In 1963 I was a freshman at the venerable Mt. Carmel High School on the Southside of Chicago.
Sitting across the aisle from me was a kid named Tommy McDonald, aka “Touch Down Tommy," aka “T-Dogg."
It was easy to make him laugh and he unfortunately paid the consequences many times from our sadistic, albeit avuncular teacher Mr. Farrell.
When T-Dogg would puncture the boredom of our class with his infectious laugh, Mr. Farrell would slowly stroll down the aisle while rubbing his hands together.
Rich Kelly and Tommy (right),at the Boston Marathon 1981
Tall and strange, Farrell would stand over T-Dogg and say, “Doff the goggles Mac.”
Then he would remove Tommy’s glasses and slap the bejeezus out of him. Tommy would spend the rest of the day with a huge red handprint on his face and all the lads would know he had once again incurred the wrath of oddball “Ollie" Farrell.
After graduation I lost track of T-Dogg for about thirty years, until he re-appeared on my radar when I recreated his dilemma onstage in a one-man show I performed about growing up Southside Irish.
He came backstage and thanked me and once again it was easy to make him laugh. We’ve been pals ever since.
T-Dogg falls in love at Saw Doctors concert
Aside from the handprint on his cheek, Mr. Farrell must have made quite an impression on Tommy because he became a teacher himself in the Chicago Public School system after following his older brother Matt to Santa Fe, New Mexico for college, where Tommy got his degree in education.
He tells me, “My family’s always been left of center. I’m proud of it, okay?
My sister Maureen marched with Dr. King. My other sister Winnie worked with Cesar Chavez out in California..yeah, yeah… and we’re…some of us are card carrying Commies! I’m proud of it. My mom was a real Lefty!”
Tommy and friends at the Berghoff
Tommy moved home to Chicago in the early seventies, his military draft lottery number was 2!
And he was just waiting for the axe to fall when he got a letter telling him the draft was ending.
“Holy sh-t! Wow wow wow!
So I grabbed a friend and we went down to New Orleans for my first Mardi Gras!”
It wouldn’t be his last, T-Dogg has spent a lotta time in the Big Easy over the years.
He likes the vibe.
“I came back after a whirlwind trip and started substitute teaching at St. Barnabas, right in the old neighborhood.
"And I was happy.
"I kind of took to teaching…you know a lot of guys don’t… But I kind of liked it…oh then I started teaching at 74th and Morgan, 7th and 8th grade inner city kids, I was there for almost 10 years, teaching 7th grade. I’m a man, they throw the men into 7th and 8th grade.
"That ain’t easy, real ghetto kids, but nice, real nice kids, I really.. y’know, I got off on it!”
Tommy taught school in Chicago for over thirty years in a variety of schools, 7th grade, 2nd 3rd and 4th grade as well being the librarian.
Just as he was heading to retirement, tragedy struck his family.
His older sister Maureen was running the office for Public Guardian Patrick Murphy when a fire broke out and engulfed the County office building and six people were killed because the doors were locked in the stairways, and the exhaust on the roof wasn’t working.
Maureen died of smoke inhalation and the bureaucrats tried to sweep it under the rug.
But Patrick Murphy the Public Guardian played a major role in keeping the case in the news.
"After Maureen died I moved in with my mom for about six months before she died. We did nothing but laugh and have a good time. My mom was a special person. She put her faith in God and it really works.”
Tommy then volunteered as a tutor with Literacy Chicago “I was tutoring these people, mostly Asians, women mostly.
"And all we did was talk, which is exactly what you’re supposed to do, and I had such a ball.”
He introduced them all to his favorite Chicago restaurants and how Chicago talks. “Yeah it was fun, God it was so much fun.”
And so Tommy retired from Chicago Public Schools and volunteering with his Asian friends after over 44 years altogether as a teacher and friend.
Turns out, Ollie Farrell did indeed leave his mark, but Tommy used it to educate thousands of kids and friends over 44 years in Chicago.
God bless you T-Dogg!
