MY KINGDOM FOR A DRINK OF WATER

My Kingdom For a Drink of Water. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The small, quiet man stared at the chess board with mayhem on his mind. His opponent, a slightly older man also pondered the chess board with great intensity. A couple of battles had already taken place when I came upon the scene and to offer a pardon of sorts, for my invasion to their privacy, I whispered, "Would anyone like a drink? The older man, one whom I knew many years ago in Jackson Mississippi, barely looked up but nodded a no. The small, quiet man meekly replied, "Water". In a few minutes I supplied an unopened bottle of water from one of the many places you could purchase food and drink throughout the Horseshoe Casino. The gift was politely accepted with an appreciative nod of thanks and that was all that was needed. The game commenced and I watched as the two titans battled on the checkered field. Both men played an excellent game and afterwards they traded "what if" games. This chess match was a pleasant but not a complete surprise as many pool players seem to enjoy the game of chess.

A few days later, I was having a fun time with the heavy drinking boys from Norway and another from Chicago and it was getting late. We had several beers at the table buying round after round when someone mentioned if we were going to watch the mini-one pocket tournament. I must have turned ten shades of red when I realized that not only did I possess ONE of the 32 entries but that I was far too merry to play a decent game of one pocket, especially after the long days, long nights and the occasional sampling of some multiple domestic beers. I take my mini-tournaments and any other tournaments rather seriously. Jose Parica passed by and remarked that he had won the last several one pocket mini tournaments at the DCC and that comment was met with severe skepticism by yourse truly since I had the honor of getting "lucky" against him and several other good players a couple of years ago. Someone mentioned if Efren was playing in the mini-one pocket tournament and Jose giggled a faked fear of death shudder and said "Efren????" We all laughed and continued our merriment as Jose went his way. Roy D'Fish from Norway suggested that I find Efren and give him my "ticket" to the mini-one pocket tournament. I have never really had much conversation with the Magician in past years although I have waited to play him in tournament play for over ten years, never receiving the honor. We quickly spied Efren walking around close to our table so we beckoned him to come closer and I offered him my place in the tournament. After he accepted my offer, I went to the booth to have my name to be replaced with his. As midnight quickly approached, we went to watch the games in progress.

My roommate ChicagoMike was quickly vanquishing his opponents when he ran into "Bata" and although Chicago MIke fought a good battle, Efren won the war. The tournament was a lot of fun and I could only think of the players who played Efren and how they must be enjoying themselves. A slight bit of envy surfaced for a moment but it was combined with a sunshine of pride for it was me that had brought all of them this great opportunity. Efren didn't disappoint anyone and captivated all of us with his sterling play and unique shot selection. He bested all of his opponents but not without all of them giving their best. By this time it must have been seven o'clock in the morning and so we retired to enjoy some food at the breakfast buffet, just Efren, Roy and myself. We broke bread with the greatest pool player the world has ever seen and listened to his stories as he did with ours. Efren and I divided the spoils of his labor and I paid for the breakfast and Roy and I sauntered off to get some much needed rest while Efren was asked by a regular fan of his to play a set of nine ball for small stakes. He seemed to be in a bright mood with energy to spare and started out on yet another journey while Roy and I went to visit the Sandman exhausted from the day's play and long week at the Derby City Classic.

After an exhausting long stay at the Derby City Classic, having more fun than a man should be allowed to have, I was sitting in the airport, waiting for my flight when I spied two of the great players from the Philippines sitting together, across from the lobby where I was sitting. One of them was Efren "Bata" Reyes, the quiet and humble man I had offered a drink of water to while he played chess. While Bata means "kid" in his native language, he has long since passed that stage. Now most call him The Magician and for good reason, if you have ever seen the man play. He can really swing it as you can tell from my story above. He sat with another great player in his own right, Filipino champion Francisco "Django" Bustamante. Efren's narrow eyes somehow connected with mine and he gave a nod to me from across the airport lobby and I went back to reading my book and he to his conversation with Busty.

I was looking forward to returning home and my plane couldn't arrive quick enough for me. Finally, the boarding started and I was one of the last ones to get on the plane. As I was making my way to the back of the plane where me seat was located, who do I spot sitting by himself but Efren Reyes. He was asleep or trying to sleep and I fumbled around for my digital camera. I had never seen a photo of Efren sleeping, especially on an airplane and thought it would make a nice memento. I was trying to hurry and the camera settings were off and just as I was about to snap the picture, Efren's eyes opened and he grinned wildly at me. I laughed and he laughed and I apologized and muttered something about, "I wanted to get a picture of you sleeping" and I went on back to my seat. I could only imagine the rest of the people behind me that were still trying to get their seats were not too happy with me holding up the plane so I hurriedly took my assigned seat. I was happy to see that "The King" was on the same flight as me and that we passed that humorous moment together without incident.

As the plane filled to its capacity, I craned my neck to see Efren who was several seats in front of me and I noticed that the seat was still empty and it looked like no one was sitting beside him. I anxiously waited another couple of minutes, in case his seat mate was away using the airplane's restroom or just late getting on the plane. Minutes ticked by and as I determined that no one was sitting beside Efren, I made my move, dashing down the aisle of the airplane, hoping to not bring any attention to myself, since the seatbelt signs had already been posted. I plopped down in the seat next to Efren and he quickly opened his eyes again and smiled. I said, "A backer always likes to sit next to his player on the ride home." He smiled and said, "From now on, you are my OFFICIAL MINI-TOURNAMENT BACKER!". It was me that now was grinning wildly but for some reason that made me very happy. I knew it was just a token of his generosity and his humility as well as his appreciation for the moments we had spent together at the Midnight Mini-One Pocket Tournament but it was special and I enjoyed the moment immensely. We talked about his friend Francisco and his family. We even discussed making a video together. I have my own ideas about what people would like to see and shared my ideas with Efren and he agreed to make a video with me. There were certain things that he thought would be needed to make the video a success and I had the answers he sought, so it was agreed that if I got my project together, to just give him a call and if the timing was right, we would do the project. My head was already spinning with plans of what I thought would be best to share with the viewing public. Efren contributed as much to the conversation as I did. Anyone who thinks Efren doesn't speak English is mistaken and one day, I hope to have Bata join me in the commentary booth. Like his fellow countryman, Roberto Gomez, I hope one day to introduce Efren to the world as a contributing commentator. I had even decided to ask the Internet forums what questions they would like to know about Efren and during a slack in the action of the match that we would commentate, I would ask some of those questions. I've also heard audio interviews in the past with Efren made in England and the interviewer had some of the best questions I have ever heard asked of a champion. Efren did quite well in that interview and I know I could make him feel comfortable in the booth, despite my inability to speak Tagalog. So now you know, THE REST OF THE STORY. (compliments to Paul Harvey) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------