd diamond away from the head rail,
a chalk width off the side rail.
Cue ball 3-4 diamonds away from the object ball,
same distance off the side rail.
Pocket the object ball in the corner,
and draw the cue ball back to the foot rail.

Day 16: Moses Lake, WA

I woke in the middle of the night,
still undecided about where to go next,
and dreaming of spiders and a buddy in Australia.
What the heck is that all about?

East or South?
I couldn't make up my mind
whether to go to Portland,
where there surely is pool,
or Spokane, where there is pool,
but from what I hear, there is a
WPBA qualifier going on this weekend.

I decided at the last minute, of course,
and set my nav system for east.

After crawling through Seattle freeway traffic,
we finally found clear road and perfect skies
on I-90, where we climbed up, up, up through
trees and lakes and mountains of great beauty.
Finally cresting the Cascades (?),
the trees disappeared, and all around was a
great hardscrabble desert plateau.

The beauty came in the form of asphalt,
an unending ribbon of the stuff,
smooth and begging to be surfed at speed.
Several times I hit triple digits,
but then, it is so easy to do.

A little squeeze on the go-pedal
and it shifts down one gear.
Squeeze a bit more, and another gear down.
It seems to have no limit,
until you flog the beast to test it,
and it makes big noises and slams you into the seat,
and like a slingshot you are launched with great force.
What a beast!

I decided to hang out in Moses Lake,
where there is a lake, to be sure,
and a rather nice one, but I'm sure
Moses is long gone.

This is a laundry stop,
about halfway to Spokane,
where I may be able to bunk down
at a good friend's place.

I'll bet Moses Lake has a pool table...

---

After extensive research,
pool tables in Moses Lake were found
at the Ripple Tavern.
There are three of them,
one nine-footer and 2 coin-ops.
Five bucks an hour for the big one.

I took my playing cue, just in case,
but left it in the trunk of the car.
I didn't want to walk in with a case full of gear,
looking like I could play.

The tables were empty, so I started shooting
on the nine-foot table, but no interest
was shown by the sparse crowd of locals,
a rough-looking collection of overweights,
whites and Latinos.
The men drinking pitchers of beer,
sad and lonely women with mixed drinks,
laughing too loud to attract attention,
everyone a smoker, in a smoke free bar.

No matter how badly I shot,
nobody came up to challenge me,
so after a couple of hours I called it quits.
As I was cashing in, a swarthy Latino
wearing a wife-beater t-shirt sidled up to me
and told me he was going to challenge me
to play for $100, one handed.
I asked him why he didn't, and he said
he didn't think I had the hundred bucks.

Yeah, right.

Seattle, WA

Most of the day I had a splitting headache.
I'm thinking it's because my body is detoxifying
from all the excesses of the wedding partying.
The Marines say "Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body".
So this is good pain.

The bright spot in the middle of the day
was lunch with Bruce Milne the founder of Corum Group,
who helped me sell my software company in 1992.
This was the first time I have visited his offices,
so he showed me around and treated me to lunch,
and told me more about his yacht-chartering company
CEO Expeditions.
Check out that link! His boats are magnificent!
Here's a story about Bruce.
What a guy. Wish I could have stayed longer,
but I'm here to shoot pool, not socialize...

But the headache persisted.
For a while I considered taking the day off,
but I knew that would be a cop-out,
and the only thing to do is play through the pain.
I can't pass on a big match just because of a headache.
Mind over matter.

I took some Advil, listened to my meditation
recording on the iPod, rested a bit,
and even though the pain persisted,
I headed south into Seattle to do battle.

The place was Jillian's Seattle.
The IPT qualifier was held here July 14-16,
so I got a chance to play on the nappy cloth in practice.
But tonight's open tournament was on on different tables
with Championship cloth, and extremely fast.

It seemed that the softer I hit the ball
the faster it ran!

I learn something every time I shoot pool.
Also, I'm getting accustomed to tournament play.
That's what I really need.
The winning will come.

I'm learning a lot about "conditions"
and how I need to adjust to all sorts of variances.
For example, the tables on the upper floor at Jillians
seemed to be very low, and had the nappy cloth.
But the tables downstairs, for the tournament,
seemed to be regular height, with smooth cloth.
Both environments were crowded with spectator chairs
and tables which we were always moving around
so we could shoot without bumping a stick into them.

The more different conditions I experience,
the less anything will throw me off my game.

So what happend, you ask?
I played ok, but not good enough.
It was the same format as last night.
Race to 3, double elimination.
The first set I got to hill-hill, then he ran the rack.

The second set I won after being down 2-0,
so I came back and won 3 straight,
and I feel pretty good about that.

My next opponent was Todd Marsh,
a "regional pro" who everyone expects to win.
I did manage to take a game from him,
but he won the set.

So I was headed home early.
Maybe I'll do some laundry.

It's a good thing I'm a humble guy,
otherwise all this losing could get depressing.

Day 15: Seattle, WA

Vancover was dead, so I split.
Only one direction to go: South.
That means Seattle.
But where in Seattle?

That question was answered by Steve Lingelbach,
the publisher of On The Wire, a pool magazine
that covers the Northwest USA.
One call to him and he clued me in to the
pool halls where all the "players" hang.

First on the list is Dr. Cue Billiards in Shorline, WA
just a bit north of Seattle.
What a great pool hall!
Probably the nicest pool hall I have ever visited.
Squeaky clean, Gold Crown III tables that play perfect:
fast and level.

And I got lucky.
Tuesday is tournament night.
Race to three, double elimination,
NO HANDICAP, which means I'm going up against
some tough competition.

A good friend, Bruce M., lives in Seattle,
and I called him earlier in the day,
and he returned my call while I was getting some practice,
and when he heard I was going to be in a tournament,
he just had to stop by to catch the action.
I tried to discourage him, but he didn't get it.
I would much rather play without a fan club
hanging around asking questions and taking me
out of my game.

The first match went my way, 3-1.
I guess it didn't show that I was shakin' in my boots!
Bruce stayed quiet, and that helped.
There was about an hour before the next match,
and Bruce and I started reminiscing about
the good old days,
and of course that didn't help my focus any.

I was getting my butt kicked in the next match,
and Bruce figured it would be time for him to leave,
but it didn't change my luck any and I lost the set.

The third set I played a lot better, and won 3-0
and I was thinking I might finish up in the money,
but the 4th set was a killer.

I only picked up my cue two times in the last set.
The first time was to push, and then he made a
great shot on the one ball, and caromed to sink the 9.
His next rack he made an easy carom off the 2 into the 9.
The third rack he ran 2 balls, then left me safe.
That was the last time I got to the table
because he just ran out after I missed the kick.

Wow! What a trip!
Two strokes of my cue, and no clear shot.
Talk about controlling the table!
He was good.

So that was it for me,
but I felt as if I was playing pretty good.
And I took out a couple of good players.
With a bit more practice, and the proper
pre-match preparation,
I think I can do a lot better.

And there's another tournament tomorrow!

---

Closer inspection of the car reveals
extensive windshield damage from the
debris torrent spewed forth from the trucks
when I was coming down from Whistler.
Did not find any severe body damage.
I guess it could have been worse.

Day 14: Vancouver, Canada

Today is the first day of the rest of my trip.

Bloated and groggy from days of
Gluttony and Drunkeness,
(all for the very good purpose
of celebrating the wedding of a friend),
I set out this morning with resolve
that such excessive behavior will not
occur again until after the US Amateur championships
(in November).

I must be clear headed and in good shape.
Each day I will study, practice, meditate,
exercise, visualize, and affirm.
I will do whatever it takes to improve my game.

This will be an interesting challenge,
as I have not picked up a cue in almost 2 weeks.
Never in the last 2 and a half years have I gone
so long without shooting some pool.

---

Checked out and got on the road by noon.
First stop was to get the car washed,
the first in 1200 miles, and it showed!
But coming down the Sea to Sky highway (99)
from Whistler to Vancouver,
I got hit with a torrent of debris
thrown from a speeding semi.
Stones, dirt, and who knows what-all
smashed into my brand new car with
startling force.
I haven't had the courage to check the damages.

I decided to make Vancouver my first stop,
just to check out the place.
Got a room with a monster view of the harbor,
with a dozen floatplanes taking off and landing
right in front of the hotel.
But I'm here to shoot pool,
so after checking in I took a taxi to
Commodore Lanes and Billiards.
Beat up tables, but with new cloth.

Members (people who pay $25/mo) get the good tables.
Yesterday was the big tournament.
Nothing going on today. Bummer.

My first few racks were not pretty.
I kept miscueing, even on simple shots.
The chalk looked like Master but it was Jupiter.
So I switched to my own blue Master chalk,
and that solved the miscue problem.

The place was dead, except for waves of Asian teens
who came in groups to play for maybe half an hour,
then leave. Other than that, it was dead.
I practiced for about 4 hours,
and started to feel like maybe
I could regain my touch soon.

But my back was killing me.
I needed some stretching and Advil.
Today was just the start.
I'll work on consistent practice first,
then expand the hours.
I know my game will get better
as the party toxins start to leave my body.

I was thinking I'd be here a couple of days,
but I'll probably move on tomorrow.
Vancouver ain't showin' me nuthin...

Day 13: Whistler, Canada, The Day After

What was intended to be a brief brunch party,
to celebrate the morning after,
lasted into the early evening,
and included paddling a canoe on a
pristine lake in an idyllic setting,
with perfectly clear skies.

While out on the lake, we slipped the canoe
within 15' of a wild blue heron,
and we studied each other closely for 10 minutes,
before we slipped back away from this great bird.
Later in the day, we saw a bear cub walking
across the street in the town of Whistler.
Barbie says she sees full-grown bears in the morning
on her bike ride to the gym.
This place is truly unspoiled.

The newlyweds are still clearly smitten
by the Madness that is Romantic Love.

But this part of my adventure is now fully over.
Tomorrow morning I leave this place
for a place unknown.
I will pack my bags in the morning,
load them into the car,
and go looking for pool.

I don't know where I will be sleeping tomorrow.
I'll make that decision on the road.

Day 12: Canada, The Big Day

The bachelor party last night
went according to a script written eons ago.
We all know about these things,
so it is not necessary, or prudent,
to recap them here.

The only question I remember,
and I'm sure I remember very little of it,
was how to get the donkey through the lobby,
and up to the room,
without attracting the attention of the
hotel management.

Complete details of the party
will be available on an as-needed basis,
because "what happens in Whistler, stays in Whistler".
From everything I have seen so far,
Whistler is THE party capital of Canada,
and the residents seem very OK with that.

After being given every good reason, excuse,
and opportunity to flee his impending fate,
George remained resolute.
Or, maybe he was just so wrecked as to
appear resolute.
In any case, he did not flee,
and in fact he was seen this morning
carrying on with the plan to marry
in just a few hours.
The die has been cast.
He is gone...

---

And so, in the fullness of time,
the rains came to an end,
the sun burst through the clouds,
and George and Barbie were married,
in a simple ceremony at the edge of a lake,
at the foot of Olympic mountains.

Then the partying commenced anew.
After some significant folderol,
people began talking with the aid of a microphone,
recounting stories of George or Barbie,
but mostly it was about Barbie
(who I had not met until 2 days ago).

To say that the bride is an extraordinary woman,
would be an understatement.
She is a full-on medical doctor, an OB/GYN surgeon.
That would be pretty impressive in itself,
but wait, there's more...
Barbie is also an MBA and a JD (law degree).
At the reception she stunned the crowd
by singing two beautiful songs, one to George,
and one to George's daughter Kelcie.
She is also a vegan and yogini.
And she drew people from Australia
to Houston to be with her on her big day.

So, Barbie is definitely an extraordinary woman,
by any measure,
and she chose my friend George to be her man.
Who is George to be so lucky?
His website Speaking From Experience
will tell you only some of his credentials
as a nationally acclaimed speaker
(in the Speakers Hall of Fame!)
an author of several books, etc...
But more importantly he is a great father,
who put his career on hold to raise his young daughter alone.
And he did a great job of it!
He hitchhiked around the world many times,
and loves getting off the beaten path
in faraway places.
George is an extraordinary man,
so it seems to be a good match from that perspective.

In fact, virtually everyone I met at that party
was someone who had distinguished themself in a major way.
Many are authors and speakers. Here are a few:
Dan Burrus, Futurist, Speaker, Author
Scott Friedman, Humorist/Motivator
W. Mitchell, Motivational Speaker
(click the names to go to their websites)
...
well, I could go on and on, but it would take too much space.
If you do nothing else, check W. Mitchell's story.
I have seldom been in a place with so much talent.
It could almost get me feeling humble...

Enough, already!
Only one more party tomorrow morning,
and then I can get out of here Monday, and
SHOOT SOME POOL!!!

Day 11: Canada, The Day Before

Today is the day before the wedding.

For me, it is a day of rest, and preparation.
An absolute must is to get my suit pressed.
It has been getting uglified
in the travel abuse and cramped quarters of the Vet.
Also need some shirts and pants laundered.
(PLEASE don't put a crease in the pants!)
You can put this all you want in the special instructions
but it will be futile if the launderers do/can not read.
And that's usually the case.
One can only hope...

For the other guests, the day is a litany of "activities"
planned by George to maximize everyone's enjoyment.
I avoid all of these opportunities,
and do yoga, stretching, exercise, meditation, and rest
in the excellent confines of my room, by the fire,
as the rain continues...
Just as you would expect from any good hermit.

I tend to avoid all group activities.
Even good friends' group activities.
Except that, every 5 or 10 years or so,
I throw a party.
This gets all of my groupiness out in one fell swoop,
and I can go back to life without all that busyness.

In news from back home,
Sean reports that he is getting strong positive feedback
on the new Mikie's Fun House t-shirt he has been wearing.

---

This is the first day since I have owned it,
that I have not driven the car.
And considering the events of last evening,
I'm not going to miss it.

There's not much need for a car here in Whistler.
And that's by design, of course,
because Whistler was the first purpose-built ski resort.
It is also the site of the Winter Olympics 2010.
That explains why there is so much construction
on the road between Vancouver and Whistler.
They are moving mountains for the event!

Tonight will be the first night since July 4
that I will sleep in the same bed as the night before.
I got greedy for that feeling
and took a long nap this afternoon,
with a fire going, and raining outside.

Day 10: Canada!

I made it!

Long drive.
Got pulled over by border control going into Canada.
I didn't have my proof of insurance,
and they aren't used to the idea of cars without license plates,
even if they are brand new.
I showed them my proof of insurance for the Jag,
and told them the insurance company didn't have time
to mail me the proof of insurance before
I left for this trip.

After half an hour, they let me go.
It could have been a lot worse.

Checked in, went immediately to see George,
friend for 20 years,
and meet his new bride Barbie.
She is terrific, of course, radiant and joyful.
George is the only guy I know of the 40 or so guests,
so I meet lots of people.
It's kinda cold for an outdoor barbeque,
and then it starts to rain,
so I'm outta there...
Gotta save myself for the bachelor party tomorrow.

In the very short drive from his home to my hotel,
only a few blocks,
an event occurred which has still got my head spinning.
When I think of what could have happened,
and what should have happened,
and what actually did happen,
I am completely unable to speak of it.

I was so totally unalterably headed for disaster,
when it seems that the context changed as if by magic,
and life continued as if nothing had happened.

A religious man might call it a miracle.
I would prefer calling it a Magical Event.

I will continue to think about this deeply...

Meanwhile, I gotta do some laundry,
which takes only Canadian dollar coins
(how quaint!)
and get the hotel to print out
my proof of insurance certificate for the car.
I might need it to get back in the USA.
Laundry takes time.
And multiple interruptions.
But it feels good to have a fresh supply of clean clothes.

This will be the first wash/dry shrink test of the
new Mikie's Fun House t-shirt,
just off the press a few days before I set out.

These mundane thoughts, and many others are
rattling around in my mind,
and all the while
I want to be thinking about the Magical Event.

And so now, with my administrivia behind me,
I will meditate deeply on the
Meaning, or Message, if any.

Day 09: Seattle, WA

Great night's sleep,
but I must have been a bit groggy
because on the way out the front door of the hotel
in search of Starbucks,
I was checking out a pretty girl in the lobby,
and smacked the bejeezus out of my head, on the other door.

They should not let pretty girls sit in lobbies
while there are people around who have not had their
morning coffee.

It was raining lightly, and then got worse,
and stayed generally yucky all the way to Seattle.
No leaks around the convertible top,
and the car handled superbly in the rain,
at speed,
on all different road surfaces.

The drive was not easy, what with the rain,
and a ton of 18-wheelers kicking up the wet roads.
To make it worse, I was on the phone with OnStar
trying to figure out why they keep losing my account info.

Maybe it's my TeleMagic karma coming back to haunt me.

Totally stressful drive, but it is good to be at rest now,
with the peace that comes from having driven from San Diego
to Seattle, the USA bottom to top,
and within striking distance of my destination in Canada.

Once I get through the wedding,
the true adventure begins...

Fun facts: 65mph = 1400rpm (only!)
If the the redline is 6500rpm
that means I could do 301mph.
But that's not going to happen,
so why does the math say it will?

Corvette Computer error:
push, and hold, the seat 1 memory button
and the navigation/stereo system reboots.
That gets your attention the first time or two.

Day 08: Portland, OR

morning on the Rogue river came gently.
rivers are magical beings
and have deep philosophical thought
given over to their properties.

I want to spend more time with rivers.
After the wedding,
when I head inland, away from the ocean,
I'll probably chart courses that follow rivers.

what little time i shared with the river,
gave me the feeling that it was
sublimely unconcerned with everything
except with being a river.

while it might be only a river,
it was fully a river.

it seemed to be running fast,
but not overly so.
maybe it sensed that the sea was close by,
and picked up its pace to get there sooner.

the breakfast was brought by Molly,
a lovely blonde maybe-twenty cherub.
a croissant, jam, fruit, yogurt.
fit for a king.

no starbucks nearby,
no more in-room coffee,
and i'm up before the office opens to get more,
so i re-use the day old grounds,
and it's surprisingly good...

goodbye Molly,
goodbye river, i'm outta here.

the Oregon coast is magnificent.
the huge off-shore boulders are the best.
they give such character to the coast,
rugged, eternal.
and they play with the light
especially from the moving car.

after about 50 miles of north,
i had to head inland to pick up I-5.
needed to make quicker time.
following convoys of motorhomes is
an exercise in frustration,
with few moments of ecstacy when
i can flog the monster under the hood
and pass a string of land-yachts
while making Detroit v-8 sounds
at triple digit speeds,
probably scaring the bejeezus out of
the nice old couple from Kansas.

my back was killing me yesterday,
but after extensive yoga and Advil,
and relaxation, and more stretching,
the pain subsided and i started feeling normal.

i was prepared for the worst this morning,
but no problems, and even after almost
5 hours at the wheel,
my back is feeling surprisingly ok.

the only 4-star hotel with a room
is in downtown Portland,
(Fifth Avenue Suites)
a dirty old city center
filled with drifters and grifters,
many of whom i passed on my way to starbucks
for my late afternoon hit.

The Rialto is the pool hall around the corner,
but tobacco smoking in public places
has not been outlawed here yet,
so this billiard parlor is a pit of noxious fumes.

nice tables, and i was looking forward to
playing some pool there
(all Gold Crown tables)
but I'll never play in smoke, period.

called ahead to the Canada hotel concierge
to arrange for a full detail on the car
as soon as i check in.
after 1000 miles of road dirt and bugs,
the red is looking neglected.

before dinner i hit the exercise room,
and ripped off a few sets of free weights,
the first since leaving the Fun House.

you can get some seriously good salmon in this area.
one of the great joys of being a hermit on the road
is room service, where you can eat the best food
with complete disregard for manners.
i think we were meant to make noises when we eat,
especially if it is good food.
i like to get enthusiastic about good food.
(it is said that a person eats like they make love)

as much as possible i order OFF the menu,
or at the very least, with subsitutions galore.
the salmon from this entree,
but with the au Grating potatoes from this other entree,
and the spinach from a third...
it's always about MY way, isn't it?
;o)

and when it comes to pool,
it is definitely about my way.
the whole idea is to create the situation
so that the outcome is pre-ordained,
that the result is "I win".
it is assumed, expected, a given.
the opponent is simply there as a spectator.
the opponent is irrelevant.

i must think only of the game,
my game, my shots, my stroke, my strategy.

Day 07: Gold Beach, OR

big scare this morning in Eureka:
i can't find the keys for the Corvette.
i look everywhere, twice,
every pocket, every bag,
and then i look in the car.

Eureka!! (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun)

the keys are sitting on the seat!
the car is parked on the street,
right in front of the hotel.
overnight the fog left a layer of droplets
all over the car, including the windows of course,
and that's why the keys could not be seen.
if it wasn't for the fog, that car would have been gone!

i drive to the local starbucks for my morning fix,
and reflect on the fact that it should be illegal
to drive in the morning without having coffee first.
my brain is working at half speed without caffeine.


continuing to drive 101, the Redwood Highway,
sometimes with magnificent views of the surf,
and sometimes through cathedrals of redwoods.
part 2 lane 55mph, part 4 lane divided 65mph highway.
i keep to the speed limit plus a few,
but when i get stuck behind a motor home,
and the road ahead is open,
i get to unload bottomless buckets of horsepower,
and it's easy to get into triple digits of speed.

passed through one small town with
"Cowgirl Mud Wrestling" on the theater marquee.
maybe I'll catch it on video...

also passed on the opportunity to see
the "Drive Thru Tree"
and the "One Log House"
and the "Original Tree House"

after much hassle with OnStar,
(bad reception, dropped calls, etc)
they announce that there are no rooms,
of any star rating,
available in Gold Beach,
or anywhere around it.
I'm thinking I might have to go all the way
to Coos Bay to find a bed,
but then the miracle happens.

lucky is my middle name.
i got the last room available in Gold Beach.
brand new very small hotel on the Rogue River.
The Rogue River Lodge at Snag Patch
just opened 3 weeks ago,
not listed in the books yet,
referred here by one of the places that was full.

exceptional place.
about 10 rooms,
each one with a name.
the name of my room is "Solitude".
i am definitely in the right place!

had to stop traveling early today because
of a conference call back to the bank
for our normally scheduled marketing meeting.

running out of clean clothes.
laundry is always a challenge on an extended road trip.

long way to go to canada,
only a couple of days to do it.

Day 06: Eureka, CA

the room at Mountain Home was small but excellent.
the view was forever, over the tops of redwoods,
and quiet as a church, big deck off the room,
huge door opens to the deck,
which i kept wide open all night
to breathe deeply of the freshest of air.
it was cold, but with no wind whatsoever.
and wonderfully, absolutely, quiet.

the very thoughtfully designed shower looks out
through a shuttered window to the endless view
and fresh air. i really enjoyed the showers!

another round with Susie and Janet, for breakfast
in Stinson Beach, a surf village at the bottom
of Tamalpais mountain.
It's a place I could live,
except the the abundance of fog might be too depressing.
There is such a thing as too much fog.

After the hyperactivity of the previous evening,
and the encore performance this morning,
I was ready to get back on the road for some peace and quiet.
Ah, the sweet serenity of solitude!

I don't know why, but I turned on to 101 North, instead of Highway 1.
Maybe I sensed that Sunday drivers would aggravate the beach road,
and I could make better time on the inland route.
Maybe it was that motorhome on the exit ramp for 101.
But whatever it was, I headed for 101,
and was rewarded with a drive through the redwoods.
(That's what we need in SoCal, more trees like redwoods.)

It was almost certainly all the partying the night before,
because I was really getting sleepy at the wheel.
Not a good thing at high speed and curvy roads,
so I skipped eating lunch and hoped hunger would keep me awake.
All it did was make me hungry AND sleepy.
So I stopped for a very tasty "Hippie Burger" in Legget.
But that didn't help with the sleepy,
so I decided to call it a day after about 240 miles,
and pull in at Eureka.
OnStar got me booked at the only 4-star place in town, the Hotel Carter.


the local pool hall is Ragg's Rack Room.
13 empty tables.
it was totally dead except for two guys playing one-pocket, poorly.

eureka was hosting a blues concert,
very near to the hotel,
so i just followed the noise and walked
to an excellent vantage point to catch a few numbers,
but it was to cold and fog-wet to endure for long.

some very gingerbread architecture in this town.
check out the imolen (?) club.

first room very noisy,
so changed to another.
jesse the belman is very helpful,
and inquired into the fun house t-shirt.

The Carter House restaurant is the best so far.
Fresh, wild Oregon salmon, goat cheese mashed potatoes,
spinach, great wine, desert...
I won't need to eat again for a week.

Day 05: Mill Valley, CA

spectacularly clear morning at Ragged Point.
the air was still cold as i pulled into Route 1 and headed north again.
i was only a few miles into the drive when it hit me:
what the heck am i doing with the convertible top UP?
so i pulled over instantly and dropped the top
and from that moment on the picture was complete.

the coast road is full of twists and turns and ups and downs,
pure roller coaster.
although there were several stretches of road being repaired,
it is saturday, and the workers were off, so
i slpped through with no delays whatsoever.

bright sun, wisps of fog, high speed, top down..
pulling G's all over the amazing geography.

i had just rounded a fast turn, downshifting,
and stuffing my foot into it,
and on the left side of the road there were about
50 teeny-boppers on a class trip, probably,
they were all checking out the view,
but they heard, then saw, this candy apple red Vette
with the top down and kickin' asphalt,
and they all, as one, turned and cheered,
applauded, and waved,
as i passed and disappeared around the next bend.

all i could think: "Yeah, kids, I know what you mean!"
i'll remember that for a while...

lunch at Ventana, then back on the road.
blasted straight through to Mill Valley,
just on the north end of the Golden Gat Bridge,
for a visit with one of my most favorite people.
Susie Higgins has been a not so secret crush
for 20+ years, but circumstances, either hers or mine,
conspired to keep us just friends.
she is now living in the midst of redwoods
so thick it was dark at her door in the middle of the day.
what a paradise!

she had a great surprise for me,
another good friend Janet was visiting Susie,
so we all had a great reunion and a great dinner at Poggio's in Sausalito,
where we were joined by Susie's Glenn who just won a surf contest,
so we just kept celebrating, even back at Susie/Glenn's place in the trees.

My face hurt from smiling so much...

Day 04: Ragged Point, CA

a spectacular spot at the south end of
a great road run to Big Sur.

rooms have no phones.

shower head exits the wall at sternum height.

but nothing can detract from the fact that
my room is 20' from the edge of a 300' drop to the surf.
the fog slips slowly, silently through the trees.

hermit heaven!

Day 03: Morro Bay, CA

another thing i'm gonna miss badly is the morning cup of starbucks gold coast,
fresh brewed by me, for me, my way way, when i want it,
without having to go out into the world and stand in line...

and that reminds me,
one good reason why i had such low energy yesterday afternoon/evening
is because i didn't have my afternoon cup of starbucks.

my whole routine was off.
i didn't do my prematch routine
because dan was there waiting for me.
i was a mess.
must resolve to always follow the routine, regardless.

while in anaheim, i want to stop by and visit Corvette Mike.



Packed out of the Extended Stay and headed over to good friend Mike Vietro's "Corvette Mike" dealership and a quick lunch at a local deli. Prices for old Corvettes are going through the roof. he recently sold a 67 convertible for $275,000. That means that in 40 years mine will be worth 6 million. I think I'll go out and buy a few more of these things and stick 'em in a garage somewhere and just sit and watch them for 40 years. Nah, probably not. Mike is a pretty cool guy. Has dealerships in Anaheim, Chicago, and Boston. Does a great business!

After a quick lunch, I was itching to get on the road and penetrate thru the LA basin during the mid-day to avoid the heavy traffic. My timing was spot-on because except for a few minor slowdowns, I slipped thru LA like poop thru a goose. Got from Anaheim Stadium to Morro Bay in under 4.5 hours.

I was amazed to be getting 26 miles per gallon on the trip.
The range left on the current gas is calculated and is available as one of the many items that can be displayed. I keep that one displayed as a default. When the range gets to less than about 25 or so, the display changes to "Low Fuel", with no specific remaining miles left to guide you. This is a serious programming error. The Jag would tell you all the way down to 1 mile left in the tank. I know this for a fact. To go to "Low Fuel" at 25 is just wrong.

On such a long drive (258 miles), it's important to keep comfortable. I slipped of my shoes, and put down a terry cloth towel between me and the hot leather seats. For music I played the sound track from "Out of Africa", the music I would always play on the drive to the airport, to go flying.
It's very soothing, perfect to calm the LA traffic challenge.

Still discovering the idiosyncracies of the Nav system. It shows signs of being programmed by a committee.
OnStar Consierge service is doing a good job.


and now,
it's night, and there's a welcome wet chill in the air,
the persistent fog horn in the distance is muffled by the light fog.
what a great sound, mixed with the surf, to put me to sleep.

morro bay is all about tourists who come to see the big rock in the water. they call it morro rock. it's big. personally i don't see what the big fuss is all about. it's a big rock, so what. can we move on? and that's exactly what i'm going to do tomorrow: move on. to Ragged Point, one of my favorite secret places in a most spectacular coastline.

stayed at the Ascot Suites, all rooms with a view of the big rock.
also very interesting toilet paper roll-end origami.

visited the Morro bay home of Annie, a french-born, diminutive fire bomber pilot stationed nearby at Paso Robles. she works six months flying heavily overloaded twin engined bombers into fires at low level and delivering the load with precision, with mountains all around you. Annie is one of the more extraordinary people i have met. We go back about 13 years. She is an excellent pilot and I have taken her on several rides in my open cockpit biplane. We have much in common.

no pool today.
reading about pool is what takes the place of playing pool.
i brought two pool books with me:
The Pro Book, and
The Advanced Pro Book,
both by Bob Henning.

I read the chapters on the mental game while
enjoying excellent sushi and saki at hamada's, with view of big rock.

Day 02: Orange, CA

i woke like any other day,
and moved through the pre-ordained actions,
which were committed to the day before.
the bags are packed,
all i have to do is take them out to the car.
and then drive north.

such simple actions
with enormous importance.

first stop: Danny K's in the city of Orange.
In Orange County.

tested OnStar, upgraded to concierge service for 64 bucks per month,
and tested to find a vegetarian restaurant who would deliver food to the pool hall.
she actually found one!

tested the nav system,
it's ok, but clunky in the way it does things.
i'm sure i did something wrong because it wanted me to go back home
before i went to orange county.

so i was operating the nav system, the on-star concierge on the phone, cd playing, and in freeway traffic, all at the same time. i am reminded to the busy times flying the biplane where i had to deal with radio communications, weather, airspace, traffic, altitude, heading... you get the idea, it's really busy flying an open cockpit biplane. and the thing that makes it even more stressful is the fact that you can't see much in the direction you are flying because of the wings, and the big engine up front. not being able to see where you are going, and not being able to see other airplanes and where they are going, well, that adds up to some stressful flying. the biplane only flys 100mph, but other traffic can fly 250 down low with me, and that means that traffic can appear very quickly, as if out of nowhere. and that's another thing... that traffic isn't like on the freeways where it's all going in the same direction. in the sky, they can hit you from top/bottom/front/back/sides, you name it. it's very busy in a biplane cockpit.

so i guess i handled the busy corvette cockpit ok.
seems the nav system has difficulties,
but beats nothing.

went direct to the hotel, checked in.
bare bones place.
unpacked some stuff,
headed over to danny k's to stroke a few.
dan s. is walking toward the entrance as i pull into the parking lot.
that man is addicted to pool.
he claimed unspecified intestinal distress to get out of work to shoot pool.
he drives all the way to del mar to shoot pool on my table,
and never once have i made the trip to his table.
hey, what do you expect from a hermit?

i win the first set 7-4.
feeling pretty good about winning the first set of my road trip.
we are about 5-all in the second set when "Sensei" Roy Yamane walks in.
of course we start yakking and i wind up losing 7-5.
it's all about Focus.

Roy is trying to show me how to do a power draw.
I can do this from as far as 4 diamonds away,
but then draw quickly fades, accuracy wanes.

He has me hold my wrist differently to get more snap in the wrist.
And hit more Down on the ball.
And lift my body just before i launch the stroke, but keep delivery still.
Follow through into the cloth.

It makes sense.
It's going to take a lot of practice.

One hundred bucks.

Dan can power draw.
I can't.
That pisses me off.

Dan heads home to appease "she who must be obeyed".

Roy gives me the names of contacts in San Frnacisco, Portland.

Tournament starts. 12 bucks entry, 450+/- payoff.
They rate me an A2.
That's one step better than A.
They go all the way up to A11.
Strange.
An A2 must win 8 games.
An A3 must win 9 games.
So if an A2 plays an A3, the A2 get's "one on the wire",
and they play a race to 9.

i played awful.
single elimination.
the first match against Rick (gray hair/beard) was just plain bad pool.
he was missing shots too.
we went hill-hill and i actually found myself wishing i would lose,
so i wouldn't have to play another set
and i could just go home and rest, take a shower, stretch...
anything but endure more bad pool...
mercifully, Rick wins,
and then right before he sinks the easy nine,
he says he resigns, that i win,
and that he doesn't want to play in the tournament any more,
because he's going to play in the league that's going on at the same time as the tournament.

so here i am,
one minute i'm trying to win,
and then i want to lose,
and right when i'm all happy because i think i'm gonna lose,
the guy quits and now i win.
and the worst part is now i gotta play somebody else,
and that set was even more awful than the last one. fact.

7 hours of pool was just too much after the high intensity drive, little sleep.
i bailed back to the cheap hotel for a shower.
worst shower i've had in years.
that's what i'm going to miss the most on this trip: my shower.
i could write poetry about what a great shower i have in Mikie's Fun House,
but maybe later.
a shower is what a good hotel is all about.
thick towels, good soaps and lotions.
heavy water flow,
plenty hot, of course.

but not here at the Extended Stay Hotel.
fortunately, my stay will not extend past morning.

We'll keep connected with email.

I need to get a mouse for this notebook computer.
This finger pad is less than optimum.

i'm totally beat, need sleep.

Day 01: Del Mar, CA -- Independence Day

Tomorrow morning begins a Great Adventure...

For several months, this idea has been coming together,
evolving through stages of development.

Several planets have aligned,
and the time is at hand to begin.

I feel like Superman (the movie),
when the boy was about to leave home
and start his public life as a superhero...
He was standing one last time with
his earth-mother who found him as an infant.

She held his hand softly and asked:
"Where will you go?"
After an introspective pause,
The Man of Steel replied resolutely:
"North"

And so too, I will go North.

One reason for going north
is to attend the wedding of a good friend.
His invitation for me to attend,
was harder to decline than all the other
invitations to visit his home in Seattle.
He has been a guest in my home many times,
and we are good buds.

I would say of him
the way my friend in Australia says of me:
"You can camp by my fire anytime."

---

For months I have known the wedding date.
I figured I would just hop on a plane
to Vancouver, then rental car to the destination.
Simple. Easy.

But, during the waiting period for the wedding,
other events have been coming together.



I bought a new car to replace
my aging Jaguar XK8 convertible,
now over 5.5 years old and out of warranty.
And, although it is in good shape,
and a stunningly good looking shape in Pacific blue,
with only 32,500 miles on the clock,
I have to admit I was getting bored with it.
After driving the Viper GTS for 5 years,
and the Ferrari 550 Maranello,
the Jag seemed to be lacking at least 100 horsepower.

I have been looking through the crop of interesting rides,
and settled on the Corvette as the best bang-for-the-buck.
Then over several weeks studied and searched for
a model I could like, with the right color, options, etc.
I thought I wanted a sedate dark blue, with gray interior.
But my last 3 cars have been that color,
so I was open to other thoughts.

And then I saw the Monterey Red color.
In cloudy conditions it reminds me of my second Ferrari.
Burgundy. I love understated beauty.
A beauty so quiet you almost overlook it,
and then you discover it waiting humbly for your attention.

In the sun, this burgundy comes alive!
It is so brilliant, it could be candy-apple red, and more.
And with the metallic highlights, the slightly shaded
shapes retreat to the mellow and retiring burgundy.

What character!
I was sold on the color,
and chose black for the interior and top
to subdue the package even more.

No car existed such as I wanted,
not anywhere in the USA,
not with the options I wanted,
in the color I wanted.
So I had to order it and wait six weeks for delivery.

It did not excape my attention that the possible
delivery date of the new car was a
couple of weeks before the wedding.

Now, these two events,
the wedding of a friend in Canada,
and the purchase of a new car,
were completely independant,
and as serendipity would have it,
when they came together in thought,
an idea leaped into my mind:

How great it would be to drive the new car
along the California coastline,
and the Oregon coastline,
and Washington coastline,
with the top down...
A great idea for a road trip.

Two planets were now aligned.



While I was loving this new idea,
the concept of driving home was unpleasant.
I hate to retrace my steps.
The road to adventure lies ahead.

And then it hit me:
I would take my pool cue,
and after the wedding,
instead of coming home,
I just stay on the road.

The western United States seemed achievable.
There are only 11 of them.
Granted, they're big, but they're good big.
Lots to see and do.
And I know some people in a lot of those places.

How long could I stay out on the road?
I wanted to be in Philly for my father's 91st birthday
in the middle of August, so that would leave me
about 40 days on the road.
That's a serious road trip!

But would it have to end with Philly,
or would Philly just be another stop along the road?

I was thinking I would have to come back home first,
then take off for Philly for a week, and come home again.
More thinking on the plan reveals that
I could just park the car at any Chevrolet dealer,
for an oil change and checkup,
and I can get a cab to the nearest airport
fly to Philly for the birthday party,
and fly back to the Corvette, wherever it is,
and continue with the road trip.

Will it ever end? Sure.
The big focus of the extended road trip is to
prepare for the US Amateur championships
in late September.
I really should be back at least 2 weeks before that.

So at the outside, that's 60 days on the road.
Shooting pool.
Driving a hot car.
Through magnificent territory.
Learning the meaning of Life.
A Journey of Self-Realization.

Can truth and beauty be found in pool halls?

---

Other planets have aligned as well.
It occurs to me that this trip will be solo.
There is no wife to take along, or to forbid it.
No dependents who need me.
I stand alone.
I recovered from that mis-step 28 years ago.
It took me 8 years of marriage
to know myself as a hermit.
I loved that woman greatly,
but my Self was dying slowly.
It was only with great fear and resolve
that I could bring myself to return to Solitude.
And so, this enormous planet hove into place
many years ago, and has been
waiting for the others to arrive.

---

In quiet moments, this whole thing seems too much.
So I tell only very close friends,
to judge their reaction,
to see if they think that maybe
I have completely lost touch with Reality.

I keep thinking of the joke/truth:
"If you want to make God laugh, make Plans."

So I don't make too many plans,
telling myself that will make it more of an adventure.
And more enjoyable without the stress of a schedule.

Insecurity assails me, with thoughts like:

"Who do you think you are, to do such a thing?"
I am Fast Mikie, shooter of pool, student of the game.

"Why do you do this?"
Because I can.
If I could, and did not, you would fault me,
and I must be true to my Destiny.
This is a dream since my college pool-shooting days.

"Won't you get lonely?"
Not in the least. I'm a hermit. Duh.

"Won't you miss your Home?"
Aye! Now there's the rub.
A hermit and his home are not easily parted.
Mikie's Fun House is an island of Perfection.
A Place I have built to be that way.
My refuge by the sea.
But Home is the price of Adventure.
And Adventure is the price of Home.

Ah, the wonderful Duality of Reality.

---

Today is July 4, 2006.
Independence Day seems appropriate
to launch such a road trip.
Although I will leave tomorrow morning,
it is Today, with this writing and publishing,
I give this Adventure my Commitment.
I will sleep fully and awake with Resolve,
I will pack my bags and walk out the door.
And I will go North.

---

And yet, it all seems so overpowering.
Looking at maps of the Western US,
it is a huge territory.
So many pool rooms, so many trials.
It is too much to deal with all at once.
And I am reminded that a journey of 1,000 miles
begins with the first step.
It is only one step at a time,
one day at a time,
one ball at a time,
one breath at a time.

I am reminded of other Great Adventures.
They were even more extraordinary.
And longer.
And they happend just one step at a time.

Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Smile.

And so the seconds tick by,
the sun sets into the Pacific,
night falls,
the moon rises,
and soon enough the morning will come...

I wonder what will happen next!

;o)

---

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