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.

Celebrations, Good and Bad

After my teammates and I came home from winning TWO ACS Nationals titles, they each had families to come home to to celebrate with!

Here is a pic from one of my teammates' welcome home from her kids:

I thought it was super SUPER sweet!

Another teammate lives with her Mom, and so she was waiting home for the huge hug!

And the final teammate, her Mom was actually IN Vegas with her so they were able to celebrate on the spot (okay, later that weekend in Vegas).

I feel very happy for my teammates, because I wouldn't wish my welcome on anyone:  I came home to an empty house.  I am not here to take away from my teammates' blessings, and that's the last thing I want to do.  But if I am to be honest in my blog entries, I have to say that coming home after such huge accomplishments to an empty house, with no one to even hug or share my achievements with was actually extremely depressing.

As you all know, my Mom passed 2 1/2 years ago, am an only child, and have no children.  No roommate, either.  My lovely dogs Lily and Izzy ALWAYS welcome me home, but they didn't know I came home as a 3-time National champion.

I have to say:  It sucked.

Most of my friends live too far for anyone to even say, "let's go celebrate."  (luckily one friend contacted me, who I will mention in a minute)

I'm NOT saying that we all need celebrations after a big accomplishment.  But I am saying coming home to no one and nothing was down right brutal, sad, and depressing.

Unless you are in my shoes, you have no idea even remotely what I am trying to say.  Let's just say it was a very lonely time and I was very sad.

Even one of my girlfriends told me this:  "I watched your team after you all won the second title.  Everyone was SO excited!  And every one of them got on their phones to call their families and loved ones.  Not you, though.  You were smiling and happy, yes, but you simply put your cues up and turned in the score sheet.  You didn't jump on your phone or text or nothing.  It was eye opening."

I don't want to harp on this, so let me share that my teammates and I DID celebrate the night of our wins, IN Vegas!  Although Janet was with her family in Vegas, Courtney and Nina and I went to MGM across the street from the Tropicana to try and find somewhere nice (and not super expensive) to eat.

After a couple of shots

We finally ended up a WolfGang's place.  

I admit I was apprehensive, but I was WRONG.  I LOVED the food.  AND, we got champagne, too!   So, we toasted our wins with the sparkling.  It was super cool!

It was a lot of fun!

After I came home, my friend Julie (who I wrote about recently) was so happy for me about my wins, she offered to meet up and have a toast.  It meant so much to me, that yes, I cried.  More than once! It was so very moving for me, and she had no idea how tough things were going.

Here we are:

So, coming home was bittersweet.

Can't take away that I'm a National Champion, though!  I just know in my heart my Mom and Dad are proud of me. 

Steller Last 12 Months

I saw a friend of mine over the weekend.  She wanted to buy me a drink, to toast my recent State Title win.  She was super sweet and I really absorbed the kind words, as was going through a tough time lately with the competitive side of pool I recently wrote about.

She has always been complimentary of my game.  And I have always appreciate her support.  I have also really enjoyed following her successes and pool journeys as well!

She told me I had "a stellar year."

I was like, um, it's only April and that's all I've done.

She explained, "I mean the last 12 months.  All of your accomplishments."

I tried to again discount her, "Two of those were women's teams events."

"Yea, but you were still a part of those teams!  And let's not forget you finished the year ranked SECOND on the OB Cues Ladies Tour."

Wow, I did have a great 12 months!!

She told me I am am inspiration to her. (blush)

It really meant a lot to me because I feel like my wins, accomplishments, and titles are not for myself.  She kinda proved it right there for me.  I feel like an I am an ambassador of the game, not just a player of the game.  I like to help people and pool, and feel it's my niche.

A HUGE thank you to Julie for making my day, and reminding me what a great year I had.

Here we are toasting!!