Billiards

If Mom and Dad knew Mozart, Abraham Lincoln, and Charles Dickens played billiards, they would perhaps be more willing to let me try it. They painted the sport in cigarette smoke and questionable personalities. It was enough for me to wonder at its attraction.

Pool, as pocket billiards is commonly known today, took its name from the poolrooms gamblers used to "pool" and bet on horse races. This same place also had billiard tables. Slowly, the two terms became synonymous.

I had my chance the other day after two rounds of bowling at Irving's AMF lanes.
The green cloth gleamed vibrant in the empty lounge.
The aspirants and I had visited Calvary Hill Cemetery to pray for all souls in purgatory.

It might be an odd way to begin a recreational excursion.
"Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!" (Ecclesiates 1:2)
Does not the words of Scripture help us to order all pleasure in its rightful place?

Pleasure is a means, not an end.
Pool can be an addiction or a place to laugh about missed shots and show off athletic prowess.

I definitely would not be a worthy opponent of Dickens.

ps. Photo source http://greenleafbilliards.info/contact-greenleaf-billiards.html