ONLINE EDITION FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2001

Opinion

Great Neck residents are familiar with the logo of Great Neck, the giraffe, popularized by Bill Dobkin. But some may not know the history of the giraffe, as told in legend.

After forty days and forty nights, the denizens of Noah's Ark had consumed all the food, and when they landed on Mt. Ararat, the stronger ones rushed to gobble up all the vegetation to be found on the ground there.

The last to leave the ark were the two giraffes, who at that time had short necks. They stumbled out and saw that the only food left grew high on the trees: acacias and mimosas, as well as bananas, coconuts and pineapples. Too weak to climb the trees, they longingly stretched upward, and their softened bones became elongated, until they could reach the fruit.

Having eaten, they regained their strength, and the bones in their necks hardened, remaining elongated.

The moral of the story is, ''Ad astra per aspera!'': to the stars through all obstacles, or, in freer translation, to the stars through bolts and bars. What an appropriate motto for Great Neck, where we overcome obstacles to reach the stars!