Family fun and the Fort Bragg scene
Rack ‘em up! Caveman doesn’t play many pool games, but stays busy hunting food for his pet Opossum that he found one night on Pearl Drive. Huh? An Opossum? Yep, while driving one night he spotted something in the road and stopped to investigate. It was a very young Opossum. He reached down and suddenly it was running up his arm as it climbed to his shoulder. Well, that was the beginning of a love affair between the two. When they came to the Welcome a few weeks ago, it was obvious they were completely happy with each other. When asked, Caveman insisted he had never been bitten by his friend, and says the animal was clean and sweet to be around. It was quite a sight, and caused a small sensation, as Caveman sat down at the bar. It is a tad unusual, to say the least, but after a few minutes the attention died down and they went on their merry way.
While attending this season’s Festival of Lights at the Botanical Gardens, I literally bumped into a League pool player. It was Donnie Applegate, wife Marina Belle, and daughters Quinn and Harper. Quinn, the eldest born July of 2017, was riding on Dad’s shoulders and was gazing out upon the crowd obviously enjoying the view, while giving continuous instruction to her loving and strong Dad. Then we were introduced to Harper, born in October 2019, and snuggled in her carriage being tended by her loving and pretty Mom. It was a perfect Fort Bragg family scene and made the event even more enjoyable to see them and the other Fort Bragg families enjoying the holidays. Donnie works for Family Tree Service, and on Tuesday evening when Pool League is happening, he plays for Angelina”s team #1. Angelina”s team #1 is packed with decent men playing as one of our League’s most positive representative teams. They remember to represent Angelina”s Grill and Bar when playing League and are always upright and decent when they compete with the other teams.
The Saturday afternoon Welcome Inn 8-ball tournament is becoming bigger with new people each week. If you drop by on a Saturday at about 3 p.m. or so, plan for stiff competition. This past week some of the best players of Fort Bragg Pool League were in attendance. That was not all though, Orville James came out of retirement to play, and, as usual, he surprised a few folks.
Orville has a history of taking on the “Big Boys” and has been surprising them one way or another for years. I always listen to his advice, as he is uncanny about ball choice . That comes from decades of pool play. Making balls is just one aspect of the game, ball choice is one of the most important aspects of Pocket Billiards. When he offers advice, you would do well to heed what he says. Bryan Crutcher ignored his advice just this past week and found that he had buried himself by not heeding what Orville tried to tell him. My goodness, don’t let that happen to you too. Poor Bryan, well now he knows to listen when Orville speaks … at least I hope he does, but we’ll see what happens. Bryan has always shown a bit of a stubborn streak. Oh well, you can lead a horse to water … and Bryan has always been as stubborn as a mule so … who knows what will happen.
TOURNAMENT WINNER >>
Roy Yanez won 9-ball, Dan Kean won 8-ball. Congratulations! Visit Angelina’s Grille & Bar, Golden West Saloon, Tip Top Lounge, or Welcome Inn: all maintain a pool table for playing. You might meet new people, or see old friends.
Tournaments usually take a couple of hours to complete. Watch weekly competition; anyone can ewnter. If visiting Fort
When asked, Caveman insisted he had never been bitten by his friend, and says the animal was clean and sweet to be around.
Bragg, test your game with local players! Good company, food, and music, a full bar with Shuffleboard, Dice, and/or Dart games in addition to billiards for entertainment. Angelina’s Grille and Bar also features Karaoke on Thursday evenings. If you are looking for a quiet place with an outdoor patio, check out Milano’s, they have a great spot to relax with a drink and meet friendly people. Come enjoy Fort Bragg.
CUE TIP >> Still can’t make the full table shot that you want to make? Move the cue ball closer until you can. Then when you make five in a row, move back a half diamond at a time until you are making that full table shot you couldn’t before. Contact me at mcbohanon@gmail.com. Have a good game, I’ll see you at the table …