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The Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Employment Development program, YouthWorks, is hosting a special summer jobs registration for 22- to 24-year-old city residents from May 25 – June 5. For more information visit www.oedworks.com and click on “Youth Services” or call 410-396-5627.
Wanted: Pickup softball teams from Baltimore neighborhoods for friendly series of cross-town games. Joe DiMattina writes from joe.dimattina@gmail.com:
I have been organizing pickup baseball in my neighborhood of Patterson Park, only with a twist. We are organizing a neighborhood softball team -- I know, it's not baseball but we wanted to go co-ed -- in Patterson Park and we're challenging other neighborhoods to friendly games for neighborhood pride. So far, Highlandtown has accepted a June 20 softball match in Patterson Park, where the winner gets to choose the bar we go to after.
The entire experience thus far has been amazing, and the friendly social rivalry that has come out of our "grudge match" has been amazing. Both teams met at Sharky's to go over rules (Sharky's is in "neutral" bar), and while we both want to win we are having a great time making some creative rules (tie breaker with a dizzy-bat relay, chugging contest for close calls, red towel to contest close calls, etc).
Also, we are in talks with City Councilman Jim Kraft's office to have his office workers provide umpiring for the game and would like to invite anyone from the Sun to come out and spectate and maybe see the beginning of a yearly rivalry. Good work on promoting pickup baseball, and I hope that you get a lot more support!
Have you heard a thoroughly profound commencement address at a college or high school this spring? Would you like to see the speaker get a little more exposure for what he or she had to say to students? Maybe you found the speech throughly original and challenging, or maybe there was a great one-liner the rest of the world needs to know about. Whatever, we're interested -- both for this blog and for an upcoming hour of Midday on WYPR. Contact my producer Claire Caplan at ccaplan@wypr.org.
Lots and lots of e-mailed letters -- one from the prominent developer David Cordish -- on Wednesday's column about baseball, kids and the lack of opportunity for pickup games. Here's a sampling:
As a boy growing up in a small town in Minnesota we had softball pickup games called "work up." As I discuss this game here in the Baltimore area with friends,
they have never heard of it.It happened after lunch (we were let out of school at noon for lunch
at home.) When we came back before the afternoon bell sounded we
played "pick-up." Early in the spring when the base ball diamond was
muddy we played on the tennis courts asphalt -the posts for the net
were first and third base. Since we were confined here we played
kick ball same rules, same set up.The first couple of guys back (one of them had a baseball bat and
softball) -one became the pitcher the other the batter. We used base
ball rules three strikes or catching a fly ball, or tagging the batter
made an out (after all they had to run to all the bases). It the
batter was any good he ran the pitcher all over the field! But the
third guy arriving became the first base man, the fourth guy the
second baseman, and so it was with the fifth guy becoming third base-
when we had six they became fielders. Any time a batter was out the
pitcher moved up to take his place, the first basement became pitcher
etc. So as more kids arrived they called out to find the player that
had come before-"Who do I follow?" By this time consensus would be
reached that we needed another batter or a catcher and everyone moved
up in rotation. By the time 20 guys were playing in the outfield -
the move ups were quite fast but that's about the time the bell rang
and we had to go in for afternoon classes.Note: we didn't have any adults around. Everyone abided by the rules and
we all had a great time! Nor did we have softball gloves -- we bare
knuckled the ball -- you learned after a few finger stings how to catch a
ball properly!-- George P. MillerThis weekend I witnessed my son and a few of his friends (all players of multiple organized leagues) playing a “modified” baseball game and it was a joy to watch. They were playing in a very small front yard with one plastic bat and a bucket of various-sized wiffle balls (including golf-ball sized ones). One pitcher, one batter, two outfielders. One kid bats for the whole inning. A missed swing was an out. Past the second driveway with a normal-sized ball was a home run; past the first driveway with a golf-ball sized ball. The rules were established as the game progressed but each kid knew them like they were born knowing them. Is it an out if you catch it after it bounces off the house? Yes. No disagreements. It was so enjoyable just to sit back and watch them play for the fun of it. No trophies. No uniforms. No frustrated parents or coaches. Just boys being boys. I hope more kids get a chance to do things like that. Twitter pickup games are a great idea.-- Lisa McGrathI grew up in a row house neighborhood, next to Druid Hill Park, where we played pick up football every waking hour that we weren’t in school, followed by pick up basketball in the winter, followed by pick up softball and baseball in the summer. There was never a parent or umpire in sight. No organized teams or uniforms.Instead, the kids themselves had to chuck up, choose sides, make all the “umpire” decisions themselves, no coaches; just play ball. This is not to say you didn’t kill yourself to win as nothing quite equals then, or for that matter now, the high of an athletic victory.More importantly, however, was the fact that you were entirely 100% on your own, with other kids, with zero adult supervision or intervention. Until high school and college, none of us ever played in an “organized athletic event”. There was plenty of time for that later in high school and college. Tons of All Americans emerged from these playgrounds, so even the notion that the kids today are better prepared for organized sports is dubious. Certainly robbing them of the self-reliance and initiative that is learned from playgrounds is a huge loss. Besides, as you beautifully point out, it was just pure raw fun.-- David CordishI am the GM of the bare hills tennis and fitness club. I grew up across from Forest park in Springfield, MA and that’s all we did was play and have fun…no lessons, no formal training. We are trying to get that point across to parents and kids.-- John Mayotte
88.1 FM WYPR WYPO WYPF
12:00-1:00 pm Eastern: As President Obama recalibrates his approach to controversial issues, such as torture and abortion, some of his harshest critics accuse him of being a turncoat. But is this simply the careful approach to decision-making — the cool-headedness — that America voted into office? In this hour of Midday, we'll look at how Obama's presidential identity evolves as he changes his mind on divisive matters like the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, guns and military tribunals. Is he defaulting on campaign promises, or just testing the political waters before taking action? Nuance or flip-flop?
1:00-2:00 pm Eastern: MSNBC's Keith Olbermann Tuesday night badly mispronounced -- unintentionally, or maybe not -- David Zurawik's name, called the Baltimore Sun's media critic one of the "worst persons in the world," and blamed him, me and our Calvert Street news-editorial colleagues for the financial problems of the Sun's parent company. Well, well, well . . . that wasn't too over-the-top, was it? David explains how he earned this tribute from MSNBC's "cartoon version of Edward R. Murrow" in the second hour of today's show.
MIDDAYRODRICKS TWITTER Comments or questions: midday@wypr.org
Jay Harris, who hosts the Radio Flea Market in Baltimore (for 16 years now), read this morning's column and offered info about a pickup baseball game in Baltimore County: "A group of guys and girls have been playing a choose-up game for about 40 years. The game has changed sights and is now at Randallstown Elementary school. We show up on Sunday morning about 9:30, choose up sides and play. Pitching is anything but slo-pitch. Men & women ages 18-72 participate. The guy who holds it together is Sheldon Hyman 410-655-6168. One of the reasons unorganized games have disappeared is the kids can't get there. When I was growing up, we rode our bikes or walked to the fields. The fields are further away and parents are reluctant to allow kids to get out of their sights."
More info: Pickupbaseball on www.twitter.com
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May 25 podcast: A Memorial Day radio trek from Orglandes and La Cambe, to Bazenville and Falaise, through the cemeteries of Normandy, something from the Rodricks archive, 25 years ago: "All Nations Under Stone." Find it at www.wypr.org
After Wednesday's column, a Maryland man who was convicted of daytime housebreaking in the 1980s -- and sentenced to 25 years under the state's three-time loser law -- wrote to me about criminal justice and offender re-entry. It's one of the more thoughtful letters I've received on the subject from one who has been through the system and made the best of the opportunities he was given. The man asked that I not publish his name because, despite being employed, he still thinks knowledge of his criminal past, which included drug addiction, could harm his chances of career advancement. (It already has; he has a degree in human services and has been unable to find a job in that field.) He works now as a power plant engineer.
In 1987, when I first received my sentence, I was devastated. At the age of 24, I thought my life was over. I wasn't eligible for parole until I had completed 17 1/2 years of my sentence in the Division of Corrections. Luckily, I was able to get accepted into Patuxent Institution's program before a lot of the changes were made on admissions there. That gave me a reason to believe that I would get out earlier than the 17 1/2 years the D.O.C. required. I was able to attend college in Patuxent. I received an A.A. Degree in Human Services. Had a 3.955 gpa and was valedictorian of the Class of 1991. After college, I trained in a trade for 6 years before getting into the halfway house on Monument Street.
What I am getting at is mainly what Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld said in another article about accountability. The mindset -- and I have seen it first hand in prison -- is that a lot of inmates think they are owed something. No one wants to do the work to get something. They expect that if they are just a "model prisoner" they should be released and are entitled to a job upon release.
When you go to prison, you put your own self in a big hole. No one can get you out of that hole except you. You have to do twice as much, as the guy who didn't fall into that hole, just to stay even. I have been out since 1999. I have a wife, a 10-year-old daughter, a step-son (who is graduating in June with a Masters Degree in Education), and a good job from the aforementioned trade I trained in for 6 years before being released.
I "armed myself" with the right tools to deal with what I would encounter on the outside. I worked a low paying job when I was released. $10 starting off. I wasn't proud, or think the money was too low. I took and accepted it, and kept looking for something better. I have had some fortunate breaks. But I believe that you make your own breaks. I worked before there was a reward of release.
I understand that not everyone incarcerated is going to be lucky enough to go to college, etc. But you have to be accountable to yourself, if you wish to suceed. You need to be "hardcore" about your goals, not just hardcore.
The DOC needs to develop programs, more along the lines of Patuxent Institution, and invest in the education and training of those individuals who are sincere about reversing their situation. The incentives you talked about in regards to the pre-release program in Montgomery County are along those lines. But you will have those who will try to abuse the programs, and there should be zero-tolerance for abuses, no second chances for a certain amount of time. Resources are not to be wasted. This places a value on the program by inmates, where there is value, there is less likely to be abuse. I do believe that the economy is playing a part in employment opportunities, but there are jobs to be had. Sometimes it involves hard, manual labor. You do what you have to do in order to give yourself that chance for success.
With the economy in the strait that it is in, I don't know if the Govenor is willing, and/or, able to get some of that "stimulus" money to devote to programs that you and I favor. Investment now will save that $25,000-27,000 annually we are spending per inmate, but you can't see that at the ballot box.
My recent column, Asking someone else's son to fight, about Iraq and Afghanistan and the all-volunteer military and the need for a draft, drew a lot of mail. Here are just two -- one from a Vietnam veteran, the other from a veteran of World War II:
You and I do not see eye to eye on almost any political issue but your May
17 column struck a deep emotional chord - both from a very personal
perspective and in a higher philosophical sense.
I am of the Viet Nam generation. I graduated from Emory University in 1967 and I enlisted in the Army out of a sense of duty when some of my generation were running to Canada or Sweden to avoid military service. (I grew up in a part of the
country where people still spoke of a young man's "military obligation"). I
volunteered for infantry officer candidate school and I entertained no
illusions about where I would go or what I would be called upon to do when I
was there. I came home after a year in that place and decided I had combat
experience and training that was invaluable to my country. My belief to
this day is that the backbone of our nation's defense is a strong military
reserve. I also believe that all of us must find some way to give back to
the country and our community so I joined the Army National Guard and stayed
in the reserve 18 more years. When I retired from the National Guard I went
to school and became certified as an Emergency Medical Technician. For the
last nine years I have volunteered my time with a local volunteer fire
company, answering medical 911 calls. It give me an enormous sense of
satisfaction helping people in my community and I believe that I continue to
give something back to the community for all the wonderful things I and my
family enjoy while living in this country.
I have a son (an only child). He is 24 years old. He graduated from
college last May - one year ago this month. He is an engineer - and he has
a great and secure job working at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
I have always told him of my belief that one must find some way to give back
to the country and the community and he has apparently taken me seriously.
He recently announced that he intends to enlist in the Army and go to flight
school. His ambition is to fly the AH-64 - the "Apache" the "baddest dog in
the junkyard." Aside from sharing my belief about giving back I have not
encouraged or even discussed service in the military as something he should
consider. This is something he figured out on his own. He will give up
this secure well-paying job to go do this. Neither he nor I entertain any
illusions about where he will go or what he will be called upon to do when
he is there. I am both enormously proud of him and of course, as a parent,
terribly concerned about the safety of my only child.
That's the personal perspective --a deep personal belief that one must give
back. And, no one can say that I am asking someone else's son to go fight
the fight.
On a more philosophical level, my military experience and my observation of
our country over the last 20 or so years convinces me that discontinuing
military conscription was terrible social policy. There is no doubt that
our present all-volunteer military force is the best the world has ever
seen. From that standpoint, establishing an all-volunteer military has
achieved the goal of producing a military establishment that can stand up to
anyone in the world. The problem is that there is an enormous divide
between the military and the civilian society it is sworn to defend. As you
point out, people are almost totally disconnected. During the time when the
draft was operating, people had a stake in what was going on. The number of
members of Congress who have served in the military has dwindled to a small
handful and the number gets smaller each year. This does not bode well for
the future of our nation. With military conscription we would at least have
a few more people who know to take their hats off at a ballgame when they
play the National Anthem.
-- Jim Weaver Bel Air, MDAfter working my way through college, I graduated from Towson State Teachers College in 1942 and immediately enlisted in the Navy where I spent the next five years as a Naval Reserve Officer in World War II, two of which were spent in the Pacific aboard the aircraft carrier, The USS Enterprise. Then after being
discharged, I taught in the elementary school at McDonogh for three years
after which I was recalled for three more years during the Korean Conflict. I am a retired, 80-year-old educator, having served as the head of the McDonogh Middle School for 32 years.
Sadly, I must admit that I frequently finding myself asking, "Just what in
the Hell was I fighting for?"
In my opinion, as a veteran, there is only one way to fight
a war and that is with an all-out will and determination to win by executing
a continuous surge which must have the full support of every American. Also
it is my firm belief that former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, who
convinced President George W. Bush and the military to invade Iraq with a
scaled-back military, was responsible for our not gaining immediate control
of Iraq and therefore prolonged the war considerably. For this highly
unprofessional decision, I have always thought that Mr. Rumsfeld should have
been court martialed.
It is most disturbing to continually witness the political in-fighting
within our government and among our citizens, the majority of whom seem to
care less about the national issues, and instead of stepping forward with
their full support and appreciation of our military actions, they appear
more interested in pursuing their lives as usual. This to me is a patriotic
sin, particularly in the eyes of our brave military forces whom I am sure at
times are highly confused and wondering, just why am I expected to be
willing to sacrifice my life for my selfish brothers and sisters back home
when they seem willing to use us as pawns in protecting their lives. For
ultimate success in our Global Conflict there is absolutely no room for
conflicting in-fighting politics which appear to be penetrating the
intestinal fortitude required to guarantee success in our present warfare.
It is an absolute must that all American citizens should be properly
educated in the necessary elements required to be successful in this
contemporary conflict to assure our personal survival and our democratic way
of life. We citizens must not be appeased and encouraged to live our lives
as usual, but should be required to feel the pinch in guaranteeing success
just as we executed in WWII.
There is no doubt in my mind that our military must come first, not only
in the front lines, but also in their needed efficient care through rotation
and rehabilitation. Some form of military conscription plan should be instigated in the Army.
It is quite apparent that the global war against terrorism will continue in
full force and frustration for years to come . This along with the need to rotate our strained and fatigued troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus the number of troops, we have in places like Germany, Japan and South Korea and now the threats from Iran and North Korea, means that the demand for additional American troops will be
inevitable.
Therefore, one must ask, will volunteer enlistments be sufficient to meet
these demands?
We can't afford to take the chance of waiting.
First, we must make enlistment more appealing by giving military
volunteers more choices about the areas in which they will receive training
for today's highly technological military before they are transferred to
front-line duty.
And second, we must appoint a congressional committee to investigate the
option for some form of conscription program and then bring the proposal to
the floor of both houses of Congress for an open debate.
We cannot afford to delay: we must be prepared."
-- Quinton D. Thompson Towson, MD
Tom Chuckas, president of the Maryland Jockey Club, said Sunday that he believes
the ban on outside alcohol at the Preakness will have a long-term benefit for one of Maryland's biggest annual sporting events. "Do I have any regrets? The answer is no," Chuckas told the Sun's Gus Sentementes. "Do I intend to reverse the policy? The answer is no."
Ahem. Tom here's the math: Thirty-five thousand fewer people came to your tea dance on Saturday. The cheapest ticket was $50. Had they all come and bought the cheapest ticket and nothing else, your filed-for-bankruptcy company would have an additional $1.75 million in its pocket today. One million seven-hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Sorry, pal. You messed up.
Two quick comments from readers of today's column about President Obama's escalation of the U.S. commitment to the war in Afghanistan and the stress this puts on the all-volunteer military. First one in this morning:
"I do not totally agree with us being in Iraq or Afghanistan or how the war's have been run. However, once in, it is absolutley critical that we as individuals and as a Nation support the troops on the ground. It is a fact of life that a lot of folks from the lower and middle class look at the Service as a means of serving this great Country and as a stepping stone to get ahead (I did). Having served both during the draft era and the all volunteer era, I prefer the all volunteer Military. An all volunteer service eliminates a lot of the folks with "attitude issues" (read - butt heads). It is also a fact of life that a lot of soldiers are on thier third, forth or even fifth combat tour. This puts a severe strain on the soldier, and his/her family. AND that sir, is my major concern . . ."
To which I reply: If that's your major concern, how can you continue to think the all-volunteer force is working?
Second email:
"If the draft were in existence (without going into the merits vel non of the draft), I guarantee you the president (who has obviously become the captive of the generals) would not be sending more troops to Afghanistan. Since 2003, we would have had young guys in the streets protesting. When you have nothing at stake you are perfectly willing to let the other guy do the heavy lifting. Put the draft into effect (Charlie Rangel's exact point) and you make just about everyone liable, therefore fearful, therefore willing to express via demonstration opposition."
I liked Barry Levinson's PoliWood, his "film documentary" on the intersections of politics, media and celebrity in the U.S. It was, first of all, interesting to see Levinson's film-making talents in something approaching a documentary, and I thought he raised some interesting questions about cultural influences on political decision-making that we all by now take for granted. Maybe Levinson did not break any new ground or answer the questions he raises; it was still an interesting 90-minute ride. I have found others who saw PoliWood at the Maryland Film Festival less enthusiastic, among them retired Baltimore Circuit Court Judge (and film enthusiast) Elsbeth Bothe. She refered to the film, which Levinson narrates and in which he frequently appears (a la Michael Moore) as "Barry Levinson's talk show." She was not impressed. "Barry Levinson's talk show was so diffuse and repetitive, overly long," Judge Bothe wrote in an email this week. "I had to leave before getting much chance to hear the discussion afterwards. In my view, it made a banal point in a discombobulated way that could just as well been said and done on one of those cable talk shows Levinson deplores."
Maryland Fourth District Rep. Donna Edwards was the only member of the state's congressional delegation to vote against President Obama's request for nearly $100 billion more in funds for the war in Afghanistan. Edwards was one of 51 Democrats who opposed the president. She was recently in Afghanistan. Here's here explanation of the nay:
“I returned from Afghanistan just a couple of days ago – I could see first-hand the passion and commitment of our servicemen and women, our diplomats, and other civilians. I saw the commitment and courage of Afghan women to build a future for their country. But this supplemental appropriations bill does not get us there. ‘Given its terrain, poverty, neighborhood, and tragic history, Afghanistan in many ways poses an even more complex and difficult long-term challenge than Iraq – one that, despite a large international effort, will require a significant U.S. military and economic commitment for some time.’ Those are the words of Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Yet, this supplemental bill commits our servicemen and women to a war without end, placing them in harm’s way without a plan for being there or a strategy for leaving Afghanistan. . . . I understand that we want to give our President an opportunity to work out a mess that he inherited but did not create. Unfortunately, this Congress and this President must be honest with the American people about what winning really means. We must have a plan that does not wait until we’re mired deeper in a mess that we will not be able to dig out of for a generation.”
The Washington Post reported last week that funding for the war in Afghanistan will soon surpass annual outlays for the war in Iraq, with the fiscal 2010 budget showing $65 billion for Afghanistan and $61 billion for Iraq. (For 2009, the Pentagon requested $87 billion for Iraq and $47 billion for Afghanistan.) The shift in funding is needed because of the deployment of 21,000 more troops to Afghanistan, raising the total commitment there to 68,000. The billions approved by the House on Thursday was just to continue operations through September of this fiscal year, and according to The Post it was $12 billion more than Obama had requested.
Mike from Annapolis, a caller to Midday last week during a discussion about the job hunt in the midst of recession, has some advice for his fellow unemployed:
"It's been an interesting time. I've had several near misses on perfect jobs, and at present, am on pins and needles waiting for yes or no on three promising opportunities where I was a finalist. . . . Obviously we need to network and apply for jobs. But you can go crazy staring at the phone, computer, or mailbox in a vain attempt to 'will' a job offer. Here are a couple of rules of thumb I am trying to live by to keep sane:
1) Walk the dog daily, and repeatedly
2) Exercise
3) Volunteer
4) Minimize (or better yet, quit) drinking ... And NEVER before 5 pm.
5) Don't watch talking-head shows. Very little info. Just raises BP."
One of the funniest men ever, period. He could make me laugh in seconds just by showing up -- on a late-afternoon TV show (Merv, Mike), in prime time (Carol Burnett, Dean Martin) or late night (Johnny Carson), or in a movie. He had memorable roles in Mel Brooks films, my favorite being the medieval Brando-Corleone in Robin Hood: Men in Tights. (He pronounces cannoli "ganool," which is the way Italian -- actually, Sicilian -- immigrants in Brooklyn pronounced it. Like all great comedians, DeLuise was an intelligent listener, with a sharp ear for accents and nuanced speech.) He was born in 1933. Had he been born 20 years later, he would have been a hit on Saturday Night Live and as big a star as Bill Murray or Will Ferrell. I'm going to cook some pasta e fagioli in his memory tonight.
A reader had this to share after reading today's column:
My mother is currently in a nursing home in Windsor, VT. The folks that tend to her are marvelous, like Louie's PT. But whenever I am able to visit, a melancholy seizes me when I think of what this remarkable woman was once like and able to do. Besides her body's decline, she has lost much of her short-term memory. This was the barely 20-year-old woman who hauled me and my brother to a government-run nursery school every day via a two-bus run and then took a third bus to work, repeating the process at the end of each day. This she did for two years while my father served his country in WWII.
My father is deceased, but I could tell you endless stories of these remarkable people who took on life with such confidence and joy despite all that they had experienced as Depression children and War survivors. Who wouldn't be melancholy to see their decline and departure?
What intensifies the melancholy for me and my wife, now leaving our 60s, are the aches and pains, medical problems and failing memory we witness in each other. We are Christians who have always understood that we are living at a dying rate, as one of my seminary profs once put it, and we live with hope for a far better life beyond this. But we have had a truly blessed life thus far and have been able to accomplish much and see much of this conflicted but wondrous world and its people. We have wonderful grown children and three beautiful grandchildren. It is all this that still makes the last days of my mother's life and the autumn of our lives a source of such melancholy. (Imagine writing this in the spring of the year. It must be the unending rain lately.)
Blessings,
Bob Mordhorst
Is swine flu scaring North Americans into stocking up on food and non-perishables the way many did at the approach of Y2K? Are you already into this? Little wonder if you are. In some parts of the country, local television news shows are already reporting those what-you-can-do-to-prepare stories, which are good for "market uplift," as they say in the industry.
But I've heard from people who keep an eye on these things that markets may see an "uplift" in shopping for ready-to-eat canned meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, beans and soups, protein or fruit bars, dry cereal or granola, peanut butter or nuts, dried fruit, canned and bottle juices and bottled water, Gatorade-type fluids, pet food, prescriptions, soap and water or alcohol-based hand wash, medicines for fever, anti-diarrhea meds and vitamins, flashlights, batteries, manual can openers, toilet paper, tissues, and disposable diapers. So far, I'm told, hand sanitizers and antiseptic wipes are seeing a big bump in sales.
From the AP report on last night's Caps-Penguins playoff game, in which the Great Eight, Alexander Ovechkin, scored a hat trick to lead Washington to a 2-0 playoff series lead over Pittsburgh:
Ovechkin nailed a one-timer from the left circle that beat Marc-Andre Fleury on a power play with 7:07 left, then skated between the circles before unleashing a slap shot that sailed past Fleury's glove with 4:38 remaining for his third goal of the game and seventh of the postseason. After the first wave of hats came a second wave, prompting Crosby to speak to the referee about the long delay. "People kept throwing hats," Crosby said. "And I was just asking if he could make an announcement to ask them to stop."
With Sunday's column, on last Sunday's memorial concert for the Browning family of Cockeysville, Sun readers can hear a professional recording of the commissioned piece by Brian Balmages, right, and read the notes he wrote for the concert program.
