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06-29-2002, 12:22 AM
So I walked into my "regular" poker room today for the first time in 3 months. I put the word "regular" in quotation marks because I'm not (a) regular in either the general sense of the word nor the proctological sense, both owing to my recent back surgery. Too much information, sorry, I know.


Anyway, a group of people come up to say hello and tell me how well I look. A lie, of course, but a nice one, a distant cousin to the lie a sometime poster here told me when he asked for my mailing address to send me a get-well card and instead sent me two wonderful CDs. Some lies are OK, some are wonderful.


Half of them told me it was great to see me alive and well; the other half said nothing, and I assume they disagreed with both the alive and well part, proving the old adage that you can only please half of the people half of the time (for a net of 25%?), or however that goes.


As sitting is still a literal and figurative pain in the ass, I played for only an hour and a half. One minor mistake, one major one, a couple of good plays. About par for the course.


At this point in the story, I was going to lie and tell you I lost two racks and it was the greatest poker session of my life. Alas, I won half a rack, but had I lost those two racks, it still would have been my greatest poker session ever. I hope one day to shoot 115 on the golf course and get schmottered in a tennis match 6-0, 6-0. Those will be my greatest golf and tennis games ever too.


When you don't know whether or not you'll ever walk again, much less walk into a casino or onto a golf course or tennis court, being able to do something you love is a treasure (and of course it should always be so). For all my past complaints about the jerks you encounter in the card room, and the lousy service, and this and that, the fact remains I love poker. I guess we all do and that's why we're here. I don't quite know why--the thrill of victory, the naughtiness of it, the boyishness of it, the comraderie, the rush of gambling--probably a combination of all of those things and more. I know Mr. Sklansky says that to think of poker as something glamorous is very bad. And of course, logically, he's right. But these days I'll let logic take a back seat, at least temporarily. More like Nick the Greek's philosophy--the next best thing to gambling and winning is gambling and losing. Needless to say, do not try this at home.


The moral of the story? Well, please no sympathy responses. There are so many people I know who've had a harder time than I have and are much, much more deserving of your sympathy. But:


1) If you're young, listen to us old farts who tell you to take care of yourself.


2) If you're young, listen to us old farts who tell you it goes by pretty damn fast. One morning you wake up and look into the mirror and there's an old man looking back at you. Carpe diem!


3) No matter what your age, enjoy life! Bad beats happen, make the best of them, not the worst. A Morganesque approach, seasoned with Angeloic understanding, seems just about right.


Andy

06-29-2002, 12:33 AM
Andy:


Good to hear you're back in action. Keep us posted on your progress and best of luck at the tables.


Best wishes,

Mason

06-29-2002, 12:40 AM
Nice post Andy.....


I know exactly how you feel....a multiple of lower back problems has pretty much incapacitated me for the past 6 months or so....


Hell, I'm only a 90 minute drive from Foxwoods and I've only made it 5 or 6 times in that period because (as I'm sure you've experienced), when you don't know whether your going to be able to walk 1/4 of a mile, it kind of limits your options.


As far as the "old farts" stuff?


lol.....when one is physically active and in decent shape, one can NEVER imagine the impact of being semi-incapacitated.


It's the little "stuff" that gets you.....like walking out to get the morning newspapers, and being barely able to make it back to sit down and read them!


So, I "second" your old farts advice about taking care of yourself.


I would also add (based upon my own experiences) that once your body starts breaking down, it's a real bitch to get it back in shape.


Hope things are on the upswing for you......


Carpe Diem!!!

06-29-2002, 01:02 AM

06-29-2002, 01:04 AM

06-29-2002, 07:58 AM
Here is the idea:


http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/Good_Mood/Part_I/chapte01.html


Frankly, I don't go in for this stuff. I believe that if you win the lottery - which was your goal - you should be happy for the rest of your life. And if you fail to win the WSOP - which was your goal - you should be unhappy for the rest of your life.


I think setting high expectations, and being constantly disappointed with reality, is the proper way to live life. I can't say whether I've ever been content with myself or anything, and the very idea of contentment frightens me.


I think your benchmark state should be set unrealistically high at all times.


eLROY

06-29-2002, 09:18 AM
gr8 post...i always enjoy what ya got to say...


i agree with your main points...


at this point in my life the key potential roadblocks all involve my health...


however, do not worry...live life today...


gl

06-29-2002, 10:16 AM
Hi Andy- To be healthy is the greatest rush of all. Glad you are back in action. Oh....I also love the "naughtiness and boyishness" of poker, especially the naughty boys themselves /images/wink.gif. Look Good, Play Good and Feel Good! Babe

06-29-2002, 11:47 AM
Great post, Andy. I'm glad to hear you can sit now because if your income streams dry up, you could always try writing. And anytime you want to get schmottered, let me know.


Tommy

06-29-2002, 11:57 AM
Very nice post. I hope everybody looks at the reasons why they play. It can be instructive. But better advice about health to those of us who are getting older sooner than we expected.

06-29-2002, 01:38 PM
OK, since I'm young (21) and since you asked for it ("listen to us old farts" not my words, not my words!), I'd like to ask you a question regarding the issues you mentioned and I would very much like to hear your answer as well as those others who bother to read this.


First, I have to say something about myself. As I said Im now 21 and am travelling now for 5 months. That is the biggest travel Ive ever done, and, damn, it feels good. Im from Holland, and Ive travelled through the States, Mexico, and whole Central America. To say in Krishnamurties words: I discovered, and didnt imitate. Couldnt do anything else but smile and feel good. I saw some amazing things, met some amazing people, and did some crazy stuff.


Anyway, I guess the only thing I want to say is that the last five months I Lived.


But I study back home. Applied Physics that is. Some parts I really like, most parts I dont. I like the philosofical parts, like quantummechanics, theory of relativity and all. But that makes only about 20% of my study, the rest is not worth it IMO.


That, added with the fact that Im quite autodidactic (is that English? I just mean, I can learn quite well without help), it makes me question if my study is worth it.


I want to travel, play poker, have fun. Fun, fun, fun, fun.


Maybe this is all very naieve, but please exactly tell me, if you think so, why. At least let me say that I dont want to be bounded by useless necessity.


Thanks and great to hear your doing fine. I'd love to meet you some day if I go back to the States.


Regards,


Remco


"Most people do not want to be free at all, but look for a cause to enslave themselves to."


-Max Stirner

06-29-2002, 01:55 PM
Andy,


I’m glad to see you are back. Last night I was thinking that my fantasy get together over coffee/dinner or drinks would be with you, Tommy Angelo, John Cole, and a number of other posters (maybe even elRoy). I’d pay and promise to just listen ;-). Let’s hope we can do that someday soon.


Regards,


Rick

06-29-2002, 02:03 PM
Thoughtful post, eLROY, for which I thank you.


My thinking is that while one should set one's goals for the moon, goals should be reassessed in light of changed circumstances. I would think if I was constantly disappointed with reality and frightened of contentment, it wouldn't be a very happy existence.


I've had poker session where I felt extremely disappointed when I won $2,000. I wouldn't have been disappointed had I lost $2,000 yesterday. Different benchmarks for different times of life and different circumstances.

06-29-2002, 02:04 PM

06-29-2002, 02:05 PM

06-29-2002, 02:07 PM
I know you understand the level of complement I pay you when I say your post was Angeloesque. Brought a tear to my eye Andy. Best of luck to you!

06-29-2002, 02:13 PM
I love that word. My assistant coach when I coached my son's baseball team introduced me to it, as in, "I hate that team's coach, I love it when we schmotter him." It seems like you're using it in a different sense. /images/wink.gif


I now sometimes use it in a third sense. As I think I may have told you, it was my 2nd schmottering with Lynne in a 4 hour period that triggered my problems.


Getting old stinks.

06-29-2002, 02:14 PM
"getting older sooner than we expected"


How true! Time to get busy living.


Best Regards,

Andy

06-29-2002, 02:20 PM
"I want to travel, play poker, have fun. Fun, fun, fun, fun."


Everything in proportion. Take away one fun and add planning and I think you got it fine.


Hell, there are plenty of better sources of advice than me. I've found my best friends are good health, money in the bank, and my family. If you can have those, and also fun, fun, fun, fun, go for it.


Regards,

Andy

06-29-2002, 02:21 PM
I'd like that a lot. I'm flattered too that you put me in Tommy and John's class, they're two special people.


Regards,

Andy

06-29-2002, 02:22 PM

06-29-2002, 05:27 PM
"I've found my best friends are good health, money in the bank, and my family."


Why money in the bank? Is that in itself truly important or is the consequence of it (safety, something to rely on, I dont know) why you put it so high on your list? Please dont take it offensive BTW, I sometimes get the feeling that I express myself in the wrong way.


Thanks for the advice.


Regards

06-29-2002, 05:43 PM
thans andy.you are so right on. and for some wisdom comes with gray hair. good life.

06-29-2002, 08:32 PM
elroy,


while i agree with you that contentment is the #1 contributor to slothful, lazy, lethargic living, it seems like there is another option for us. that is to set our goals high, aim for the best, and then to assess our actual performance and judge how well we did. and then be happy with it. in spite of not always hitting the moon, we can still be happy when our health is good, and our kids are healthy, and our girlfriends are still with us, and we can still buy chips at the poker room. i for one am grateful for every breath i take. (these days its mostly due to a girl i know who i have taken quite a liking for, and she for me.) idealism undergirded by realism, it could be called, perhaps...

06-29-2002, 08:36 PM
congratulations andy.


good to hear that your health is on the upswing. even better to hear that you have a good and realistic attitude towards it. i hope all goes well through your recovery, and that you can endure a marathon session again soon. too bad gettin frisky started you down this path. take it easy, tiger. its also good to hear that 'relations' are still as hot and heavy when you get to be a bit older than i am. gives us young romantics a bit of hope. keep us posted on your new-and-improving health status!!

06-29-2002, 10:57 PM
Long ago and far away,

A lovely sunny summer's day

Our thoughts did merge, we talked a whiles

Between the hidden take-me-smiles.


That whispering, purling, tender youth,

Misspent, misspent! in search of truth.

To know oh then what now is known,

That light of day norever shone.


In vain cry out 'one more chance'

fool's hunt quested

day's last dance,

soul's untested

lost romance

Echoes lonely 'one more chance'


To be between what could have been

to have the chance to do again

to break the bonds, yearns of old

fight the fight to be so bold


To strive with all ones hallowed might

blinding, purling, holy light

to wake refreshed to take in sight

to set unsettled things set right.


Awake! Awake! all desire

to feel this life's heartfelt fire

So anew to hear the tune

to live each day, away so soon.


To breathe the air that breathes in thee

To see the sights once left unseen

To feel the passion left unfelt

To melt the heart once left unmelt


Above it all to have again

No no more chance to feel chagrin

And so for you shed these tears

In memory old and future seers


And so from heartfelt passion new

I am the one who seeks out you

Encumbered memories oh so dear

Once again,(my soul cries out!), for you are here

06-29-2002, 11:56 PM

06-30-2002, 12:05 AM

06-30-2002, 01:36 AM

06-30-2002, 01:42 AM
I should have said my family, good health, and money in the bank. Still it's pretty high up, isn't it? (That's why I said there are a lot better people to be taking advice from than me.)


It's a sad state of affairs, but you can get a lot better medical care if you can afford it. And when things get tough financially, as they do for nearly everyone at some time in their life, it's good to have a bankroll. Rainy day and all that.

06-30-2002, 01:48 AM
First of all, I'm not that old, maybe I gave the wrong impression (I'm 49, which is the truth, despite the fact that my father told me he never believes anyone who tells him his age is a number that ends in a 9). And secondly, it's probably true that men stop thinking about sex only after they're in the grave, and even then. . .


I have a friend who has a 7 year old boy and she told the pediatrician that he was playing with himself, at what age would he stop it? The doctor told her never.


True I think.


/images/smile.gif

06-30-2002, 01:58 AM
Auden had nothing on you, Brad.


Took my breath away, thanks.


(We're getting pretty mushy here for two guys who are usually blasting Richard Nixon and W, aren't we?)


You should share some more of those notebooks.

06-30-2002, 02:14 AM
i missed the blasting of w. i think i woulda liked it, wow brad

06-30-2002, 03:35 AM
Hi Andy,


I don't know you but I have always enjoyed reading your post. I post as RL and sometimes as Rich my real name. Anyway I'm glad to read you are back in a card room.


I might be able to assist you in that tennis match. I would try like crazy to win 6-0, 6-0. Winning 0 and 0 is not all that easy. I live in Nor. Cal. and sometimes go south to visit family.


Good luck and keep posting.


Rich

06-30-2002, 05:36 AM
From the depths

Powers surge,

Ideas clash

Thoughts emerge.


Untold gains

All ill-gotten,

Once remembered -

Be forgotten!

06-30-2002, 08:47 AM
In the most selfish sense, I value time above everything. And in the most pragmatic sense, money equals time.


Tommy

06-30-2002, 09:22 AM
"I'd promise just to listen."


Rick,


Then where would all the fun be?


John

06-30-2002, 09:41 AM
wow, you must be younger than i imagine...2 times in 4 hours, maybe 10 years ago...you dog you...lol..gl

06-30-2002, 09:47 AM
Andy,


Hope you're on the mend, and, as usual, nice writing.


"One day you wake up look into the mirror and there's an old man looking back at you."


A couple of thoughts: Some days that old man in the mirror looks very much like my father, who has gone through life with grace, character, and good humor, and I smile back at that man. Other days that old man looks just like me on my worst days, and I begin to tremble, very much afraid of what I see.


And, when I saw my doctor a couple years ago, he asked if I had any complaints. I told him I awoke in the middle of the night, needing to take a leak often. He said, "That's not unusual for a man of your age." In all seriousness, I asked him, "When did I get to be a man of my age?"


No Slouching!


John

06-30-2002, 10:04 AM
Ikke,


Have "fun, fun, fun," --"til my daddy takes the T-Bird away."


And, the closing lines from Wordsworth's sonnet that begins "Nuns fret not in their covent's narrow rooms":


Within the Sonnet's scanty plot of ground;

Pleased if some Souls (for such there needs must be)

Who have felt the weight of too much liberty,

Should find brief solace there, as I have found.


Although the form, the sonnet in this case, seems restrictive, it's liberating at the same time.


John

06-30-2002, 01:33 PM
John,


Great post! I gives an interpretation of freedom or liberty that I didnt even think of! Thank you very much for that.


Regards

06-30-2002, 01:39 PM
I agree 100% that time is one, or even the most, important thing there is.


And for that, sure you need money. But I think money is only a small part of it. I think everyone loses a great deal of time by doing things he or she actually dont want to do. And most people lose way more time with that than money can compensate for.


Regards

06-30-2002, 02:35 PM
Andy,


Excellent post. Yor post made me have more appreciation for everything I have in my life. Next time I suffer a bad beat, and think about someone who suffered a much worse bad beat.


Thanks for putting everything into perspective. Good luck and God Bless.


MK

06-30-2002, 02:36 PM

06-30-2002, 06:17 PM
Hi Andy....It should be obvious to you now that you are a WINNER FOR LIFE!

Just look at how many friends you have from the post above; you have those friends because you are a good person and treat other people with respect.


With that being said, Jim Brier and I are coming out to see you in about two months and TRY to kick your ass (especially since you didn't want any sympathy /images/smile.gif


Keep up the positive thoughts and enjoy your life one day at a time!

Happy to see you up and about my friend!

06-30-2002, 07:12 PM
true. and i know quite a few girls who are frisky 24-7 as well, let me tell you.


i didn't mean to imply that you are old, i know you're not that old. (49 is pretty dang young, if you ask me) but im only 23, so 49 is a bit older than me. and you ARE older than my parents, so that kind of changes MY perspective. but you're definitely not old.


'when will he stop playing with it?'


HA! yeah right, stop...

06-30-2002, 10:34 PM
I just checked back after almost a full day away from the string......


It's clear that your post touched the souls of more than a few here.


Reading all of these as Sunday night grows thin take my thoughts away from the game most of us love and leaves me simply feeling very content.


Thank you again for being the spark that caused the ignition.


I think now is the perfect time for me to take the dogs out for a long walk on a balmy summers night in the moonlight.........

06-30-2002, 11:58 PM
You wrote:"And in the most pragmatic sense, money equals time. "


Funny thing, but dont you think that for a lot of people money actually equals lost time?


Thanks for your response, always appreciate them (same for the others who responded to the post (Andy, John...very thoughtful posts).


Regards,


Remco

07-01-2002, 01:01 AM
she IS the moon... and the sun and the stars, and most of the planets as well, as far as im concerned. but perhaps you could elaborate on what you mean?

07-01-2002, 01:04 AM
is that yours?

07-01-2002, 01:55 AM
'is that yours? '


perhaps the best compliment i could get. wrote it ten years ago after reading faust. if you compare the rhythm youll see what i mean.


brad


p.s. didnt get the girl

07-01-2002, 02:09 AM
as far as i know, i coined the word 'norever'.


heh.


brad

07-01-2002, 11:46 AM

07-01-2002, 11:47 AM

07-01-2002, 11:48 AM

07-01-2002, 11:50 AM
Let me know when you and Jim are coming out, I'll see if I can get together with pretty boy Nebiolo and you and Jim can teach the two of us a thing or three.

07-01-2002, 11:51 AM

07-01-2002, 12:10 PM
You're getting clairvoyant in your old age /images/smile.gif

I had already planned on inviting you, Rick, and others to meet up with us at the Commerce once we finalize the dates. I'll keep all you guys posted so that you can ambush us when we enter your turf /images/smile.gif

c ya

07-02-2002, 09:56 PM
as far as i know, you did too. pretty cool. glad to have someone on here writing some verse. i used to write (dumb sappy love poems and such, but they were alright. we even started an 'underground' poetry publication at college for abou a semester. my lit.major-friends all told me my stuff was good, i don't know...) but have been really uninspired until lately. there's this girl... anyways, i've been writing bits here and there. i also try to write her a silly poem everyday that she can read at work. she absolutely adores them. perhaps i'll find something im willing to post here...

07-06-2002, 08:25 PM
Hey Andy, I am late getting to this post...I have had no time of late to look at all the forums.


Anyway, good to hear that you are back in action and thanks for the advice in your post to all of us. I certainly intend to pay heed to it.


I'll be in LA from August 18th to 25th (staying at the Commerce). Hope to see you, Rick etc. then. If I am lucky, Jim and Bob will plan their trip for the same week.


skp