We, along with most of the residents of Mineola, enjoyed an early morning dip in our beautiful Mineola Pool. Among those we had a chance to talk to were: John and Pam Castig, George Comarda, Tom and Virginia Spae, Maria, Sofia and Fernando Borrego, John Haimeck (supervisor of the pool), Slawomir, Hanna and Emilia Beszterda, Peter Halfon, Mircea, Mihaela and Matthew Ringheanu, Joan Sauter, Jake, Noah and John Barnes, Marie and Steven Devine, Paul, Diana and AJ Batista, Judi Perceuejo, Ron and Louis Ritterbusch, Leo Dobbs, Peter, Karen and Connor Smith. The happy face of Matt Ciezinski, who checks passes at the gate, makes you feel welcome right away. By the way, how about a cheer for the crew who works the refreshment stand, Lynn Palma and Maryanne and Fred Wachter.

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You see them in North Hills, Roslyn, East Williston, New Hyde Park and Mineola riding their bikes everywhere it seems every day. The happy bikers are William and Florence Schlageter of East Williston.

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Al and Peggy Ford, formerly of Mineola, were in town the other day. Al, who was so active in the Chamber of Commerce, joined three former presidents for lunch at the Jericho, Jerry Mehlman, John Lindner and this writer. Al and Peggy live in Florida.

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Deacon John Reinhart enjoyed a snack at the Newlins Grille.

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Ellen and Mike Lane and their daughters brought a touch of old Ireland to the Seacrest when they had lunch. Mike who works for the Irish Echo, is a past president of the Irish American Society.

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Phyllis Alfiere and Tom Cooke of K's Gifts are very pleased that they have been awarded a citation as one of the outstanding lottery ticket retailers in New York State.

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Optometrist Mark Reiss, after being located in Mineola for so long, has moved his office to Post Avenue, Westbury. The Reiss family goes way back in the village when Sam, Abe and Sadie first opened the office on Mineola Boulevard in 1934. Mark is the son of the late Sam. Abe Reiss was president of the Congregation of the Temple Beth Sholom and, also, president of the Mineola Library Board for many years Mineola will not seem the same without the Reisses.

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Sports-minded Tom Flynn has now been with the PBC for 28 years. Tom still works for AK Allen on Second Street.

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Police Officer Harry Reddan, who does such a great job watching out for us in Mineola, now even occasionally patrols Memorial Park on his bike.

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Catherine Murphy, Teddy McCormack and Mary Calfapietra had an early morning repast at the Jericho Diner.

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No, you are not riding with Don Quixote and Sancho Panza across the dusty plains of LaMancha; those windmills you see will soon be real. More and more windmills are being seen as the cheapest, soundless and nonpolluting source of electricity and in a few years Long Island may have many of them.

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Tom Dekanchuk and Tony Artusa of Jericho Collision were fishing off Freeport when Tom of Wardwell Road fell overboard. Struggling to get back on board he severely hit his head on the bottom of the boat and had to be rescued by Tony and some men in another boat. Tom is okay now except for some neck pains.

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Walter and Grace Weismantel, formerly of Mineola and the owners of the famous bakery of the same name, were up from Florida. Walter has been doing a bit of acting at the local playhouse in Florida where he played the part of Noah famous for his ark. Walter had a large speaking part.

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Does anybody remember a beautiful little church in Riverhead about 30 years ago, Our Lady of Poland? It was located on Pulaski Street in the heart of the ethnic community.

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What a great white beard is sported by Bob Tenet of Colonial Avenue. It is bushy, long and pure white. It would put St. Nick himself to shame.

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Josephine Daly, optometrist on Wardwell Road, enjoyed holidays in Georgia and Connecticut.

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Glenn Kearney, formerly of Foch Boulevard, was in town. He still works for the town and lives in Port Washington with his wife and children. He used to own a business called Green Light Towing.

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Hope Msgr. Eugene Murphy of Corpus Christi Church and chaplain at Winthrop Hospital is feeling better after his recent illness.

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Village Justice John O'Shea reports that 3,495 tickets were issued by the meter crew of Frank Syracuse, Lori McCarron, Stan Stone, Ron Rental, Stuart Goldstein and Florence Peterson in June. There were also 178 moving violations and five trials were held.