Celebration of Life for Greg Puderbaugh
Rack `em up
Do you know how sometimes it kinda clicks into place? Well, we had that kind of day recently. I say we because it was a group of friends and family at Harbor Lite Conference room for a Celebration of Life for Greg Puderbaugh. We smiled from beginning to end, and yes, some almost teary moments, but they too ended with a smile. Christina shared things about their life together that, like many I suppose, I was nicely touched by.
After re-grouping for a 6:00 pm memorial tournament that had 16 players and with the double elimination was an endurance race for some folks. There were highlights, like when Welcome Inn teammates Rebecca Reynolds and Omie Behrns had games that played 40 minutes apart but dispatched Angelina's Grill and Bar Captain Raven, who, by chance, drew the teammates separately as the tournament was played. They were both excellent games, and you know kinda fun to watch, as you must realize, in our pool world, when a couple of Welcome Inn women whup on ya' and you are “Captain Raven”, from Angelina's Grill and Bar, it is absolutely priceless to watch and will never be forgotten … never ever. Thank goodness it wasn't me instead of Raven, as both women were in full charge of their tables. Whether you are in stroke or not, in an 8-ball pool game, you can win or lose against anyone at any time. The difficulty for me was like most of us, I didn't pace myself for a long long time before the end. Everyone had a good time, tired but happy after a day of remembering Greg Puderbaugh. People were able to fund a donation for Gteg's son, Jacob, just by playing in the tournament, and some donated but didn't play, like “DD Kira,” you know, David's Deli? Yeah, that Kira, there were others that put money in the pot, but mostly they were: Priscilla, Randy, Deborah, Julia, Sai, Katie, Mark, Tyron, Schelagh, Omie, Rebecca, Raven, Josh, Bob, Rick, Jayson, Ed, Mersaydez, Mike B, Mike W. Manual, Raul, Hugh, Bryan, and others unknown to me. Good friend Ian took a look at Greg, years back, at his first Mohawk for Halloween, and declared him, “Purple Rain” and the name stuck. Ian is still out of the Country attempting to become a self-flying kite.
Visiting Fort Bragg for the sights and scenes and now want to meet some local people? Start with Karaoke singing at Angelina's Grill and Bar every Friday night after 9:00 pm. Milano's Hotel and Bar will also have Karaoke on weekends. It is nearly as fun to sing, as it is to watch and listen. Too shy to sing? Consider playing in the local Tournaments. There are nearly 100 League players in Fort Bragg and some of them play in the local tournaments that are open to anyone to play a competitive game of 8 or 9-ball pocket pool.
While Fort Bragg Pool League is on holiday you can still play competitive pool on a regular basis. There are 9-ball Tournaments every Monday night at a different venue and usually begin at 7:00 pm. There are 8-ball Tournaments at Welcome Inn every Thursday night at 7:00 pm. There are also 8-ball Tournaments at the Welcome Inn Saturday afternoons which start at 4:00 pm. If you want to create a tournament on another day or at your favorite venue, just speak up and you will have 8 to 12 players willing to try it. The iconic and very historic building houses the Golden West Saloon. GW has the best list of Spirits in Fort Bragg, and with your special Whiskey now in hand, you can play Corn-Hole with the other patrons. Play pool games on one of their two tables or just relax and take in old photographs on the walls.
Cue Tip: If you are going to practice by yourself, play it straight. Set up a long straight shot and play it ten or twenty times to remind your muscles that control your stroke how to perform it in a straight manner. If you are playing a long straight shot, and making every ball, is good. Keep track of the misses out of 15 balls, playing the exact shot over by powder marks for positions for the cue ball and long shot object ball. A fingertip in powder and mark those ball spots. Better, of course, playing 45 balls at a time, but playing 15 balls once or twice a week will still show improvement. Contact me at mcbohanon@gmail.com.