As life goes on, our priorities do change. There was a time when every spare second that I had was spent at the pool table - every last dime that I had went for table time - or entry fees - or travel - etc. Playing pool was my only priority. It came before work - my social life - it came before everything. My decision-making process was easy ... anything involving pool came first. Pool was what I did - pool was all that I wanted - and eventually pool was all that I had - and - my game was all that I had to show for it. That's what I really wanted and I took pride in it. I went out of my way to be what I was. No points for style.
Then life happened.
You find that special someone - you opt for apartment living rather than the back seat of your car - with that comfort comes bills - with bills come responsibilities - which eventually puts you in an office filling out a job application. For a pool player, "job" is 4-letter-word - but if you're smart and you enjoy the comforts of living indoors - you will do what you have to do - and eventually ... I did. No points for style.
Before I knew what hit me ... there was a bunch of kids crawling around the apartment ... these kids were loud - they were demanding - and oh-boy were they expensive!!! So ... there I was ... being pulled away by my hair - kicking and screaming from the apartment into a 5 bedroom house ... the cost of which forced me back into the education system so that at some point I would be qualified to find a job that paid enough to afford all of this new found "responsibility" that was being shoved up my rear-end. I didn't like any of it - I bitched - I moaned - I complained - I would daydream about my glory days when my mailing address was the back seat of my Honda ... life was so much easier - so much simpler - and so much quieter back then ... but ... if you're smart - and if you enjoy the comforts of living indoors - and if you love you love your family - you will do what you have to do - and eventually ... I did. No points for style.
To be able to meet those responsibilities, I had to reassess my life and prioritize. I was at the crossroads of Pool and Life ... While I was working and furthering my education, there were things that had to be sacrificed - and there were things that had to be put on hold ... and pool just happened to be one of them. My decisions were not so easy anymore because all of my decisions affected other people - people that depended upon me - they affected my family. It wasn't so easy anymore to belly-up to the table and accept those $100 and $200-a-set challenges. A missed shot here -or- a bad roll there would have meant the difference between being able to provide -or- standing there having to explain why I was unable to provide. You just have to mess that up one time to really learn the difference between coming home with a reason and coming home with an excuse. Times were tough - but we managed - I learned how to stand there with fingers pointed at me as other called me names - labeled me this - and labeled me that - but I didn't have to answer to THEM ... so I did what I had to do. No points for style.
In hindsight - I guess I could look back at all those dreams that were never realized -at all that money that was never won - at all of those trophies that were never hoisted in the air ,,, of course there are things that I never did that I wished I had - etc etc etc ... but my life - and all of the changes and responsibilities that came with it - has been abundantly filled with countless blessings. I was lucky enough and blessed enough to have been able to play this game every step of the way. I may not have played at the level or the frequency that I wanted to - but I was able to juggle my education - my career - my family - and when it made sense .... POOL. Along the way, I have learned that pool always will have a place in my life as long as I meet my responsibilities first - and ensure that my life (and the people that are in it) are taken care of first and foremost ... but the biggest lesson that I have learned is that it is just as important to be amazing in life as it is to be amazing at the pool table ... you only learn all these life lessons in responsibility by living through it - and once again ... you get no points for style.
Blackjack's Random Thoughts - 11-10-2014
