Jan 21, 20195 min
The first speech for a recruit from Marine Corps
Recruit Boot Camp, “On behalf of Major General Deagan, Commanding Officer,
Marine Corps Recruit Depot, I’d like to personally welcome you to Parris
Island, SC. At this time you will gather your belongings, exit my bus, put your
feet on my yellow footprints. Your back is straight, thumbs along your trouser
seams, eyeballs are straight ahead to the front and the only time you will talk
is when you are spoken to. At all times you will answer YES SIR- NO SIR- AYE
AYE SIR– Do you understand me…? NO- I
said DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME….? GET OFF MY BUS… MOVE RECRUITS…. FASTER…
GET THE HECK OFF MY FREAKING BUS…
GET ON MY YELLOW FOOTPRINTS!” — Gifford writes
in the opening; the way he describes it, I feel like I’m on the bus, wondering
how I got there, but I digress. This book was his first #1 Best Seller and
would guide him to many more. His next
book- Top Shots goes on sale today.
Steven describes it as such:
“If you thought the ‘Color of Money’ was intense, you haven’t seen anything yet. Anyone can play for themselves but when you put a team together to fight for one goal- a lot of things can go right and wrong. We lay it out Marine Corps style- so hold on. We serve you a taste of the Marine life, pool life, and everything in between on a golden platter,” Gifford, from his fictional book ‘Top Shots,’ which can be purchased on the site Legends of Pool.com.
‘Billiards Readers & Fans Wanted’ here —
this article — seeks to investigate the plethora of books Gifford envisions
writing in the game — has written — and will continue to write to cover the
game of pool both he and I love to play and write about. It fires me up
personally, as he is an accomplished writer, so I believe he has something
substantial to offer fans of the game such as myself.
Today, January 3rd, 2019, I had this dialogue
with Gifford, and it was enlightening to say the least. With team USA just
winning the Mosconi Cup this past December 4-7th, 2018, the pool world here in
the States is buzzing with talk of the possibility of pool rising once again as
a prominent sport within the fabric of American leisure.
Additionally, Steven may come on with SPM
Magazine as a contributing writer, as we continue to cover various aspects of
the game, and get the word out: EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! That’s how
they did it “back in the day” as they say, and so “if it ain’t broke, don’t
break it,” like Lil Wayne said. This is a pool production of US Patriots,
Marines, and pool aficionados, as we peruse these players & great champions
in the sport of pool. I feel like Gifford and I are on the same page both
figuratively and literally (here we are again, where the black written word
balances out the white canvas — my blinking cursor complete!). This is our
zen, this writing gig, but pool is our pleasure and delight players!
The pool world is alive with color, vigor, and
steeped in the history of the USA here. The player-profile books highlight well
known champions & new talent, some of the best the world has ever seen.
Pool fans can read about, and become familiar with these players, as we now
have access to these billiards resources, and growing library of pool stories
— a menagerie & eclectic cast of
players & characters.
In the vein of Walter Tevis himself — author of
‘The Hustler’ and ‘The Color Of Money’ — Gifford writes with a passion for
pool, rivaled by few. Here is a glimpse into his book TOP SHOTS.
“The Drill Instructors knew who we were before we
got there. They called us ‘The Real Team Six’. The SEALS have a Team named SEAL
Team Six or DEVGRU. This is their best team, who are considered Tier One
Operators. However, in this instance- we
knew we might have messed up. You see, in the Marines, if one person messes up-
we all would pay. We’ll get to all those games in just a few seconds, but yeah-
we were screwed! ‘GET ONLINE NOW!’ the DI screamed. ‘AYE SIR!’ we shouted at
the top of our lungs. ‘NO… I SAID GET
ONLINE NOW!’. ‘AYE SIR,’ as we sprinted to get on the painted white line
running up each side of the center of the squadbay in front of the racks. There
were two-foot lockers at the end of each rack with a piece of white tape going
across them and someone’s last name marked in black. So, you had to somehow
locate your name on a box in .03 tenths of a second before hell broke loose.”
— From ‘Top Shots’.
At first glance, ‘Top Shots’ reads like catch
between ‘Top Gun’ and the ‘Color of Money’ with a team tournament versus an
individual one. I look forward to
reading this interesting marble-mix of military and billiards — green,
spangled with the red, white, and blue.
All in all, Steven and I had a great talk, the
billiards discourse has only just begun — as we collide I’m the interim. (And
he gave me some insight into the craft of writing books as well.)
Check out his book, and look for articles by him
on the game we all love soon. Keep on hitting them balls.
———–
Addendum:
“GALION — Steven Gifford, a 1992 Galion High
School graduate, has secured interviews with some of America’s best billiards
players to write a series of books focusing on the players’ life stories. Some
of those players recently won the 2018 Mosconi Cup in London, England.” — Jan.
1st, 2019, https://www.galioninquirer.com/top-stories/36815/ghs-grad-steven-gifford-writing-series-of-books-about-mosconi-cup-americas-best-pool-players
Ideed Gifford appears to be a billiards writing
machine, working on a library of pool knowledge, entertainment, biography, and
storytelling. He is expanding upon the history of the game, with his in-depth
insight into these players.
Author: Patrick “The Tallahassee Squirrel” Sampey
Editor: Chris Freeman
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