By Tim Healy
tim.healy@newsday.com
A little more than two dozen children from the Fresh Air Fund boarded a bus today to return to the city after spending a week with families in the Huntington area.
For the Malico family of Greenlawn, it was a familiar ritual.
They said goodbye today to Robert Ross, an 11-year-old from Far Rockaway and the youngest of six children, who just spent his fourth annual summer week with them.
Tami Malico, a mother of four, described Robert's visit as "wonderful."
"We've enjoyed Robert and he's enjoyed us," she said.
Robert said that he had a fine week and that his favorite experience was riding in a 3-seater tube in Northport harbor behind the family's boat. That topped a list that includes swimming in the pool and playing with Malico's four children: John, 11; Nicholas, 10; Mark, 8; and Carly, 6.
And while Robert had fun, he also looks forward to returning to his family. His older brother Isaiah has been calling him every day to stay in touch.
Tami Malico, who has encouraged friends and neighbors to join the program, became involved in the Fresh Air Fund when her parents took in a city child in 1975 when the family lived in Rochester.
"She had never seen grass in a park," Malico said. "It just stuck with me."
She said the family is looking forward to Robert's return next summer.
Last year, 55 Fresh Air children went to host families in Huntington out of a total of 193 across the Island, according to Harald Olsen of the Fresh Air Fund.
Caption: Tami Malico and Robert Ross, center, with Malico's children in front: Mark, Carly and Nicholas. Newsday photo
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