Fridays @ The Garage

Fridays are exciting for obvious reasons, but when Friday begins with happy hour and pool at the Garage, the weekend is off to a terrific start. The pool crew have been meeting Friday pool for years. Sometimes, Friday draws an assortment of folks and surprises, but the regulars are almost always there and they are as follows:

Andy Nystrom, aka "Baryshnikov."

I dubbed Andy the ballerina. He's not on board with my nickname. but he's patient and a great sport.

But, the way Andy plays and shoots the balls, giving them a graceful roll is magic on the green. Andy always makes his crucial shots..."crucial" being the operative word.

Mr. Nystrom plays (and lives) by the following creed: "anything for the game."

Andy's partner of choice is Carrie R (pictured below). Carrie dubbed herself "the pool bitch." Carrie is a fierce competitor. If you've ever seen her play pool or have ever played her, you know Carrie despises losing. She often considers "impaling someone with a pool cue whenever she loses," however, she *always* thinks twice.

Steve White (pictured above), another keen competitor, is quiet but cunning. He eyes the shots and goes the distance. He attributes this to growing up with a pool table (I say unfair advantage!). Steve is more humble than his skills portray.

"If I played as good as I should, I'd never lose, but sometimes I don't play as hard as the others."

Tim Sweeney and Margaux Guidry just became engaged on a recent trip to Hawaii. (Check out their tans.)

They usually play as teammates. Tim is a man of few words but when he does utter them, they are often full of humor. That said, there were no funny words during my mini-interview and he said he didn't want a pool profile to which I uttered his old nickname Mr. Grumpy Pants. (Sounds lame but it's actually funny.)

Margaux, on the other hand, had quite a bit to contribute. Marge considers herself a rookie as compared with the rest of the crew, but getting stronger and strong as each week goes by. Marge's pool goal: to be the 8-ball nailer on each personal team. Marge favors solids: "Pool is like life to me...I try to live a solid life as I go for the solids."

Mike, the "Pool Professor," is the player with the focus--no fooling around on his watch.

Dislikes: long pool games, side conversations when you should be shooting (thus creating long pool games) and flash photography while players are shooting.

Last year, Carrie and Andy started a rumor that Mike hated swearing, but I later discovered this to be an urban legend.

The Prof is a pool talent and he happens to be my usual pool partner. This creates quite a bit of stress for me as I have to focus and make shots to keep him on a winning team (doesn't happen as often as it should). But, the sweat and frayed nerves are worth it!

Marge and blog author pictured above.