stevelomako
Verified Member
I miss Ronnie Allen.
I haven't posted anything about Ronnie because I just felt empty and a little too emotional when he first passed away.
Even now typing this and thinking of him along with all the others that have passed before him its hard to sit here and put my fingers on the keyboard but I feel like I have to get at least a couple of memories out, his passing is just hitting me too hard and it really hurts inside.
1983-Music City Open, Maxwell House Hotel, Nashville TN.
We're sitting around just talking and out of nowhere he tells me he's so tired of no money in pool, he's sick of grinding it out, running around everywhere for nothing, blah blah blah...he says "I'm going back to California and become a sucker".
I started laughing and he says "Yah I'm serious, the suckers we're always looking for always have money. We beat them and they go home to their nice houses in their nice cars and they come back and they always have money. We go thru what we beat them out of and its back to the same shit looking for another sucker. Who's the real sucker?, yah, that's what I'm gonna do, go back home and become a sucker."
I thought it was pretty funny at the time but as I thought about it, it really made alot of sense.
Anyway, fast forward about 15 years later and I ask him if he's become a sucker like he was talking about and he doesn't remember and I have to tell him the whole story again.
He just looks at me a little bit then says "I must have been pretty damn drunk to come up with something stupid like that".
Early 2000's-DCC, Executive West Hotel, Lousville KY
Ronnie is playing someone (cant remember who) in the bar area on the first table when you walk in that area and there's a huge crowd around sweating it.
Ronnie has a tight cross corner bank to his hole, the ball is near the other guys pocket, its a tight bank and he keeps getting down looking at it then looking at other stuff then he gets looking at the bank again.
He bends down and looks at it then turns and looks at me then turns back to the bank. He's bending down looking at it then gets up and turns and looks at me again. He turns back to the bank looking down at it and gets up again and turns around and stares at me again. I shrug my shoulders and give the little frown like...'what?'
Now everybodys staring at me...trying to figure out why Ronnie keeps staring at me (I'm trying to figure out the same thing).
Ronnie gets down looking at the bank again...then gets up again...turns around again...looks at me and says "I know Cornbread would just get down and smack that bank in like it wasn't nothin".
He turns back to the table and gets down and just 2 rails the ball away and puts whitey in the stack.
Ronnie turns to me and says "I aint Cornbread".
Everybody just laughed and laughed.
2012 DCC, Horseshoe Casino Indiana
I know some people are going to find this hard to believe...but Ronnie never took anything from me...ever.
I don't know why but he always made sure I was OK. I couldn't even buy him a beer, he would never take anything from me.
I go out to the store for him and get him a bottle and while I'm there I buy a flask to give him as a present. I know it probably wasn't the best thing but its the only thing I could think of that I could give him.
I go back and he's at his favorite spot, the little tables outside of the tournament entrance and give him his bottle then put the flask down in front of him.
He says "What's this?". I tell him "You've always been good to me and never let me do anything for you so I got you a gift. It's nothing but I was just thinking about you".
Well, its just silence for awhile and he's just staring at it, picks it up, looks at it, puts it down, picks it back up, puts it down, picks it back up and says "Thanks".
I tell him "You're welcome" and off I go to do whatever it is I do there.
Ronnie was getting around in one of those little scooters there and it had a little basket in front and everytime he'd come scooting by he'd pull the flask out and start grinning that smile of his shaking the flask at me. I'd see him sitting at the little tables and he'd have the flask. It wasn't much but I think it made us both feel good.
I know these are a few goofy stories that don't really mean anything to anyone else. I have a lot of other stories but these are what I thought of thinking about him.
I wish I could say I feel better getting a little off my chest. I guess I do a little.
Ronnie, I miss you and thank you for being my friend.
I haven't posted anything about Ronnie because I just felt empty and a little too emotional when he first passed away.
Even now typing this and thinking of him along with all the others that have passed before him its hard to sit here and put my fingers on the keyboard but I feel like I have to get at least a couple of memories out, his passing is just hitting me too hard and it really hurts inside.
1983-Music City Open, Maxwell House Hotel, Nashville TN.
We're sitting around just talking and out of nowhere he tells me he's so tired of no money in pool, he's sick of grinding it out, running around everywhere for nothing, blah blah blah...he says "I'm going back to California and become a sucker".
I started laughing and he says "Yah I'm serious, the suckers we're always looking for always have money. We beat them and they go home to their nice houses in their nice cars and they come back and they always have money. We go thru what we beat them out of and its back to the same shit looking for another sucker. Who's the real sucker?, yah, that's what I'm gonna do, go back home and become a sucker."
I thought it was pretty funny at the time but as I thought about it, it really made alot of sense.
Anyway, fast forward about 15 years later and I ask him if he's become a sucker like he was talking about and he doesn't remember and I have to tell him the whole story again.
He just looks at me a little bit then says "I must have been pretty damn drunk to come up with something stupid like that".
Early 2000's-DCC, Executive West Hotel, Lousville KY
Ronnie is playing someone (cant remember who) in the bar area on the first table when you walk in that area and there's a huge crowd around sweating it.
Ronnie has a tight cross corner bank to his hole, the ball is near the other guys pocket, its a tight bank and he keeps getting down looking at it then looking at other stuff then he gets looking at the bank again.
He bends down and looks at it then turns and looks at me then turns back to the bank. He's bending down looking at it then gets up and turns and looks at me again. He turns back to the bank looking down at it and gets up again and turns around and stares at me again. I shrug my shoulders and give the little frown like...'what?'
Now everybodys staring at me...trying to figure out why Ronnie keeps staring at me (I'm trying to figure out the same thing).
Ronnie gets down looking at the bank again...then gets up again...turns around again...looks at me and says "I know Cornbread would just get down and smack that bank in like it wasn't nothin".
He turns back to the table and gets down and just 2 rails the ball away and puts whitey in the stack.
Ronnie turns to me and says "I aint Cornbread".
Everybody just laughed and laughed.
2012 DCC, Horseshoe Casino Indiana
I know some people are going to find this hard to believe...but Ronnie never took anything from me...ever.
I don't know why but he always made sure I was OK. I couldn't even buy him a beer, he would never take anything from me.
I go out to the store for him and get him a bottle and while I'm there I buy a flask to give him as a present. I know it probably wasn't the best thing but its the only thing I could think of that I could give him.
I go back and he's at his favorite spot, the little tables outside of the tournament entrance and give him his bottle then put the flask down in front of him.
He says "What's this?". I tell him "You've always been good to me and never let me do anything for you so I got you a gift. It's nothing but I was just thinking about you".
Well, its just silence for awhile and he's just staring at it, picks it up, looks at it, puts it down, picks it back up, puts it down, picks it back up and says "Thanks".
I tell him "You're welcome" and off I go to do whatever it is I do there.
Ronnie was getting around in one of those little scooters there and it had a little basket in front and everytime he'd come scooting by he'd pull the flask out and start grinning that smile of his shaking the flask at me. I'd see him sitting at the little tables and he'd have the flask. It wasn't much but I think it made us both feel good.
I know these are a few goofy stories that don't really mean anything to anyone else. I have a lot of other stories but these are what I thought of thinking about him.
I wish I could say I feel better getting a little off my chest. I guess I do a little.
Ronnie, I miss you and thank you for being my friend.
