{"id":7818,"date":"2020-06-08T13:08:44","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T13:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/2020\/06\/column-589-johnny\/"},"modified":"2020-06-08T13:08:44","modified_gmt":"2020-06-08T13:08:44","slug":"column-589-johnny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/2020\/06\/column-589-johnny\/","title":{"rendered":"Column #589 Johnny"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday, June 8, 2020
\nColumn 589
\nJohnny<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark Twain once described India as a \u201cland of dreams and romance, of fabulous wealth and fabulous poverty, of splendor and rags, of palaces and hovels\u2026 of genii and giants and Aladdin lamps.\u201d Rudyard Kipling wrote of India\u2019s \u201cheat and smells and oils and spices and puffs of temple incense.\u201d The India I experienced was all of this, I suppose. And more. It just wasn\u2019t so damn romantic.<\/p>\n

In Bombay I confronted a puzzling, and very troubling, mix of contradictions \u2014 a city, they say, that \u201cslams you in the face with heat, spice and dirt and then seduces you with color and sensual pleasure.\u201d I was slammed but I wasn\u2019t seduced. It just wasn\u2019t possible after meeting Johnny.<\/p>\n

I was about to hail a taxi when this dirty little boy approached with his sisters begging for money for milk. We struck a quick deal. In return for five cartons of powdered milk Johnny would serve as my guide for the day. After a quick walk to a grocery we hopped into a cab together. I showed Johnny my darts as we sat in the back of the cab and explained what I was looking for. Johnny held them in his hand. I showed him how to aim them and he pretended to throw at an imaginary board. I then tucked them carefully back into their case.<\/p>\n

We talked as we cruised the city. I learned that Johnny had no home \u2014 that he lived with his family in cardboard boxes in a vacant lot. I learned that his mother was dead and that his father drank and was unemployed. I learned that Johnny hadn\u2019t attended school for years because he had to earn money for food.<\/p>\n

We went to the zoo and to the circus. We made our way to the top of a cliff to gaze at the Bombay skyline. We toured the glitzy high-rise buildings at Nariman Point and ate samosas at the five-star Taj Hotel across from the famous Gateway to India monument. We watched snake charmers coax cobras out of their baskets on the waterfront. For hours, perhaps for the longest stretch of time in years, not once did the thought of throwing a dart cross my mind. The same could not be said for Johnny.<\/p>\n

As night began to fall Johnny took charge. The taxi driver began to hit the bars, one after another. We\u2019d stop. I\u2019d run in. I\u2019d locate a snooker table and a couple of drunks. I\u2019d dash out. But Johnny was undaunted. He insisted he knew where I could get a game in Bombay.<\/p>\n

I found myself at the end of a dark alley. As we approached, Johnny, the taxi driver and me, I could hear Hindi voices and the familiar rhythmic thunking of a game in progress. As we drew close and moved into the dim light, I could not possibly have been more astounded at the sight before me. There, laying in the dust, was a huge, ringed, tree stump. Dangling from it was a knife. And standing about ten feet in front of it were four guys holding more knives. Darts. Bombay style.<\/p>\n

My visit to India was brief but special. I observed the contrasts of which Twain wrote. I experienced the exotic sensual pleasures Kipling described long ago. But I also made a friend \u2014 a homeless kid with a limited future who reminded me that, sometimes anyway, there\u2019s a little bit more to life than darts.<\/p>\n

From the Field,<\/p>\n

Dartoid<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark Twain once described India as a \u201cland of dreams and romance…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6498,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[15],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":1834,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-13-1.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-13-1.jpg",520,332,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-13-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-13-1-300x192.jpg",300,192,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-13-1.jpg",520,332,false],"large":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-13-1.jpg",520,332,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-13-1.jpg",520,332,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-13-1.jpg",520,332,false],"rpwe-thumbnail":["https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-13-1.jpg",45,29,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Dartoid","author_link":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/author\/dartoid\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Mark Twain once described India as a \u201cland of dreams and romance...","authors":[{"term_id":15,"user_id":2,"is_guest":0,"slug":"dartoid","display_name":"Dartoid","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2024-02-13-12_01_31-Dartoids-World-_-The-most-widely-read-column-about-darts-in-the-world.png","url2x":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2024-02-13-12_01_31-Dartoids-World-_-The-most-widely-read-column-about-darts-in-the-world.png"},"first_name":"Paul","last_name":"Seigel","user_url":"http:\/\/www.dartoidsworld.com","description":"\"Dartoid\" is the pseudonym of Paul Seigel, a prominent chronicler of darts for over 35 years. His columns are celebrated for their wit and insight, often detailing his quest for a game in exotic locales worldwide. His writing offers vibrant commentary on the competitive darts landscape, including players, organizations, tournaments and the sport's unique culture. Dartoid's articles are highly regarded among darts enthusiasts, solidifying his role as a pivotal figure in promoting and documenting darts as both a recreational pastime and professional sport."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7818"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7818"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=7818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}