A few Dearing residents recently took up arms to join the fight against cancer.
Actually, they took up brooms and mops.
"It was just a goofball way to make money for the Relay," Tony Hedgecock said.
As co-owners of the Old Times Pool Hall in Dearing, Mr. Hedgecock and Nick Davis held a special pool tournament in which participants were told to bring any cleaning tool with a long handle to use instead of a cue. It didn't matter what type of tool as long as it was not cut off or altered in any way.
Most participants brought a broom or a mop, but Mr. Hedgecock said one player brought a duster with a folding handle, "but it broke when she tried to use it," and another brought a paint roller.
"But it was really too long," Mr. Hedgecock said. "So he kept bumping the walls with it when he was setting up for a shot. So I told him, 'Hold on a minute, let me put some paint on the end of that thing and you can paint the walls while you're shooting."
Although the reason they were having it was serious, the tournament itself was anything but. As play progressed, those who missed a shot were penalized by having to use their "cue" to clean a portion of the floor. And each player had to try out everyone else's "cue" to see how it felt.
"The broom by far was easier," Mr. Hedgecock said. "The mop head I had was damp and heavy, and it would swing too much so you couldn't keep it steady."
And that affected the outcome of the tournament. Daniel Richardson won first place, Mr. Hedgecock came in second, and Marc Williford was third.
"I used the straw on the broom for a grip," Mr. Richardson said. "I figured that out on the second shot."
The trophies were donated by Mr. Williford. However, unlike the cleaning tools, the trophies had been altered, with small pieces of straw or mop string glued to the end of the cues on the trophies. But no matter which trophy each winner received, their final score remains a secret. Mr. Hedgecock said the scores were just too bad because of the handicap caused by the alternative cues.
"It really evened things out, because there's no way you can get any English with a broom handle," he said. "It was fun. A lot of them asked when we are going to do it again."
Mr. Davis said the tournament had 11 participants and raised $100 for Relay for Life, which will be donated through the Dearing Dream Team.
