Fifty years ago my best friend and I walk into a small three-table poolroom in Buckeye lake Ohio, and I fell in love, in love with a game, in love with the color of green felt, in love with the smoke filled rooms. I was only 14 years old at the time.

The name of the place was Meryls, and Meryl was playing on the table closest to the door as we walked in, the cue tip hit the cue ball, the ball hit the object ball and it rolled into the side pocket, can you believe it I remember the first shot I ever saw on a pool table.

Meryl and his opponent were playing straight pool, Meryl was in his late fifties and so was his opponent there were two other older guys playing eight ball on the middle table and the back table had four young guys playing rotation.

Watching Meryl move around that table was like watching two lovers on a park bench, oblivious to everything and everyone around him, I know now that he was in the zone though I did not know what that meant then.

I had no idea what the game was all about, straight pool, 14-1 whatever it was called, but Meryl made it look easy. Hell you can shoot any ball into any hole what could be easier than that? I had yet to pick up a cuestick.

FLASH FORWARD FIFTY YEARS

The name of the place is River City Pockets, there is a 64 year old man playing pool on one of the tables and he is floating around the table in a zone. Young kids come and sit around, some play pool on the bar boxes some on the 9 footers and every once in awhile the old man will hear one of them say "nice shot" and he knows some one is watching him, and he wonders if this is the first time they have ever walked into a pool room, and if they fell in love.