Veterans' stories

Michael Rothfeld, a member of the United Federation of Teachers, has been serving veterans in Florida since his retirement in 2000.

He learned that many of the residents of his retirement community shared vital pieces of America's story during World War II — a paratrooper on D-Day; a soldier who witnessed the destruction in Japan immediately after the dropping of the atomic bombs in 1945; another who saw Gen. Douglas MacArthur sign the treaty ending the war.

Rothfeld began recording their first-person narratives, which eventually turned into a documentary, Serve and Protect.

The documentary was shown on the local PBS affiliate, and discussions with other area veterans became a second documentary — this one titled Korea: Forgotten War, Remembered Heroes.

Learn more about Rothfeld's work at www.anyveteran.org.

Multimillion-miler

In a nation where the average car on the road is nine years old and logs 15,000 miles annually, Irv Gordon is truly king of the road.

He's the guy driving the red Volvo with the New York license plate that reads "MILNMILR."

Gordon, a retired member of the Roslyn Teachers Association, has logged 2.7 million miles on the sporty Volvo P1800s he bought in 1966.

Gordon was profiled recently in an AARP magazine article about the long-term benefits of caring for your car.

What is his secret for vehicular longevity? In a word — maintenance.

"Do what needs to be done when it needs to be done," Gordon told the magazine.

Look her up

Retired after 33 years teaching sixth-grade social studies as a member of the Harpursville TA, Gail Hennessey now maintains a Web site for teachers and young people.

The site, www.gailhennessey.com, includes a number of free activities in a variety of areas, including geography, cyberhunts, news and career exploration.