Apparently there are people who can’t wait for the weather to turn frigid, so they can rid themselves of all that restrictive summer-wear. A surprisingly early blast of sub-freezing temperature was all the Coney Island Polar Bears needed to strip down to their bikinis and banana hammocks and charge unblinking into the Atlantic. Another guy was seen stripped down to his gym shorts, cooling off on a court-side bench after a vigorous game of handball. And a rather determined-looking runner jogged by me on the boardwalk -  he looked to be 75 at least, apparently still working on his upper body tan. Of course, even here on the Coney Island boardwalk, those locals are the exception rather than the rule. But you have to applaud their spirit, and their unwillingness to let a little thing like winter undermine what is otherwise a beautiful Sunday afternoon.