At various meetings over the years we have heard of the ''graying of Great Neck,'' the growing ''senior citizen'' population on our peninsula. Great Neck's senior citizens live in apartments and in private homes, and especially during the winter months, they might be in need of a little assistance. Heavy snows or ice or just plain cold weather could very well keep a senior citizen housebound. And even though, so far, this winter has not seen especially heavy snows yet, we have still had several smaller snows that have produced treacherous ice and we have had some record-breaking low temperatures. Our senior citizen neighbors might well be having problems.

A driveway or path might need to be cleared. Errands might need to be taken care of and it is easy to run low on food and essentials. A sudden storm might find one out of a vital medication. During a really severe storm an electric outage could put an elderly person, without heat, perhaps without a telephone, in real danger. A phone call, a knock at the door, and some real help might make all the difference for someone, especially someone living alone.

If you have elderly friends or neighbors, be sure to check in on them, especially during particularly cold or snowy days.

- Wendy Karpel Kreitzman