Flashback Friday #59

The Pool Table

Hi all, and welcome back.

Have you ever had a piece of furniture that you really didn't have room for? A piece that just didn't fit in? We had such a piece with the pool table that Dad bought at a friend's yard sale. Can you pass up a pool table for only $20? Dad couldn't. It came complete with sticks, balls, chalks & rack. It was a fantastic bargain, but just where did we have room to put it?

Let's see, how about the living room? It has a couch, two arm chairs, and the rather large console TV. It won't fit there.

How about the eat-in-kitchen. Stove,check. Refrigerator, check. Dinette set, check. Could we substitute the pool table for the dining..., oh never mind. No room here.

Bathroom? Um, No.

The only other room downstairs is Mom & Dad's bedroom. Unless Dad is willing to sleep on the pool table, that's not happening. Note, I said Dad, not Mom.

Where can it go? I know, let's put it upstairs in Nottaguy's room. Gattabout's room has too much stuff in it. So the pool table was carried up the stairs (ever carry a pool table up the stairs? It's not easy), and set up in MY bedroom. Who doesn't fantasize about having a pool table in their bedroom?

With the pool table in my room, my single bed had to go. (Actually it was a fold-away frame with no mattress, just a folded quilt for a mattress)It was replaced with a hide-a-bed sofa. When I wasn't asleep, the bed was put into the sofa so folks could play pool. The sofa was put into the side of the room that had the sloping ceiling. Don't get out of bed too fast or you'll crack your head.

Did I mention that the room that now held the pool table had a sloping ceiling? This meant that you had to create some interesting angles due to not having enough room to properly hold the cue sticks. The walls were somewhat close too. Many a time cues were held almost vertical (that's up & down for those of you not in the know) to take a shot. If a piece of furniture was in you way of shooting, you either tried a different shot, or moved the furniture. My room was never the same two days in a row.

In addition to the guys of my family playing pool, just about everyone who knew us played at least one game on it. Aunt Shelly's kids were over several days a week to play. Gattabout had friends over. I had friends over. My bedroom became a regular pool hall.

One thing Dad hadn't anticipated about putting the pool table in my bedroom was the weight distribution on the old floors upstairs. Our house was over 100 years old, and the floors weren't intended to take the weight of something as heavy as a slate pool table. The floor began to sag in the middle, and the balls would tend to favor one side of the table over the other. The pool table was going to have to go.

Dad told a friend of his about the dilemma we were facing. He said that he had a very large garage and would love to have a pool table. Dad sold it to him for the $20 that he paid for it.

Did you ever buy something, then wonder what you were going to do with it once you got home?