Dec
MY BEST STORY OF SCOTTY TOWNSEND.
There are many stories about Scotty as most of you already know and they were some of the most interesting stories any of us ever heard. Scotty died in a motorcycle accident on December 22, 2016. I should have written this story long ago because I have always felt that we should honor those we care about while they are still alive. I’ve always spoke well of Scotty and I can honestly say that we were friends. He and I talked on the phone often about our families and the struggles that we all face. He was candid about his life and he was interested in how you were doing, and always ready to lend a kind word or share a joke. So I hope that Scotty’s family and many friends look upon this story and see the giant that he was to so many of us.
Scotty and I had many battles on the pool table, and I occasionally tossed back a few beers with him wherever we met. He was a fun guy to be around, and his stories entertained everyone who heard them or who was a part of them.
This particular story takes place in Mobile, Alabama at Breaker’s Billiards in the early 2000’s. There used to be an annual tournament in August and as I recall Scotty was often in attendance. This year Scotty was tossing back a few stiff drinks as he was known to do but even with a regular habit of drinking alcohol, he never went looking for trouble but you knew that he wouldn’t back down from it, if it came his way.
What is special about this story is what it says about the real man that some of us had the honor of knowing.
By this time, I had gotten to know Scotty fairly well as he always sought me out to play some 9 ball, giving me the 5 ball and winning most of the time. I was awestruck of Scotty’s wardrobe for this event. He wore his cowboy hat, cowboy boots, cowboy shirt, personal handmade necklace and a pair of plaid short pants; a combination that was hard to not smile at. Well, Scotty is having a conversation with another fellow who is dressed up real sharp, expensive clothes, gold jewelry, fancy watch etc. The guy has his girlfriend with him, and she is kind of hot and the guy is trying to impress Scotty with drinking, telling stories but ultimately trying to impress his girlfriend. I am about 5 feet away and trying to listen to the conversation because if you know Scotty, it was almost always a great conversation.
Anyway, I’m listening and creeping closer and closer trying not to miss any of the conversation and the place is kind of noisy, but I am hearing most of what is being said. I decided to not say anything or interject myself into the conversation but Scotty had given me “the nod” and with his unspoken permission I crept in closer to listen. I finally realized that the well-dressed dude does not know who Scotty is but is having an animated discussion with him about everything under the sun. Both of them had a few drinks while I listened, and the guy was REALLY trying to impress his girlfriend and Scotty was amused and participated in listening to the dude’s braggadocio. The guy told Scotty that he was going to do some gambling with Scotty, threatening to play for a hundred a game. It was obvious that the dude couldn’t play pool at a very high level and that he was really trying to (and failing) to impress his girlfriend and anyone else who might be listening or passing by. As the minutes wore on, the guy started making disrespectful remarks about Scotty’s attire. Scotty just smiled and when the guy was looking at his girlfriend, Scotty would look my way and wink. I was thoroughly satisfied to wait this out without interfering. Scotty knew his way around a bar and a pool room, and I doubt he ever met anyone that he truly feared. What I really started to like is that it was obvious that the dude was getting drunk and starting to talk belligerently but Scotty wasn’t taking offense and had his own style of banter which seemed to compliment the conversation. Scotty could take as good as he got so I was just there to be entertained and Scotty just kept listening to this guy talk about how he was going to take Scotty’s money on the pool table and much, much more. Some of the guy’s jabs were personal and I just didn’t know how Scotty would respond. I genuinely feared for the guy’s safety as he was his own worst enemy. Scotty just smiled and drank some more and listened and shot back a few of his own retorts. I thought I was watching a movie set and was wondering what was going to happen next. In fact, I was wondering when Scotty was going to have enough of this guy’s lip and rip into him as the dude kept getting more and more out of line as he consumed more alcohol. Scotty kept drinking but never got angry or even tried to embarrass the dude in front of his girlfriend. Scotty knew what the guy was trying to do, and it was okay with Scotty, plaid short pants and feather sticking out of his cowboy hat. This must have gone on for close to an hour and I was wondering how it was going to end and hoped that Scotty wouldn’t retaliate and hurt the guy, but the dude just kept on and on. Finally, the dude tells Scotty. “You know I was going to play you some $100 nine ball but the more I think about it, the more I think I would just like to take you out in the parking lot and whip your ass.” Scotty grinned wildly at the guy and responded back, “You’d have a better chance at beating me at pool than whipping my ass in that parking lot.”. It was a statement made in humor more than an attempt to get under the other guy’s skin but the dude saw that there was something inside of that unique looking guy’s persona that made him reluctant to give Scotty any more shit. Scotty had every right to be steamed with this guy and every right to call the dude outside but Scotty used his humor and confidence to assuage this surly guy’s attitude without provoking the situation. Most men would have asked the dude to go outside long ago or at least embarrassed him in front of his girlfriend or just cracked his jaw on the spot, but Scotty showed me another part of his personality and that was the day he really became a giant in my eyes.
JoeyA 12-24-16
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