April 1, 1981

''This is wonderful,'' said Charles Alekel as he stood in the bright spring sunshine yesterday, surrounded by friends and protected by the police. Mr. Alekel, a retired locksmith who lives in Coney Island, had just been given a police escort - in a police van - to his neighborhood shopping center. The escort service, which began yesterday, is available to every elderly resident of Coney Island on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M., under a pilot project of the city's Police Department. The elderly using the project gather at two points along Surf Avenue, and two police vans - normally used to transport officers to special assignments and trouble spots -shuttle them to and from two neighborhood shopping centers.

''RISOTTO alla Milanese is a forgotten treasure,'' says Gianni Minale of the Alfredo restaurant, 240 Central Park South. Italy's most famous rice dish has been displaced by the current craze for pasta. But people are beginning to discover it again. The classic risotto is made with rice cooked in white wine and chicken broth flavored with saffron; butter and grated Parmesan cheese are stirred in at the end of cooking. A rich and filling dish, it is served either on its own or invariably as an accompaniment to osso bucco (braised veal shank).

''We did not gain anything. Walesa has made bungled decisions. We can compromise on the supply of onions, but not when blood has been spilled.''

WHEN Helene Gurfein was growing up in Brooklyn, she dreamed about becoming a musical comedy star a la Jane Powell or Kathryn Grayson. ''My main claim to fame,'' she said, ''was that when I was 7 or 8, I could hit the same high note that Kate Smith hit when she sang 'God Bless America.' '' Today Miss Gurfein is the manager of a Manhattan personnel agency, Broadmore Associates. But she hasn't completely abandoned her childhood dream. She is among the 200 members of the New York Choral Society, an amateur group that meets every Tuesday night and gives three concerts a year at Carnegie Hall. Miss Gurfein, who is in her 40's, is among the many adults who, when they were children, dreamed of growing up and having a glamorous career, such as singer, dancer, actor, fireman, astronaut, professional athlete, artist or brain surgeon.

The Fluor Corporation, one of the world's biggest engineering and construction companies, has agreed to buy the St. Joe Minerals Corporation for $60 a share, totaling nearly $2.9 billion, the two companies announced yesterday. The terms call for payment in cash and stock. This is sharply higher than the offer of $45 a share made March 11 by Joseph E. Seagram & Sons. St. Joe has been fighting the Seagram offer, valued at more than $2 billion in cash, as ''grossly inadequate.'' St. Joe is the nation's biggest lead producer, and it has major interests in coal, petroleum and gold. It is one of several giant mining companies being eagerly sought by oil companies and other major corporations seeking resources for the future.