The "Playing The Game Of Pool!" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just finished my lunch and watching the noon news on WGAL-TV. Told my wife I was heading up to the VIVA Center to play a couple games of pool with a few of the new friends I have made since moving to Woodcrest Villa in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  She wished me "Good Luck" as I grabbed my "pool glove" and headed out the door.  The VIVA Center is few blocks from our Villa, so I can walk the distance without too much trouble.  I began playing pool when I was about 12 years old and my Aunt Doris had just married a fellow who happened to have a full-sized pool table in his basement.  Uncle Paul was a fantastic pool player who enjoyed showing me how to play the game.  That was over 60 years ago, but I can still recall some of the tips that he gave to me when we visited his home on West Chestnut Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Woodcrest has a few beautiful  pool tables on the second floor of the VIVA Center which look to be fairly new, since they have been taken good care of by those that use them on a daily basis.  When I first began to play pool at Woodcrest  I met a few gentlemen who had been playing for quite some time based on how good they were at putting the ball into one of the six pockets on the felt tables.  I introduced myself and before long I began to feel like one of the guys who play on a daily basis.  Both gentlemen, Ned and Jerry, were good with all phases of the game and gave me quite a few tips, even as I watched them play against one another.  We would play game after game after game of eight-ball, with the winner of each game taking on the fellow who happened to be sitting out the previous game.  If you aren't acquainted with the game of pool, eight-ball is played with one white "cue ball" and 15 numbered balls - including one black "8-ball."  One player is trying to pocket the solid-colored balls ("solids," numbered 1-7) while the other player tries to knock in the striped balls ("stripes," numbered 9-15). A player cannot sink the 8-ball until he or she has pocketed all of the appropriate balls (stripes or solids).  The first player to pocket the 8-ball wins the game.  Took me a few days of losing games before I began to win a game or two each day I played.  I must admit that the main reason I did beat either Ned or Jerry was because they were giving me tips during every game I played against them.  Perhaps the day will come when I actually win a game without any helpful hints from my opponents.  I can tell I am beginning to get better at playing 8-ball, but will require a few more months of playing the game before I can feel that I won a game without any help from my opponents.  Thanks guys for all the help you have given me as I begin to understand  the game of pool once again.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.