Items of interest to my family and friends

This is a picture, taken in 1985, of (l to r) my copper-top English nephew and Godson, Mark, our then next-door-neighbor's son, Darryl, me, and my American nephew, Patrick.

Mark is now running an industrial carpet-laying company which he started with his dad. It's the largest company of its kind in the UK. He married a beautiful lady named Julie on July 22, 2006. Julie gave birth to their first child in January, 2008. Darryl has been married a while now and is a daddy, too. Patrick graduated from Penn State in Business Information Systems in May of 2006.

Here is a list of some of the pastimes I enjoy:

Spending time with my best friends: Marilyn, my wife, Zsolt, our son, and our dogs Dandy, Ginger, Junior, Tipsy, Benji, Chelsea, and Silk.
Murphy, our latest pet and a Bichon Frisé, came to us unexpectedly November 2014. His owner, Sara, was a lady Marilyn and I delivered Meals on Wheels to for a couple of years. Sara had to go into Assisted Living, and her dog, Murphy, needed a new home. So we adopted him. Unfortunately he had a cancer growing inside him, which revealed itself soon enough after we took him down with us to our Florida home for the winter. The vet in Florida diagnosed the cancer right away and did his best to remove it. But he warned us it might come back. We had Murphy checked out six months later and everything seemed OK. We brought him back with us to Pennsylvania for the summer of 2015, where he continued to enjoy us and, of course, we enjoyed him. He was soooo sweet and lively and affectionate, especially with Marilyn, to whom he was especially attached. But the cancer resurged, in poor Murphy's left lung and foot, presenting itself as a persistent cough and pain as he favored his left foot. He wasn't going to get better, so it seemed best to spare him inevitably increasing pain and suffering.
Visiting the family of our nearby in-laws in Butler, PA, Don and Susan Shamey, Zack, Casey, Andrew, Patrick, Bryn and, of course, their irrepressible dogs Khaki and Bunker. Now they're all dispersed around the States, especially on the Eastern seaboard.
Keeping in touch with my brothers and sisters, some of whom are in this picture, taken when I was a baby in 1943, and all of whom are in this picture, taken on my mother's 80th birthday in 1989. Here are some pictures of my mom and the family taken on February 14 and 15, 1999, when the immediate family gathered for her 90th birthday. Mom passed away August 4, 2007 at the age of 98. You can read about her life here as well view pictures taken over the last 50 years or more, including pictures of my dad, who passed away September 13, 1965 at the age of 56.
Golf, especially with Meesterrr Rheek or Charlene Potochar. Meesterr Rheek is a fan of this distinguished brotherhood. If you look carefully, you might find Mr Rheek in the crowd of cheering onlookers.
Music (Plainsong, Early English--especially choral, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th century, pop, some rock, techno, you name it; if it's good and I hear enough of it, I'll probably get to like it...)
Indoor sports (Table tennis, darts, bridge, board games, and so forth...)
Reading (especially historical/science/biographical/non-fiction, though I'm a sucker for a good novel, too)
Good food, good company, good beer, good wine, and good spirits!

The picture below was taken in 1996, when I started working in the Education Division at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. The young man I'm working with is Steve Temple, one of my students in the course I designed called Education for an Information Age.

"Now I understand..."
I appreciate that you might prefer something more interesting to look at, so if you click on the picture above, you'll be able to see a view from my office window, taken in the Fall on an atypically sunny Southwest Pennsylvania day.

e-mail me at poole@pitt.edu