Love story: Janet and Walter Weinmann of Levittown

Janet Weinmann of Levittown recalls the first and second time she met her future husband, Walter.

When I was 5 years old, in 1961, I would hang out on the fence at my house on Club Lane in Levittown and ask the kids who went by if they were going to cool (school). One little boy would say, "Yes, I am going to cool," and laugh.

Years went by, and when I was 14 years old I became friendly with some older kids up the block. That's when I noticed one of their friends from high school named Walter. He lived three blocks away, on Strang Drive in Wantagh. I developed a crush on him and spent lots of time up the block.

In 1972, when I was 16, I had a girlfriend who happened to live on Walter's block. She and I would sit on the curb waiting for him to pass by in his big, white Pontiac Bonneville on his way home from work. He was 18 and had just graduated from MacArthur High School. One night he stopped and asked us to go for a ride with him - I was so happy! There was a bit of a mix-up when my friend got in the car first - Walter thought she was the one who liked him.

He eventually found out I had the crush on him, and finally, on June 7, 1972, Walter asked me out. We spent every day and night together having wonderful times with friends, rides to Jones Beach, talking about our dreams and going to Sizzler for dinner.

Walter mentioned a little girl he remembered from years earlier, when he would walk to Gardiners Avenue Elementary School. She would ask, "Are you going to cool?" Until then, neither of us had realized he was that 8-year-old boy and I was that 5-year-old girl he and his friends called the "Cool Kid."

On July 20, 1975, we were married, and in 1978 we bought our dream house in Levittown, where we still reside. Walter and I are blessed with two daughters and two adorable granddaughters. We also have a very special dog named Angel.

Walter retired last year as a full-time laborer with the Town of Hempstead and is now working there part-time. He loves watching movies and is a big "Star Trek" fan. I love to baby-sit, garden and read. We enjoy trips to Atlantic City and Florida.

Life has given us some rough spots, but we have overcome them through our strong love, dedication, devotion and love from our family and friends. I would never trade our life, because I have truly found my soul mate forever and ever.