We got trouble. Right here in Milwaukee. We got trouble with a capital “T” and that rhymes with “P” and that stands for “Pool.”
That’s right. GS Design is now the proud owner of a high-quality pocket billiards table. Right there in the interactive kitchen next to the fridge. We’ve decided to call it “Zanzibar” (the table, not the fridge) – because that’s the model name bestowed on it by Brunswick Billiards, the table’s maker and one of our favorite clients. (There, there … we love you all equally.)
Trouble. Right here in our kitchen.
Has any game in history been saddled with a more undeserved reputation than pocket billiards? “Proficiency at pool is a sign of a misspent youth,” someone once said. Nonsense, I say. Everyone knows you can’t really learn to play good pool until you fritter away your college years hunched over a nine-foot slab of felt-covered slate. It teaches patience. It teaches creative, strategic thinking. And I learned everything I know about client relations lining up 9-ball games in the student union.
Kinda creepy, don't you think?
Truth be told, pocket billiards is a beautiful game, filled with physics, geometry, artistry, grace, and power. Kind of like the sausage races at Miller Park, but with less profanity and wagering. If you’ve never seen the movie The Hustler, proceed directly to Netflix.com and put it in your cue … I mean, queue. Better still, read the novel by Walter Tevis. You can get started on it here at Google Books. (Go ahead, do it now – no one will know but us!) I promise you’ll never look at pool the same way again.
In any case, we’re all very excited about the new addition – except for maybe Tyler and Beth, whose offices are within about 10 feet of the noisy, monkey-festooned, black-felted beauty. But that’s why we gave them doors. And earplugs. And permission to break cues over people’s heads if things get out of hand. Sure, Beth barely outweighs her briefcase, but she knows how to use fire and combustible materials in ways that are both artistic and potentially lethal. So don’t push your luck.
If you’re a client reading this, fear not! We’ve established strict rules about the table’s usage, so we expect the drop in productivity to be barely noticeable. It certainly won’t show up in your invoices, that much we can assure you. And the most important rule? The last one, of course.
That's right. We know where our bread is buttered.
So drop by any time for a game. Just be careful about making too much noise during work hours. If you don’t, you’ll get trouble with a capital “T” and that rhymes with “B” – and that stands for “Beth”!
“Proficiency at pool is a sign of a misspent youth” – I thought that was video games? Ah, different generations different vices…
Sh’poopi