... do you feel lucky ... do you punk?

At 16, I wanted nothing more than to be able to play pool.

However, you couldn't get into a pool room in the 1960s unless you were 18.

The local pool room was owned by a retired cop. I have no idea why he let me in (he could have lost his license).

I couldn't get enough.
The atmosphere, the money, the gambling, the skill, the sound of billiard balls smashing into each other, and of course, the smell of the place.

All of it was intoxicating.

A movie, "The Hustler" starring Paul Newman
in the lead role as "Fast Eddie Felson and
Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats,
showed at local theatres.

Ya, I was Fast Eddie.

I got to be very good.

So good at pool, the only game I'd play was skittles.

It was where you could win (lose) the most money.

Just 3 billiard balls and five pins -- four white pins and one black (sometimes red).

I somehow developed the knack of clearing out the four pins and leaving the black pin standing. That was magic and made me a lot of money. It carried me through the whole summer. It was my job.

This Skittles is fun ... mine was all business

Skittles was all about money.
Sometimes, lots of money. 

But, I was a kid. I had no real money. I couldn't afford to lose.

So, I didn't.

My local billiard parlour had 16 tables on two floors but the best table was at the front of the room ... well lit, beautiful, soft table-top, everything was true.

Only the best players would ask the owner
to open up a time ticket to play on that table.
If you weren't an excellent player,
you'd embarrass yourself, and you wouldn't ask again. 

One late Friday afternoon (payday for most),
I lit up an American cigarette with my Zippo
while talking to the owner and trying my best to
act and look like an 18-year-old.

I can't believe I spent an entire summer in a pool room.

A guy joined our conversation and said he'd like to play skittles.

I said, 'I'll play". He said, "Let's play for quarters".
I usually played for dimes. Quarters were a lot in the '60s.

Skittles is a little like backgammon. When you play for money, the stakes can multiply quickly. It can be very expensive. We played three games.

Long story short, he signed his paycheck over to me. I don't remember the number on the cheque. It was very, very big for me - it was his weekly pay. He was a man. He was a tough guy. He would have challenged me for the money if the owner wasn't watching the games from a few feet away. 

No, I didn't feel sorry for him. I beat him fair and square. He thought he was going to take advantage of a kid.

It was good to be good.

The next summer, I was actually 18 years old and maybe because of it felt less interested in pool but I still loved the action.

I was at our summer cottage with my fire-fighter brother and his family. We went into the local town for him to get a haircut. I wandered into the pool room next to the shop to watch the locals.

A center-of-the-room game was in progress.

One guy was hammering the other guy at billiards. 

Once the game was over the winner asked
if I'd like to play. I hadn't played pool for a while

but if you can play skittles, you can play anything. 

Besides, he'd already shown me what kind of player he was.

I thought I had a half-hour to spare. I accepted his challenge for $5. a game. After the second game, he was down $10. He asked for double or nothing ... then he was down $20 ... then he said "let's make it $40 ... but if I lose, "I'll owe you $50".

I had him. 

I knew.

Every gambler gets silly when they press.

Now, he owed me $50. (this is the 1960s - that was a lot of money). He didn't look like he was going to pay off. His group of backup buddies seemed to punctuate that notion.

Then, my brother showed up.

He was a little nuts -- did I mention he was a firefighter?

I stepped back to watch.

My brother who had already been around the horn in the Canadian Air Force for four years seemed to be itching for some trouble and my billiard partner seemed to get the same vibe.

The payment was made. My brother had a new trimmed Elvis ducktail hairdo.
I had $50 to take me through the next two weeks of vacation and
it was a pretty nice day in Elmvale.

Now, it's 2021.

I attempted to play a little pool in my condo rec room recently.

I couldn't remember where to hit the cue ball.

mt