PITTSTON – Although last weekend’s storm over-promised and under-delivered when it came to snowfall, Greater Pittston area residents got into the spirit of the season when it came to playing in, shoveling and sliding across the white powdery stuff.
Mike Magistro, of Forty Fort, and his son Nicholas, 14, brought a sled to the dike in Wyoming Sunday for a day full of fun.
Sledding, Mike said, is not for the faint of heart.
“We’ll be here until dark,” he said. “We don’t mind the cold. As long as you’re not sweating, it’s the right temperature to be out.”
So committed to the activity is Magistro, that about 10 years ago, he broke his tail bone and kept sledding.
“I didn’t even know it was broken until a couple days later,” he said. “I went to the doctor and he said it was broken. There’s nothing you can do but let it heal.”
Did Magistro return to the sledding as soon as he healed?
“You bet,” he said.
T.J. Kearns, 13, and Nathan Ambrosino, 14, also enjoyed speeding down the hill, with a self-styled mogul that sent them flying through the air and landing on the snow, often capsizing.
Ambrosino said he was a bit disappointed the area didn’t get more than the predicted 12 inches of snow but he was glad it had stopped snowing in time for Sunday night’s lunar eclipse.
In West Pittston, Ashley Medvec carefully crafted an igloo for her children, complete with a “skylight.”
Logan, 10, Danika, 6, and Michael, 4, took turns in the little snow hut, bundled up in colorful coats and hats, making them stand out from the snow that surrounded them, sticking to their woolen hats and glistening on their eye lashes.
Medvec said she was glad the children got to play outside before sub-artic temperatures arrived Sunday night.
As for Magistro, Ambrosino and Kearns – all said they’d be back on the hill Monday – no matter what the temperature.
