There was a cartoon we saw years ago, probably in the New Yorker, in which an old man sitting on a porch in Maine is approached by a "city slicker" type, who says to him: "You must have seen many changes in your day, old timer," to which the old man replies "Yup and I've been agin' every one of 'em." We can't quite share his sentiments, but sometimes it's a temptation. We have still to adjust to the loss of Wright Hardware and we know it's going to be a long time before we get used to the loss of Phil's Sport Shop, as reported in last week's Manhasset Press. More than a store or a business, Phil's was a Manhasset institution. For years in our house when anything in the sporting line was needed, we could tell our boys to go to Phil's and get it. We didn't have to worry about getting the wrong equipment or uniform or whatever was needed. Since we've been here at the newspaper we have had many occasions on which we referred a caller to Phil's 627-1947 number to confirm the date of basketball tryouts or the time of Friday night's game. We're happy that the Park District renamed a block at the station in honor of Phil Ruggiero before the Sports Shop closed its doors. It will be missed.

E.F.B.