Fun and fishing at Rev. Mackey Park

Seven-year-old Javier Reyes felt a sudden tug on his line last Friday morning. Mike Majikas, of North Merrick, who stood nearby, bent down to Javier’s level and instructed him to “reel it in.” Javier, seated in a wheelchair, rewound his line as quickly as he could when, all at once, a sunfish appeared before him, squirming on his line. His face lit up.

Reyes said he couldn’t believe it. He had caught a fish.

For Reyes and his fellow students at the United Cerebral Palsy of Nassau school in Roosevelt, fishing at the pond at the nearby Rev. Arthur Mackey Sr. Park, gave them an hour in the sun –– and a new experience that they will long remember.

The UCPN school serves roughly 250 children and young adults. Students fished in groups of about a dozen. Majikas arranged the excursion with fellow members of the Memorare Fishing Club, which comprises members of Knights of Columbus councils from Massapequa and Massapequa Park, Wantagh-Seaford and Bellmore-Merrick.

A dozen volunteers from the club helped students bait their hooks and cast their lines, alerting them when the fish were biting and offering hearty words of encouragement. Among the volunteers was Larry Goggin, who dressed up as a clown and passed out balloon animals to the students as they fished.

“It’s really very rewarding,” said Ken Iadarola of Wantagh, a Memorare member. “The reaction of the kids [when they catch a fish] is just the best you can see.”

Majikas said the Mackey Park pond is an excellent place to fish. He should know. He’s been fishing there for more than five decades, since he was a kid. “This has been my place here for forever,” he said. He even remembers ice fishing there as a boy.

Katie May, a UCPN nurse, said fishing is therapeutic for the students, who face a range of cognitive and mobility issues. “It’s nice for them to get out and enjoy themselves,” she said. “A lot of them don’t [otherwise] get to experience this.”

About United Cerebral Palsy of Nassau

`”The United Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County offers a complete array of programs and services to people with disabilities. Children ages 1 to 21 can benefit from the mobility and cognitive development programs of the Children’s Learning Center. Adults can develop the skills to help them integrate into the community through innovative programs like Life Options. And the Fortunoff Treatment and Rehabilitation Center provides broad and deep care for individuals with many kinds of disabilities or head injuries.”

                ––From the UCPN website