The Norman Transcript

Opinion

Discussion

October 23, 2012

Pool hall education not easily forgotten

By Keith Kappes The Norman Transcript

NORMAN — The classic 1961 movie, “The Hustler,” is about two pool sharks portrayed by Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason.

Watching that movie always brings back memories of my misspent youth and the many hours I hung out in the pool hall in my hometown.

Mom didn’t approve and dad worked out of town.

Kids really weren’t allowed but the owner would let us make a few bucks in tips by running for cigarettes, Tums, and bottles in brown paper bags.

Those “supplies” were needed by the shooters who gambled day and night.

One of the first lessons you learn in racking pool balls is to keep your fingers out of the way when you remove the rack. Knuckles are no match for a speeding cue ball driven by a grown man trying to sink all of the balls on the break.

And you better make sure you rack the balls tightly together so they break apart in all directions. A “loose” rack could get you rapped on the head with a cue stick instead of a 50-cent tip.

Never let the players run out of chalk for the tips of the cue sticks and always keep the powder ready for those with sweaty hands.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw a would-be “hustler” walk into that pool hall with a custom-made, take-apart cue stick in a leather case.

That was before the movie came out but we’d heard stories of big city pool rooms with their professional pool sharks — gamblers who could run the table and empty your wallet with smile.

But we had some local guys who knew every bump and seam on those tables, exactly which cue stick to take off the wall and who to have rack the balls.

By the time that dude staggered out of our pool hall that night, he left behind about $300 in cash, his fancy cue stick and case, and his daddy’s pocket watch.

At the time, I was proud of the “good ole boys” from home who wouldn’t or couldn’t hold a regular job but seemed to live off their gambling winnings.

Sadly, I now can recall arguments, fights, broken friendships, thefts, divorces and even a shooting death tied to things said and done in that pool hall.

I came to realize that gambling and booze don’t mix and that a country pool hall is exactly the wrong place to be when a fight breaks out.

Keith Kappas is a columnist for The Morehead (Ky.) News. Contact him at kkappes@cnhi.com.

For local news and more, subscribe to The Norman Transcript Smart Edition, or our print edition.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Opinion
  • Republican Party has unmitigated gall

    Editor, The Transcript: When it comes to unmitigated gall, the Republican Party has no equal. Take the current Benghazi hearings, for example. This is nothing but a political charade aimed at the 2014 election and Hillary Clinton’s ...

    May 19, 2013

  • Airline changes coming

    In the airlines business, time is money. American Airlines wants to try and speed up its boarding process. Passengers who travel with only a personal item such as a purse or a brief case can now get on first....

    May 19, 2013

  • SEC should act on conflicts

    Money talks. In the continuing dispute over the all-too-cozy relationship between the people who create and sell financial products and the people who rate their risk, the money says: Shut up and let us do what we want....

    May 19, 2013

  • We all deserve better

    The tough treatment of the Tea (Taxed Enough Already) party and other conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service is being assailed by leaders of both political parties....

    May 19, 2013

  • John Tullius’ cartoon is wrong about education

    Editor, The Transcript: John Tullius’ last Saturday cartoon has jumped up and stepped right on my toes, along with, I suspect, the toes of teachers and school personnel all over town: “Growing up — we learned good morals, values and ...

    May 19, 2013

  • What hope for our humanity’s predicament?

    Editor, The Transcript: Well, what is it, this “predicament” of ours, our humanity’s? What’s behind or underneath this predicament, this predication, this saying before or is it a “before saying?” Ah, that might be getting closer to what ...

    May 19, 2013

  • Gas stations used to command loyalty

    More than 50 years ago, Ed Ruscha set off on a road trip from California to Oklahoma City and back. The young artist was driving to see his mother, who still lived in Oklahoma....

    May 19, 2013

  • Women can’t be at the front in Catholic church

    Editor, The Transcript: Kathryn Jean Lopez’s editorial, “Women to the front,” made me scratch my head. Since it was about the Catholic Church, she must know that Catholic women can’t be at the front. They cannot be priests, bishops or ...

    May 19, 2013

  • Tax plan gets projects going

    A deal to divert state use taxes to fund completion of the American Indian Cultural Center Museum in Oklahoma City and build the Museum of Popular Culture in Tulsa looks like a good way to get some momentum on both projects....

    May 18, 2013

  • Tax cuts help wealthy and harm schools

    Perhaps it’s old news by now, but I hope the controversy will live on....

    May 18, 2013