Bob wrote.........

"....is the ebony/ivory Southwest stick more precious than a Balabushka? (sp?)"

To me it is without a doubt. Jerry Franklin who started South West cues in the late '70s was one of my best friends. He was also the premier cuemaker in the World when he died suddenly at age 42 in May of 1996, the day before we were suppose to play in the BCA tournament at the Riviera.

After I came back from the International 9-Ball tournament at the Pheasent Run outside of Chicago in 1991 I asked Jerry to make me the Ebony & Ivory cue. I had seen a black & white cue there & even though I already had 2 South Wests at the time I loved the look of Ebony & Ivory together. Jerry & I worked on the idea behind the cue for months before he finally started making it. There were some changes along the way which included the solid ivory butt which is hand painted. Pricewise the cue is worth about $10,000 which is due to a number of factors (more if I took it to Japan where South Wests sell for BIG bucks). The sad fact that Jerry passed away makes the cue go up in value since he made it himself. The cue itself not only is a beautiful cue, but it plays GREAT! It also has hand made joint protectors which are also Ebony & Ivory. Another factor is that Jerry's widow still runs the Company & the cues are in such demand that there is a 5 & 1/2 year wait to get one. If I fell on hard times I would sell everything I owned (including chips) BEFORE I sold that cue! Andy - Las Vegas

Missing a good friend...........