Dartoid’s Column

January 1, 1998
Column 45
Brampton, Ontario Canada

A foolish mental lapse cost my partner and me the chance to advance to the finals earlier today at the weekly Saturday afternoon Blind Draw at the Spot One Pub (289 Rutherford Road) here in Brampton, Ontario. With just seventy remaining I calmly stuck my first dart …

January 1, 1998
Column 44
Washington, D.C.

Perhaps it is just me. The last time I traveled to Washington, D.C. looking for a game of darts I was captured and held hostage by a cabbie named Abdul and taken for a unrequested tour of the city.

This time I suppose I was fortunate (at least …

January 1, 1998
Column 43
Bangkok, Thailand

A seventy-eight game shot won me my pick of waitresses last night at the Cosmos Club, somewhere in the seedy bowels of Bangkok’s Patpong District. As the humbled owner of the place began to line up his girls for my survey and selection, common sense (and nearly twenty …

August 1, 1997
Column 42
Santa Elena, Venezuela

Life was simple some twenty years ago when, with my college roommate and just two objectives, I first ventured to this beautiful land called Venezuela. My goals were simple: to survive for thirty days on as little but Bacardi’s as possible and to pick up every Latin …

August 1, 1997
Column 41
Cincinnati, Ohio

Winston Churchill was absolutely right years ago when he described Cincinnati as the “most beautiful inland city in America”. On the other hand, if any of the cities I’ve seen in England served as his frame of reference, this ain’t saying much.

Nestled on the banks of the …

August 1, 1997
Column 40
My Garage

Some years ago I threw league darts with a former pro from Houston named Dave “Buddah” Fasnacht. He helped me with my stance and my grip and my mental game. And he gave me some advice that I’ve been trying to follow ever since. According to Buddah I …

June 1, 1997
Column 39
Amsterdam, Netherlands

On my maiden visit to Amsterdam a couple of years ago I more or less floated through town.

It was by bike and by beer that some friends and I experienced this wild Dutch city, approximately one-third of the way into probably the stupidest macho nightmare any of …

June 1, 1997
Column 37
Johannesburg, South Africa

I’ve thrown darts in some strange places. Some really strange places. The rainforests of Congo. The back allys of Bombay. But no venue — not anywhere in the world — rates as more bizarre than where I have just finished playing. Tonight I stood at the line …

June 1, 1997
Column 36
Harare, Zimbabwe

Wedged firmly between the meandering, lazy Limpopo River and the turbulent, often frightening, Zambezi River — amidst massive granite outcrops, giant baobab trees and some of the most spectacular game-rich wilderness on the planet — lies the southern central African nation of Zimbabwe. Based from the capital city …