Pool Hustling Ghost: A cautionary tale

My apologies. I don't have a proper post for today. I'm busy working on a column. But if you're bored and looking for something to read, here's a link to a story about my favorite pool-hustling ghost: U.J. Puckett. Known by some as "Ugly Puckett," the former 9-ball champ died nearly 20 years ago. Now some say he has returned from the grave, apparently drawn by the pretty ladies down at a Fort Worth pool hall. This story might serve as a cautionary tale for the Branch Water Tavern in Houston, which replaced one of Jersey Red's favorite haunts, The Cue & Cushion. Also, at the top of this post, I've attached the first part of Harry Reasoner's famous interview with Puckett.

-- R.A. Dyer

R.I.P.: Houston's Cue & Cushion

Check out the Houston Chronicle blog post about the demise of that city's Cue & Cushion pool hall. It was a great room, having been a favored haunt of Jersey Red and others. It has been replaced by a tony restaurant -- an upscale joint greeted with great enthusiasm by food critics. There are some who seemed almost to have welcomed the demise of the Cue & Cushion, with one food critic going so far as to note "that the new restaurant sprang forth from the carcass of the old Cue and Cushion dive (which) makes the (dining) experience even more delicious."

In its prime the Cue & Cushion was a truly great room. The Houston Press recently had named it the best in the city.

Kudos to my old friend Mike Snyder for seeing fit to post a tribute to the room. (I helped!) Mike and I spent many hours there shooting nine-ball. You can find Mike's post here.


-- R.A. Dyer