My wife and I are nurses. My wife is from the Philippines. I promised her years ago that I would take her to Pittsburgh to see the leaves change and again to see the snow on the slopes of Seven Springs.
In these times my thoughts take me back home, the home of my youth, the home of my family, the home of my heart. It’s been 35 years since I last beamed at Downtown Pittsburgh coming out the Fort Pitt Tunnel on Light Up Night. I so want to take my bride to every neighborhood I lived in, show her the house in Swissvale my father grew up in, the house on Mt. Washington where the whole family packed in together during the Depression. She loves to travel, but there’s only one city I need to see again.
To all the good folks of Western Pennsylvania, I want you to know that you all inspire me every night when I get ready for work. I am so proud to be an old Pittsburgh boy. We will get through this.
Charles McFarland
Dunedin, Fla.
The writer is a Westmoreland County native.