When Pool Chalk Saves Your Life

My very dear friend, Julie Collins, is extremely special to me.  She's one of those friends that because of her caring actions and beautiful choice of words, makes you feel deeply loved.  She has made an impact on my life in ways I can't express - I learn a lot from her and adore her.

I wrote about her a couple of times before in my pool blog (see this link and then also this link) and we try to meet up about once a year to do something fun and memorable - me not playing pool anymore wont keep us apart!

My dear friend was in a pickle back in the Summer.

Luckily, she is extremely resourceful!

Let me set the scene and share her words from social media:

She was driving home and her A/C went out in the car.  It didn't matter she had a convertible - it was early July and it was a very hot day with not a cloud in the sky, and no wind or breeze either.

And then she ran into this:

Turns out there was a bad accident many miles ahead of her (an 18-wheeler on the Interstate was engulfed in flames), so there was a long backup.  Everyone who was driving northbound on I-35 that day in North Texas was being diverted to another highway, which caused extreme traffic (as you can see in her photo above).

What do you notice about her photo, though?  Is there something you see out of the ordinary?

Yep, she took the photo from the side of the road.

What was she doing there?

Here is her story:

 She posted this very 'soft' post on her FB page:

"Got stuck on the Interstate. The closure is due to fire. Both myself and my car were overheating. I'm being transported back to my home base by this kind constable.

If I'd been unable to get under an overpass, I might have, literally, been toast!'

The reason I say it was a 'soft' post was because she didn't exclaim or scream or overreact about the situation - she simply shared, very calmly, what happened to her, and that she was thankful for something.  I really love this about her - she shares, but doesn't overreact or even draw any unnecessary negative attention to herself (ever). Even though in reality she had been in dire straits this day!

Btw, this was her next photo, her rescuer - The Constable!

It seems like she could easily be being hauled off in cuffs in the back of that police car, lol, but no, no - instead, he saved her!

I am going to share now her exact comments to friends who commented and asked questions, so you can see what truly happened to her that day, what a scary situation it really was, and how this all relates to pool:

"He [the Constable] heard the call someone needed help and drove down the wrong side of the closed freeway to reach me."

Someone ask her how her car was: 

"The car will be fine. I stopped in that shade when I saw my situation."

Another friend exclaimed "Thank goodness you were rescued!" To which she replied and shared: 

"Yes! I'd already resorted to writing on a paper plate with a cube of pool chalk to get cold water bottles from people who were creeping by. I'd stopped in the last shade I was aware of and wouldn't risk going further, then having it stop again completely, which it did."

Another friend complimented her on being so resourceful. She replies:

"I wasn't too proud to call for help. It could've gotten bad really quick. After people gave me ice cold water and I cooled off my brainstem, I decided I'd be better off ANYWHERE else."

I asked her how she was feeling and figured it had to be scary, to which she confided openly to all: 

"I love you too, Melinda. I am feeling better, and it WAS scary. I'd gotten to where my fingers were tingling, my head was dizzy and my arms and knees were weak. It could've gone really wrong, and I'm very thankful for the folks who jumped out and handed me ice cold water bottles. I used them as cold compresses on my brainstem, and poured them over me as well, lol. Before bed I took a long salt bath to help replenish myself.

That experience really has me rethinking driving this car anywhere long distance this summer, during the heat of the day."

And after the many thank you's to everyone for the sincere concern and glad she was okay, she ended with: 

"Spent the day very glad that I had that cube of pool chalk!!"

💙

Us too, Julie. Us, too.

Playing Preparations

I mentioned the other day I had sparred with a friend (video edition).

And I had some important preparations to do beforehand.

Because I don't play that often anymore, I don't think of things I need to do to better prepare myself for playing.

This time I remembered! 

Yep, needed to tape my chalk up so I can easily identify them.

:)

I know - sound crazy that THIS would be my only preparations.  lol.  But, even being comfortable with your chalk is important.  My other pieces were either too low, had bad-colored tape, or not tape at all.  All aspects of comfort are important, peeps!

Pre-Shot Routine is a Habit

A friend of mine lost his chalk holder one Saturday night during a big tournament in October.  However, he didn't realize it until the next morning when he was about to play his first match of the day on that crisp Sunday morning.

It's the type of chalk holder that has a long end, where you can tuck it in your pocket, and the chalk hangs out.  Kinda like this:

I remembered another friend asking me if I knew who's this was, as he had found the chalk holder that Saturday night on the floor.

I immediately texted my friend Sunday morning, "Hey, I found out who's chalk holder that is and he needs it back."

The player said he would be okay that morning without, but I knew how uncomfortable he would be all day.  I knew that if his pre-shot routine included him tucking his chalk holder in his pocket after every shot (which he does), then he would be doomed....

Habits are hard to break.

And your pre-shot routine is a huge habit.  If that habit is broken or altered, it will very most likely affect your play just by the distraction of not doing something you've been doing every shot for years.

The player did not get his chalk holder back that day, but will at the next tournament.  He told me he has had it for 10 years or something and it means a lot to him.  Can you imagine a pre-shot routine for 10 years and then one day you have to change that routine?  

Here is another important point:  IF that did not affect his play, then he needs to work on his pre-shot routine.  Pre-shot routines are essential, critical parts of our game.  The more routine it is, the better chance we have at focusing on the ball in front of us the same every single shot.

Gift From the Heart - the Buddha

One of my dear friends was looking at chalk holders at the OB Cues Ladies Tour stop.

I walked by her and she stops me and says, "look how adorable" as she showed me this bright chalk holder with a Buddha on it.

I was like, "wow, that's cool."

I have been looking for more peace in my life and a Buddha sure does represent that.

Then the sneaky little b!tch surprised me and bought it.  She handed it to me a few minutes later (I had no idea) and I could NOT believe it!  How thoughtful!

I used it the entire tourney very proudly, and even placed 3rd out of 36 players in the OB Cues Season Finale!

Love ya, Julie! 

Decorative Chalk

I have written before how I have used colored or decorative duct tape to wrap the outside of my chalk.  This allows my chalk to stand out so that others hopefully won't use it, and also helps for me to distinguish between my chalk and my opponents' chalk on the table.

Back in the Spring, a friend of mine mentioned at the Texas State Tournament that there is thinner duck tape and therefore MUCH easier obviously to wrap around the chalk.

If you've ever tried to put regular duct tape around a piece of chalk it's really very cumbersome and you have edges sticking out and it's just not very smooth at all (or easy to put around the chalk).  So when I heard of this thinner duct, tape I was very excited.

However, just a couple weeks ago I saw some decorative regular TAPE.

So, therefore this is much MUCH easier to apply around the chalk but further, I figured out that the chalk feels much better between my fingers.

It's a little tough to explain, but as you know duct tape is kind of shiny and slippery, yet tape has more of a "fabric" feel to it (at least the decorative tape does), and it's easier to grab and even clasp through your fingers.

I highly recommend decorative tape for all the reasons mentioned above.

I promise you will thank me.  And by the way, it's found in most school supplies sections (I bought mine at Walmart).


Can you tell which piece has tape and which one is with duct tape?

New Decorated Chalk

Used my new decorated chalk during the ACS Texas State Championships this week.

Bright and awesome!

What do you think?  

Matches my toenails that you can't see, lol.

Decorated my Chalk

I think I'm so cool, lol. 

I saw this tape and liked the colors so decided to "mark" and decorate my own chalk! 

Especially since I kept losing that 'one' piece of god blue chalk at the State tourney.  Ugh!  So annoying when you find a good piece then it gets lost in the mix of all the other blue chalk on the table.
 
My friends had done this before - made some esp for me (awww!) and one of my other friends sells them to raise money for fans for the elderly:

 
Little did I know how TOUGH it is to wrap little pieces of chalk in freaking duct tape!!

They aren't perfect, but they are mine.  :)

 

Not just Matching Team Shirts.....

I wrote earlier this year how a friend of mine "decorates" chalk. 

I have another friend who is doing the same thing - they both love being crafty!

And this other friend showed me what she did for her ladies team at ACS State!

They bought purple and gold team shirts, and she made each teammate a matching purple and gold decorated chalk!!

Yes, us females are kinda goofy.  But thoughtful and clever!!!

A New Chalk Hoarder

I wrote in January of this year that someone kept using my chalk that I left on the table.  Most people use their own chalk - even if you leave it on the table, most people have chalk etiquette - but at this tourney I ran into someone who didn't care which or whose chalk she used.

I wrote something similar from May - where my check was even decorated and yet still used by someone else.  The nerve!  

I kinda got a little miffed.

I thought to myself, maybe I should just start taking the chalk from the table, like a lot of people do.  But I wondered, how long would THAT take to turn into a habit? 

Many people have their own chalk and if you don't want anyone else to use it, you take it when you when you sit down.  It becomes part of your routine - grab your chalk before you sit down.  But, seriously - how long would it take me to start doing this every time? 

Others keep their chalk to themselves because they use it as part of their pre-shot routine, which is taught at pool schools (e.g. you think while you chalk your cue about what you want to do (so you don't think too much while down on a shot)).  In these cases, keeping your chalk with you is an integral part of your routine, you can't possibly let anyone else use.

Well, after Vegas in May when players touched my decorated chalk, I started to try to routinely take my chalk with me when I sat down/left the table.  I really wondered how long this habit would become "ingrained."

Heck within a month I was doing this!  Routinely!

You might think this is nothing, but let me say it this way:  I have been playing pool for almost 25 years and have never taken the chalk with me until June of this year, after only trying it for a month.

:)

I realize it takes 21 to 28 days to form a habit normally, but still - even after 25 years I am pretty impressed that I am doing this now after only a month of "practice."

Move That Chalk

I have always found it fascinating when someone is looking at a shot, and before they even get down on the ball, they walk over to the other end of the table and move a piece of chalk that is on the rail near the ball they are about to shoot.

This has amazed me for years.

Seriously.

I have never, ever moved a chalk away from a ball I was about to shoot.  Never.

Yet I see SO many other people do it before they take their shot.

In Vegas, I was practicing a shot with someone and they told me, "move that chalk first."

What?

Why?

"Because it's a distraction."

It is?

To you maybe, not to me.

So, I got curious and asked another friend about it to get further clarification.  She said, "Yes, I move chalk too.  I just want to concentrate on the shot.. don't want anything "unnecessary" in my line of sight."

I find this so fascinating that I never do this.  I might nudge a coin further under a rail if it's too far out, but I haven't moved chalk from one rail to another.

I wonder why some people do this and others don't?  I'm wondering why it doesn't bother me, is really my question.  I just don't even notice chalk on the rail when I shoot.

I think maybe part of it is habit for some people and that is cool; I'm all about habits.

Still, interesting to me!

 

Specialized Chalk

It's amazing the things you can do with duct tape.  Little did I know that accessorized duct tape is super hip with the teenagers.  They use it on books OR whatever they can find to decorate.

I saw this at WalMart and my boyfriend's daughter (who was 16 at the time) forced me to go back and get it!  I exaggerate, but I did buy her some the next time I saw the display (not empty).

So, it was SUPER COOL when my teammates' daughter decorated my chalk for me!  No one else has this color!

I told her I wanted to blog about it, so she took a pic of ALL the decorated pieces of chalk her daughter created for teammates and friends:

When I played at ACS Nationals, I knew which was my chalk at ALL times.  Only one time did an opponent pick it up.  My teammates were like, "She just used your chalk!"  I quickly walked up and grabbed it since I accidentally left it on the table.  ;)  It was obviously personalized - can't believe she even touched it!  Just kidding!

When my team played, we each had decorated duct taped chalk.  It was awesome!

A BIG thank you to Angel and Jordan for the gifts!  If anyone wants specialized chalk, please let me know via email and I'll get you in touch with Angel.

Stop Abusing My Chalk!

I played in the Season Opener of the OB Cues Ladies Tour last weekend (Jan 26th weekend) and in my second match, I was having a little bit of an internal melt down.

There were two green pieces of chalk on the table and my own personal blue piece of chalk.  I always leave it on the table, and most players respect my chalk.  In other words, they have their own chalk or use green chalk, and so leaving my chalk on the table was never an issue.

Some people grab their own personal chalk and take it with them every time they walk away from the table.  I believe I heard once it's taught in some pool schools that it's ingrained as part of their pre shot routine, so it's important to always have their own chalk with them.

For me, I really don't mind sharing, but I DO mind when the person is butchering my chalk!  I don't want my chalk gone in one day, or, I don't want an empty piece of chalk.

I can make my chalk last weeks or more. 

And I like my own blue chalk. 

So, imagine my surprise during my second match when my opponent kept picking up my piece of chalk and rubbing too long on their tip.  I could see the chalk dust dropping into the air, as she kept grinding it into her tip.  UGH!

It bothered me so much, I started to try to take my chalk with me back to my seat.  And, since that's not part of my routine, it was VERY distracting.  I would forget a lot, and then have to walk back to the table to grab my chalk, which of course made me feel self conscious.  I didn't want her to use my chalk, but I didn't want to let her know that;  I didn't want to offend her. 

I almost felt like it was a race.   I'd sit down, remember I forgot my chalk, have to get back up and rush slyly toward my chalk and hope she didn't grab it before I could. And if she did get to it before I, then it would irritate me to see her abuse my poor little piece of chalk!

I doubt my opponent even noticed. 

But, it was extremely distracting to feel so possessive about my chalk, lol, when she would torture it.  And yet it was also distracting when I had to keep going to get it.

Tough to focus on pool when I'm trying to protect my little blue friend!

(I did win that match, tho, btw)