Guns drawn, the armed robbers smashed into the Seacrest Diner 23 years ago. The gang robbed, raped and terrorized the patrons for many hours. Tiring of their "fun" they finally left. The cops soon caught up with them and they were sentenced to long prison terms. They were paroled after serving more than 20 years. At that time the Seacrest was mostly an enclosed restaurant and hard to see inside. Today it has large open windows on all sides.

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Ron Woyciechowski of Mineola is a part-time school bus driver and was formerly the deputy warden of Riker's Island. His wife, the former Cathy Fekete, is one of the few people actually born in the village and she is a volunteer at Winthrop Hospital. Another friend who works at the hospital is Vera Barrick of Mineola. Vera works at the reception desk.

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Popular Corpus Christi usher Jim Agnew has lost his mom who lived in Ireland. Mrs. Agnew was 97 years old.

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George Brennan and his grandson Sean had breakfast at the Jericho Diner. George recently experienced the death of his wife Catherine. He worked for the post office for 39 years.

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Nancy Portoghese Bauer is a very active lady. She is a prime mover at the Mineola Chamber of Commerce and volunteers for practically every committee. She is a member of the pool and recreation board and is active in her service club. Nancy is also the president of the Republican Club and she has a beautiful voice and sings in her church's choir. Her business is property management.

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Bruce and Maryann Burns of Mineola are eagerly awaiting the start of the hockey season. They are season ticket holders and missed their beloved Islanders last year.

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Frank Rotter seems to be about the same following his stroke according to his wife Joan. Frank was a member of the library board, was active in the Knights and worked part-time for the Mineola American.

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Always good to see Marge Irace around town. Her husband Izzy served in the army with me in WWII and we were classmates at NYU. He and his family owned Mineola Glass. Izzy was active in politics and was elected to the village board. Today Izzy is unfortunately blind but still gets out with the aid of Marge. Izzy used to be an avid gardener and was always proud of his tomatoes. He was also a member of the chamber.

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Gavin and Irene Duffy plus sons Cody and Tyge went to a recent Mets game. It was 90 degrees and they arrived late getting there in the second inning. Washington scored six runs in the first so by the time they took their seats it was 6 - 0 and the Mets never caught up, losing 7 - 4. It was bad enough with the overpriced hot dogs, ice cream and beer but the crowning blow was having to pay $3.75 for a small bottle of warm water. Come on Mets, give the fans a break.

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Recent story about never found Judge Joe Crater was revealing. I didn't realize he was a big playboy and always with gorgeous chorus girls and was a flashy dresser. There were related stories of Murder Incorporated and mob turncoat Abe Reles who told all which was called "singing" back then. Abe was being guarded on the top floor of the Half Moon Hotel when he was pushed out of the window to his death. The news head said he was "the canary who could sing but couldn't fly."

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Hated to see the old Gensel building imploded. I go way back with that family. I knew Ralph Gensel, the founder; his son, Bob and his son, Richard and today Justin Gensel - four generations of fine people. That building was the most beautiful commercial structure in Mineola. The historical committee has always hoped it could be preserved. But it's gone now and we await the new Bank of Commerce at that site.

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Paris Hilton's hairstylist charges $435 for a haircut. Come on Expressions, Cuttin Club and the rest of you - get with it!

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Good to see John Pavlovich around the village. John used to own the Executive restaurant at the corner of Mineola Boulevard and First Street. John used to go table to table asking people if everything was OK and often buying his regular customers a drink. He had a fine restaurant. He and his wife Toni live on Dow Avenue.

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Always good to see Joe and his wife Pat Rudolph in church. Pat has completely recovered from her recent illness. Their son, Tom, is a city cop. Tom is a big Mets fan and roots for the Mets. The only thing wrong with him is that he also roots for the Devils instead of the Islanders. Tom owns a security company and the Mineola pool is part of his responsibility.

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Just as we were completing this column we learned of the death of former neighbor of many years Mildred Ridgeway. Mildred, widow of Frank, would have reached her 101st birthday next month. Several years ago she moved to North Carolina to be near her daughter, Carol and her family. She had some physical ailments, but still retained all her faculties. Our condolences to her family.