Long Time Comin'

Dad then......

and now.

Well, it had to happen. I mean, really, after all this time, it was inevitable.

I FINALLY beat my dad at pool last night. YES! It took nearly 44 years, but I DID IT! Fair and square.

I think that because that happened, I truly upset the balance of the universe. The next game saw at least 15 minutes elapse before a single ball was sunk. I think the act of dad racking and me breaking turned everything upside down, since, as the usual loser, I rack and he breaks. I kid you not, there were balls that REFUSED to go in a pocket. They would bobble on the edge, hit the bumpers and bounce away from the pocket, you get the idea. Never had we played a game like that before. Besides the fact we were getting very tired, having played half the night already. Finally, dad got two in a row sunk, and after that, I was sunk. He won the last game of the night handily. But the point is, I WON A GAME. Never have I won against my dad. Heck, I can even beat him at chess, Stratego, Risk, you name it. Not very often, but it has happened. But pool? That was the last frontier. And it was worth it to hear him say that I was getting much better. YES! Practice makes perfect.

Of course, it was all accompanied by some GREAT music. An assortment of homemade CDs on shuffle took us from Marty Robbins to The Cadillacs to Ernest Tubb to The Who to the Moody Blues.....what a wonderful way to spend an evening. Dad was most surprised at Blondie's "Rapture", I suppose never having heard it before. He liked it very much, and said at least that rap song had good music as well. And, of course, what really got him going was Max Frost and the Troopers' "Shape of Things to Come". He and I have always loved that song, and one of our favorite movies is "Wild in the Streets".

So for you, dad, the loser, from the winner, enjoy these wonderful tunes that you seemed to like best last night. Next time, though, I think I'll rack.