Captain Jack Damico (Karns City Teacher)

This is one of my best friends, Jack. He and I have taught next door to each other for 15 years now. At age 38 this guy is both a math teacher and an ardent Republican, but I try not to hold either of those against him. :-)

This past fall, Jack's unit became activated and he was whisked away to the hills of Afghanistan on a humanitarian mission. Here we see him decked out in his gear, posing for my students with bullet holes riddled behind him. He says their winters are a lot like ours, but this year they are really breaking some record cold temps.

Jack is based outside of Mazar-e-Sharif in the northern most part of the country. His unit is made up of a mobile field hospital, and I thought I'd post his picture here on my blog for our mutual friends to get a glimpse of ole "Captain Jack". Our troops there are passing out blankets, gloves, and giving medical aid to the "northern alliance" folks, who helped the US back in 2001 sack the Taliban.

Unfortunately Jack had to leave behind his newborn baby, Nicholas and his wife Terra. The timing of the US government wasn't really a factor in this scenario. Jack and I e-mail each other just about every other day, and occasionally we can even talk over Skype VOiP Internet. Here's hoping he comes home safe & soon so I can pester him for 15+ more years!

E-Gads! We're getting a mega-mall!

Looks like the little quiet town of Worthington is going "commercial" on a grand scale. The proposal has been but a rumor over the past 1-2 years now, but it would seem we are in for a massive change. The mall will be about 2-3 miles away from me. Downside is they want to put in 2 traffic lights on 422, which is a 4 lane highway. This to me is way stupid. Just build a ramp and do this right!


Here is a map of the proposed site. I'm told it will have 4-6 new restaurants which Armstrong desperately needs!!! On the flip side, I guess I won't have to drive 15 minutes for groceries or simple items with today's gas prices, and I'm sure this will help the resale value of my home. Yippie!

A new "Farrell" hockey player emerges

Liam has been playing once per week at the Belmont every week now. He's really enjoying being able to skate and play hockey with his school mates. He started about a year ago, and keeps getting better with time.





Liam's favorite NHL players are Malkin and Crosby, who play for the Penguins of course. Here we see him as #7 making a pass to his team mate on a rush up ice.






Liam's team lost 3-2 but he had fun. Liam will continue playing for the next 9 weeks until soccer takes over. There's always a practice or some thing to keep Liam running around and burning off energy. ;-)

Feeding the geese

Aunt Joey gave the kids some stale bread for the geese and ducks. But Liam was so hungry he was eating it himself! Not in the picture to the left were 25 deer grazing.

More fun in the "Cemi"

Who says cemetery's are boring. The kids love to visit all the huge monuments. Tristan even peeked into one crypt "with one eye"!

Rie Rie's resting place.

This is the first time the kids ever saw Rie Rie's grave. I told them a little about her, but we will have to show them pictures of her and tell them about her delicious pies!!!!

Allegheny Cemetery Visit

For some reason, the kids (especially Liam and Tristan) love to ride around the Allegheny Cemetery. Today we visited Stephen Foster's grave and we sang "Oh Susanna" and "The Camp Town Races."

Glass & Fauna Chihuly Style (at the Phipps)

Dropped the kids off at my folks and went to the Phipps conservatory. For the past several months, Dale Chihuly's glass work has been on display among the plants of the Phipps. While there, we met my friend Jody and his wife. We were all very impressed with how the glass complimented the gardens.


Some pictures below. If you still haven't seen it, there are 3 more weeks before it leaves Pittsburgh.

Annette turns 9

Gillian's friend Annette Yauger turned nine this past week. For her birthday she asked for a Chucky Cheese birthday party with our family, so we obliged. We met in Greensburg, Pa. and spent the afternoon. Here are some pictures from the event.




Gillian challenged Annette to a friendly game of chess after resting between video games. Later Ed beat me (again) despite my many hours of practice. Grrrrrrr.
One day I will beat Ed.