PREPARATION MEETS OPPORTUNITY

Exercising makes me happy.

I exercise every Monday, Wednesday & Friday in Castle Rock, at the Senior Center there.

I enjoy the drive.

I enjoy the chit-chat.

I enjoy the physical activity.

Coal Creek from Heron Pointe - 5 mins.

Castle Rock from Coal Creek; via Delameter Road - 19 mins.

Full body workout; 10 rep on Mondays – 15 reps on Wednesdays & Fridays. Hiking on alternate days 😉

Spending some time with people makes me happy: not all-day-time, but some time, at some point, in my day.

Driving country backroads makes me happy. 

Playing a couple games of pool makes me happy.

Today, I managed to accomplish 3 of the above 4 things that make me happy … tomorrow, I will score on #4 😊

After exercise class this morning, I drove the Hazel Dell backroad home; because I wanted to enjoy a relaxing country drive, and because I wanted to stop at the Senior Center downtown, passing through Longview – and that backroad would take me in the direction I wanted to head into.

Hazel Dell Road from Castle Rock - 9 mins.

Snoopy spotted out Hazel Dell Road; this tickled my funny bone.

Longview Senior Center from Hazel Dell Road; via Hazel Dell Road-West Side Highway & Commerce - 18 mins.

I wanted to pick up their monthly itinerary; but basically, I wanted to find out more about the pool tables I’ve seen there 😉

I asked if the pool tables were open tables: at the Castle Rock Senior Center, the pool tables there, are always ‘taken’ by the old geezers that never take a rest between games. Getting a chance to play is impossible.

And while I didn’t mind bending over the table when Bob was standing beside me: I feel weird about having my ass on view with strange men gawking at it – I’m short; to get at some of those angles to make a decent shot, I’d have to stand on my toes and hike my ass up in the air to stretch into the play … that was okay when Bob was standing beside me.

Bob isn’t standing beside me anymore.

And I don’t want to start prowling bars on the off-chance that opportunity for a game will occur there … college kids and just-released-parolees haunt those tables: not interested in either.

I need a safe place to plant my ass, now. 

It’s an old ass, admittedly: but old, young, or stupid … men are still men.

So, I have been praying for an open table in a comfortable setting.

Today I got lucky 😉 

The guy who took my $20/yearly membership fee, told me, “there is a woman who comes here to play pinochle – and she was just saying the other day she wishes she had someone to play pool with; would you be interested?”

I said, “Yes! I’d be interested.”

So, he called her and she asked if we could meet tomorrow and play a game … so, I’ll be up early tomorrow morning for my 9 AM game. I hope I’m alert enough to play a decent game: noon would be better for me.

I joined the Longview Senior Center this afternoon ... primarily to use the pool table.

I hope it goes good tomorrow. 

I haven’t played pool in 7 years.

I hope she plays a ‘straight game’ … I don’t know how to play 8-Ball.

Bob and I always played straight pool: players call what ball they will try for (stripes or solids), and work into sinking “a run of 14”, using the 15^th ball to start another rack to continue shooting more games. 

And I play for fun – I don’t like to play cut-throat; that takes all the fun out of the game. I don’t mind a competitive player, but I don’t like mean, poor losers. 

I’m a pretty good player when I’m “on my game”: I learned from the best, and I played with the best. I’m a quick picker-upper. But I will not play with a cut-throat player. 

I play for fun. 

I play for relaxation.

I play for the love of the game.