Alter Ego on Michigan Avenue

This is a true story.

Growing up in the Southside of Chicago in the 60's and 70's was tough. I wasn't a big kid, a mix of Italian and Brazilian with curly hair. The odds were stacked pretty high against me in the mainly Polish and Irish middle-class neighborhood of Bridgeport.

From what I hear, it's no longer that kind of neighborhood anymore. Rather, it's been gentrified quite a bit on account of a recent real estate boom, consisting mainly of yuppies and young families moving back into the city from the suburbs.

No matter how much I tried to blend into the background, I always happened to be the target of most bullies at the catholic school I went to, as well as the playground. This made me for a shy, and rather timid kid. Confidence wasn't my strong suit in the least.

In the last couple of years that we lived in Chicago, I found myself going with my dad to a club he belonged to over in the northside of the city. It was the Brazilian Club of Chicago. The membership as I remember it consisted of mainly Brazilian businessmen and expatriates that now called Chicago home. He was really active in the club, and even became president of the club when I was about nine. Apparently they were involved in all kinds of community-related activities and sponsored a soccer team in a city-wide league.

None of that mattered to me though. What I enjoyed most as far as the club went was playing pool with my dad against other teams and beating the crap out of them. For awhile there, my dad and I were unbeatable at the billiard table. Can't remember how many tournaments we won at the clubhouse. It used to actually piss alot of the other players off because a guy and his eight or nine year old son were so damn unbeatable, but that's how it was.

Anyway, this did wonders to my confidence level, needless to say, and it was sorely needed. And how I looked forward to our weekly trips to the clubhouse to destroy yet another bunch of opponents. My dad attributed my exceptional pool playing to my height which put me at a perfect eye-level with the table, and my ability to focus and learn fast. I'm sure my height had something to do with it, because my pool playing sucks nowadays.