Talking Pool at the Fish Counter
dd June 1st, 2007
Scene from The Hustler
Yesterday at my local Whole Foods, I stopped at the fish counter where I overheard the customer before me wishing the “fish man” good luck in his upcoming competition. In the past, I probably wouldn’t have followed up on this, but lately I seem to be more and more anxious to engage people in conversation and I was curious. I’ve also been served by his guy many times and was curious about other aspects of his life. So, when it was my turn, I had to ask:
“So, what kind of competition are you involved in?”
“Straight pool. I’m entered in a Maryland tournament and if I finish 1st or 2nd, I’ll qualify for the national tournament.”
“Think you’re good enough to do that?”
“Oh yeah, I’m a pretty good player. In New York City, I played for many years starting in 1964 until about 1980. I stopped playing for 17 years, but took it up again a few years ago. I walked into a bar in Clarendon that had a pool table and thought ‘what the hell’, let me play a few games. I beat the pants off everyone there and started my ‘comeback’. You know who taught me how to play?”
“No idea.”
“Willie Mosconi! Ever heard of him?”
“Of course - he was the greatest straight pool player that ever lived. He did all the pool shots in the ‘Hustler’. That’s still my favorite movie.”
“Not only did he do all the playing, it’s his hands you see racking the balls.”
….
“Hey, best of luck in the tournament”.
“Thanks, buddy.”
I loved this chance encounter and dialogue for a couple of reasons. The Fish guy was no longer just some anonymous employee. He was a very cool guy.
And, I loved talking to him about pool. In my early 20’s, I loved playing pool. In fact (don’t tell any of my relatives), I spent the majority of my sophomore year at the student union playing straight pool, 8 ball, 9 ball, and snooker. I was a pretty good shot, so snooker was my favorite. And, along with my friend Tom Parker, I went to several pool tournaments in the Detroit area. I saw Minnesota Fats (Rudolph Walter Wanderone Jr - he adopted the name after the movie). He turned out to be a good talker, but not that great a pool player. I also saw Luther (Wimpy)Lassiter and Irving Crane, 2 U.S. champions play. They were the real deal. I even had my own “stick” - bought if off a guy I worked with on a summer job with the Mich. State Highway Dept.
This chance encounter brought back a lot of good memories. Good luck, Fish Man!!
Hey, you don’t need to be building websites to earn a little extra $$ — you could be playing pool! I suppose that means you would have to find a poolhall where they banned smoking — probably not likely to happen.
The story about they fish guy is very cool. My former piano teacher used to work in that same WF. There are probably many people at WF who are quite talented and have much more interesting second jobs. But somehow you’ve got to pay the rent and making a living at something like playing pool might be dicey.
I suck at pool. There was a table at the house where my family stayed for the wedding a couple of weeks ago. The only ball I could depend on getting into the pocket was the cue ball.
Sigh.
Did you know there’s a funny rap song about how racist pool is? Talks about how the white ball kicks the colored balls into the pockets, and the black ball goes last. Can’t remember who sings it.
What a fabulous, random exchange. Thanks for sharing.
Just proves that you have to make the effort to talk to people everywhere and add colour to their day. Then, you find out interesting things as you did.
Looking - doubt I could make much $$ from pool these days even if I could find a non-smoking billiards establishment. It is a fun game though.
Reya - maybe I can give you a lesson someday. you just probably need to learn a proper bridge. did not know about the rap song, but it obviously refers to the game called “8 ball”. Real players don’t play that much - just straight pool and maybe 9 ball. The guy I bought my stick from was black incidentally.
Kristin - yeah, it was a very cool chance exchange.
Ruth - You’re so right!
Very cool story. I am a shameless evesdropper and am constantly interjecting and trying to find out more about people. Sometimes it’s appreciated- other times not.
I grew up playing pool- my Dad bought a table while I was in Jr. high and high school. I kindda suck at it now though.
But, hey, what kind of fish did you buy?
I can tell you he bought Chilean sea bass and cooked it absolutely to perfection. It was marinated in a soy-olive oil mixture and not overcooked. The fish guy had actually described 3 ways to cook it, but this one definitely worked just fine. David has a definite knack for grilling just about anything!
Gewels - Looking beat me to the punch. Maybe you just need to practice your pool a little bit and you’ll be as good as ever. Do you still have a table? OTOH, I haven’t played in almost 40 years.
Looking - thanks for the kudos!
My ex- mother in Law is a nine ball Champon…
i think the commercial where everything in the store is clicking along real fast, because everybody has a pay card till some guy wants to pay cash then everything breaks down for like 10 seconds and eveyone is mad at that guy with the cash and actually has to look up from what they are doing …is very isidious, but right on in our culture. I’m like gewels and when I wait in line, its kinda relaxing and I have klittle conversations going with EVERYBODY…I( did’nt use to be this way, and am glad that I am not going so fast that I have NO TIME for the people standing right next to me.
chilean Sea bass…excellent choice….I first discovered it about 125 years ago…try it with and Achiote’ Paste someday…tell ‘em I sent you david!
make that 15 years ago…sorry, I got NO TIME for spelling.
I absolutely ADORE Chilean Sea Bass- but it’s too darn expensive.
Steve - i just thought you were exaggerating for effect. Yeah, it’s really nice to strike up conversations with strangers. I’ll keep the recipe in mind. We don’t buy Chilean Sea Bass too often, but it is delicious. Gewels - I know what you mean - it’s pricey.
i talk to random people too…i like to see what they do when confronted w/ an awkward situation…u find out a lot about people that way…
great post…was a lot of fun to read…
Pool Tables – Fun For The Whole Family…
Did you know that the first pool tables made an appearance in nineteenth century horse racing betting- poolrooms? Strange but true…though at that time the game was known as Billiards and tables were put up there for people to kill time between races….