Friday, August 7, 2009

I try to scare up some Westward Ho pool players


I asked Nikita who is also trying to scare up some activities for people to help me and she was able to come up with two right away. So I played a couple of games with one who left because his back was hurting and about four games with another guy with the prettiest wild white hair who was good. We had some enjoyable games. Although our pool room is pretty shabby, not nearly as nice as the Silvercrest one which is furnished by the Laura Daniels Senior Center, a part of that complex, it will do for some practice runs.
Now it is around 1:30 AM and I could not sleep for some reason. I watched So You Think You Can Dance earlier, and was it good. Both nights were some of the best displays of dancing I have seen on television. These people do a class act show. Jeanine won, which I think she deserved, as she was very versatile. Kayla, the other woman finalist, was outstanding, too, tall, blonde and beautiful as well as a fabulous dancer. The two guy finalists were very good, too, so now I don't know what I will do without a dance show to watch.
My daughter is going to Palm Springs this weekend for a West Coast Swing Dance convention. She always has lots of fun there. It is great having such a lover of the dance to talk to about dancing. She will have taped both dance shows so she can watch them when she gets back if she doesn't have time to see them before. She is religious about dancing.
I even put out the word to Nikita I would play ping pong, too. I need to get in ping pong shape so I can play with my grandson Jamal if he drops by when he starts ASU. His girlfriend is going to be living in the dorm downtown just a few blocks from me, so he might come around more than when he lived 40 miles north. He plays tennis. I hope he will start playing out to ASU. It would be a shame to waste those skills he has developed going out in tennis in high school. Everybody needs a game that will give them a workout.
I do feel a little better every day now that I am no longer smelling alcohol fumes. They were getting to me. I even got around to some good blog reading today. I have got more catching up to do but I am making progress.
I decided I had to scare up some pool players here so as not to disrupt their established pool playing routines at the Silvercrest. That was making me a little nervous. There are a lot of new people moving in here. This old hotel attracts a younger crowd, since it has history and is located in the heart of downtown Phoenix. The main nervousness I feel playing pool is bothering the pool players' girlfriends. That has always caused some problems, especially if they don't play pool.
It felt really good to play with a good player tonight, but a younger man was there who kept saying he was no good and didn't want to play. He called the guy who was playing a 'snuggle bunny' once, so I thought he must be a boyfriend! He was very nice about us playing a few games and then he took him off to cook supper.
I have never lived around gays before which I find interesting. Maybe this way I will become friends with some. I am being very reserved at first so I won't antagonize anybody with something I say.
We are all tiptoeing around here part of the time trying to figure out how to get along with such a varied mix of people, retired and disabled. I am enjoying some of the conversations I am having out under the trees in the patio. There is a young woman who never talks to anyone, but she has appointed herself the housekeeper of the patio. She comes out and arranges the chairs and tables and the cigarette retainers. I don't know if she mops or sweeps after everyone goes to bed, but most of the patio people are intrigued by this mysterious patio housekeeper. Tonight she was eyeing everything thoughtfully, and then she came back out and moved a few things to suit her fancy and left without a word.
There are quite a few residents here who never say a word to anyone, some for years! But if you try to talk to a silent one, you are apt to get an annoyed response. I have learned not to try to draw out the silent and withdrawn. Sometimes accepting their presence in a friendly way works best. We have quite a few people living here who don't speak the English language well, so they are mostly silent for that reason, Roumanians, Koreans, etc.
I have been reading a wild biography I have been thinking about reviewing for a few days. I want to do a good job on this one as it is a jewel among biographies. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1995 deservedly so I think, but I am not through reading it yet, so will hold off on the review. Got to figure out what is keeping me awake, so I can sleep! Good night all.

5 comments:

Connie said...

For some strange reason I could not post a comment to the previous entry...so let me say here..I am in shock -no more you and Doc.
I know his drinking poses problems.But you two seem like a perfect fit...maybe I am being silly--it's your life dear lady and you know far better than anyone what you go through with him and that you don't need that kind of stress..I think it's sad to think of you two apart..well file this under noneya [none of my bizzness] LOL.I didn't mean to make you sad with the cardinal..I just know you like them...so I had to rush it off to you.Had I known I woulda duplicated the lil guy...lol

kanyonland King 2.blogspot.com said...

Ping Pong is also a great idea. You used to be good at Ping Pong.
I find it encouraging that you are back to playing your games...pool, possibly ping pong. Just being around a drinker can be a bummer after awhile if you are not one. That's for sure. I think leaving Doc to drink is an excellent idea since he is determined not to quit.
We know these long-time drinkers are hard to be around.

sober white women said...

I have not played pool or ping pong in a very long time. I still can't believe that school is starting back. Where did the summer go?
Kelli

Gerry said...

Connie, I thought we seemed like a perfect fit when it came to the arts but Doc just would not give his best to the relationship. He was too big of alcoholic. And wore me out with the excesses of his alcoholic thinking when he had had too much. There was too much he could not do with me because of his drinking. But I always appreciated you perceiving his appeal. Which made his long descent into alcoholism all the sadder. Gerry

Barb said...

Looks like you might be a pretty good pool player. I used to play a LOT in my teenage years. My parents owned a bar & I helped clean on Saturdays before they opened & Sundays (YUCK).As you can imagine cleaning a bar is pretty nasty business, but my brother & I or one of my parents would play a lot of pool and shuffleboard. I am glad you are so active. I wish I had your energy. Sorry to hear about your and Doc's parting of the ways. My Dad was an alcoholic, I believe my mom was too, but she put up with a LOT worse than she gave out. I miss them both though. Good luck with all that is coming up. Hope you get to see your grandson more now that school is about to start.
Barb (queenb)


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