With Athena

Thank heavens! The sun finally came out and there were smiles all over town and splashes, too, as folks finally got into the pool. Congratulations to the Chamber of Commerce and to the Village for coming up with the Rain Date and Restaurant Week. We had a washout month in June and folks like to dine out both literally and figuratively so all are hoping that July brings better weather. Nobody likes to dine out under a rain umbrella. I think everyone missed the Belmont Festival even if the race itself was exciting.

Happy birthday wishes go to Nickie McGuire, who will be celebrating her special day on the 8th of July. May she have a wonderful day and a great year ahead filled with good health and much happiness.

Happy wedding anniversary wishes go to Lorraine and Frank Tauches, who will be doing their celebrating on the 10th of July. May you have a day filled with joy and many more years filled with health and happiness and many more years of wedded bliss.

We are finding many things from the past in town simply by digging. The wooden water pipe is a find by the Garden City Water Department and it was a surprise, too. You read about wood pipes being found all over New York City and they date from the 1800's. Most of them were found when they finally broke as they had been in use all these years. I wonder what kind of wood they used in those days that lasted so long?

Another find was the Girl Scout Time Capsule that was a long time after the five years when it was supposed to be dug up. Buried in 1981, it should have been retrieved in 1986. Well, time flies when you are having fun and it will be all the more interesting now as they will also find many of the Brownies from that troop and see what they are doing now 28 years later. And to think we were all wondering what they were digging for at Village Hall - OIL? WATER? GOLD? One thing I am sure of is that it was not because they were looking for the Girl Scout Time Capsule. Do let us know what you are digging for, fellows.

Chris and Reverend Jim Adelmann are enjoying a six month sabbatical from the Garden City Community Church. They will spend it resting, traveling and learning and we hope they will have a good time doing all these things. They will be missed but all look forward to their return.

Reports have it that most people are only taking short vacations these days and if you like beaches and history and don't want to go too far - I have a tip for you. Cape May, New Jersey is a lovely spot and only about a four hour drive along the Garden State Parkway. The beaches are long, lovely and have a moderate amount of surf to keep you happy. There is a historic place to visit called The Cold Spring Historic Village that will give you a refreshing look at the old days by well informed docents. Of course we have Old Bethpage Village right here on Long Island and for beaches you can't get better than Jones Beach. The beach is still great but the Park is now listed by the Preservation League of New York State as one of seven endangered places due to the appropriate alterations and loss of architectural integrity. We all remember what it used to be and hope that things will turn around for our jewel on the Atlantic.

Nancy Fardelmann is taking the standing water talk in Nassau County seriously. She makes sure that she washes out her bird bath on a regular basis and replaces it with clean water. This is to help prevent mosquitoes from breeding, but then Nancy has always had good habits like this. We should all take a page from her book and do likewise. Also we should check ponds, pools and other spots in our yards to guard against this problem.

I hope that all of you have a wonderful Fourth of July and a safe, and sunny one. See you next week and maybe at the pool.