A sumptuous feast was in the offing to all those attending Mayor Martins' Christmas party at village hall. Employees of the village fire department and ambulance corps volunteers and those who serve on the different boards of the village were invited. Among those we had a chance to talk to were: Gus and Dorothy Calandrello, Joseph DiGiorgio, Candy Maia, Bob Seewaldt, Florence Petersen, Karen Calabro, Dan Whalen, Barbara Mattina, Martha Teixeira, Harry Lindsay, Ceil Lopes, Anthony Cailo, Marsha Peterson, Grace Jurek, Dorothy Bedson, Charles Melvin, Russ Sutherland, Nancy Kelly, Nancy Portoghese, Patrick Tobin, Dick and Marguerite O'Callaghan, Genevieve Reidlinger, Michelle Price, Jose Dores, Kathy D'Antonio, Catia Dores, Joe Dores, Emilia Morelli, Frank Nedelka, Martin O'Donnell, Deacon John Reinhart, Walter and Joan Hobbs.

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Lou Panacciulli's Nassau Pops Orchestra and the Mineola Choral Society presented a Christmas concert at Chaminade High School. The balcony and entire auditorium were filled with 1,200 enjoying the free two-hour presentation. Grace and I attended with our good friends Faust and Maryann Guarino. Later we had dinner at the festive George Washington Manor.

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This Was Burlesque and the Jewel Box Revue were the last two plays at the old Mineola Theatre before it closed in the 1960s. See if you can remember some of the earlier productions and who were the stars. This is all very interesting to us, as we now prepare to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mineola in 2006. Lou Panacciulli's Nassau Pops will open the year with a concert in January 2006. John DaVanzo, Candy Maia and Bob Hinck, the three chairpersons, will speak at the Jan. 18 chamber of commerce meeting at Piccola Bussola restaurant.

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Paula Martins is such a delightful young lady to talk to. The mayor's wife makes a perfect first lady for our village.

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Joe Pungello had breakfast at the Jericho Diner. Joe works as an agent for Prudential Life. He and his wife Gisella live on Lincoln Avenue.

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That sweet young waitress at Eleanor Rigby's is Nicole Yacubowski. She lives with her parents Josephine and Stan on McClellan Place.

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Looking at some of the pictures on the walls of the Davenport Restaurant we saw an ad for "Lucky Strikes." Copy reads from "Tears to Laughter when you lite up a Lucky," says actress Claudette Colbert. Across the bottom of the 1935 ad the tag line is "It's Luckies 5 to 1 with men who know tobacco best."

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Another ad is for Charlie Chaplin's The Kid. The 1925 copy says, "Laugh with Charlie and Jackie Coogan in 6 reels of joy."

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What a beautiful voice Francine Luisi, the singer at Corpus Christi, has. Her solos help make Mass more enjoyable than ever.

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Neil Young does a great job as the village historian.

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Dan and Virginia Scheidel of Saville Road were dining at Panera's Bread recently. Danny, who is a retired 3rd Precinct cop, and I go way back. Years ago Danny used to supply me with the police blotter when I made my weekly visit to the police department.

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After years of work I finally am able to speak Spanish pretty well. I had taken the language three years in school; and when our daughter, Sr. Annmarie, was sent to Peru, I resumed my study. Using tapes and books and watching the Spanish language news and "Novelas" and listening to Spanish radio was a big help. Trips to Puerto Rico, three visits to Mexico, a trip to the Dominican Republic and two trips to Spain really helped. On our last trip to Spain, we took the tour of the remote northern section which was given in the Spanish language. That tour is along the Pyrenees and ends in Santiago de Compostella, the burial spot of the Apostle James who brought Christianity to Spain. To anyone looking for a rewarding experience, I would recommend studying a foreign language. Portuguese would be a good choice, too, considering the many Mineola residents of Portuguese origin.