Bali

SARS, the war in Iraq and worldwide terrorist threats are keeping some people from going abroad, but not Elliott Hester. The longtime flight attendant and author of Plane Insanity: A Flight Attendant's Tales of Sex, Rage and Queasiness at 30,000 Feet embarked in October on an open-ended round-the-world adventure. Starting from his home port in Miami, Hester moved west on a global route that allows for a "perpetual summer." Along the way, he is sending back "Continental Drifter" dispatches, which are being syndicated in newspapers and also are available on his Web site, www.elliotthester.

A Memorable Place A colorful flock greets Florida visitors In February I anticipated a visit to south Florida by imagining lying on the beach and tranquilizing myself with the sound of the ocean. The scene didn't include parrots. When I got to Florida, my son persuaded me to spend a day at Parrot Jungle, near Coral Gables and Coconut Grove, off Route 1 in Miami. "It's unusual," my son said. "You'll love it." So my sister, brother-in-law and I trekked off to find the parrots. Although I never have been particularly fond of birds, I became entranced with the beautiful, winding nature trail that had been dug out of coral rock at Parrot Jungle.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA -- In this city of sparkling beauty, trash cans are considered terrorist weapons. Fearing they might be used as hiding places for bombs, officials had them removed from train station platforms. The waiting passenger without a place to put an empty coffee cup is also inundated with a billboard and electronic-screen message borrowed from post-9/11 New York: "If you see something, say something." Australia, the land of free spirits a day's flight from Baltimore, does not usually register on the map of potential trouble spots.

The World Iraq grudgingly agreed to a United Nations resolution requiring it to disarm and submit to unconditional weapons inspections. The voice of Osama bin Laden appeared to be on an audiotape that aired on the Al-Jazeera network. It included praise of the Oct. 12 attack in Bali. U.S. officials said the tape was authentic. Confessed Bali bomber Amrozi, laughing and joking as Indonesia's top policeman questioned him about his role in the Oct. 12 attack, said that he was delighted with what happened.

Picture yourself on an exotic tropical island. Living in paradise in your own little world. Relaxing, savoring the sun, sipping something tasty. You could have the life -- well, almost -- in your own backyard. Yes, your own lovely backyard. Home designer John Hardy, who has lived in Bali for the past 27 years, has created a backyard paradise for average folks. OK, not exactly average folks. But for homeowners who can afford to toss around $15,000. Hardy's creation is a Bale, an open-sided bamboo pavilion with grass-thatched roof, like ancient Hindu living quarters.

Carol Hackney, a land preservation activist, has lived on two farms named Cold Saturday Farm in Carroll County -- one is her home on Oakland Road in Eldersburg, and the original was her childhood home a few miles away in Finksburg. Hackney's parents had bought the first Cold Saturday Farm at auction. Her father, H. Hamilton Hackney, was a judge in Baltimore's juvenile court who retired in 1943. He was from Pittsburgh, and her mother, Alice, was from New York City, but they met in Wyoming.

WHAT is it? The Bali Mynah is one of about 15 species of mynah, a type of Asian bird that can be trained to mimic human language. It's smaller than the Greater Hill mynah, the big black-and-yellow bird most people think of when they think of mynahs. It's almost all white, with turquoise eye patches, black wing bars and a white crest.WHERE does it live? On Bali, one of about 13,600 islands that make up the Republic of Indonesia, in southeast Asia.IS it endangered? Extremely. There are fewer than 20 left in the wild.

A senior midfielder at Oakland Mills, Bali Boule is a team captain and four-year starter. Along with her leadership and ball skills, she brings a long and accurate throw-in that the Scorpions use as a primary weapon. A second-team All-County midfielder last season, Boule led the team in scoring during the regular season this fall with six goals and eight assists - four coming from her long throw. Soccer has long been Boule's passion, having played club ball for 12 years. With a 3.12 grade point average, Boule is considering a number of colleges, with James Madison and Towson topping her list.

Maryland has a new literary light. He is Brad Barkley, of Frostburg, where he teaches college students. Short stories by Barkley have livened the literary quarterlies, but "Money, Love" (Norton, 336 pages, $24.95) is his first novel. It may or may not become a bestseller, this book about an errant father, mother and teen-age son in North Carolina in the mid-1970s, but readers who value insight and meaning will be interrupting one another to announce this new author's arrival. As young Gabe Strickland tells it, his father had an unerring knack for predicting trends after they'd already arrived.

Dr. George Ulysses Balis, 68, who directed the psychiatric education of University of Maryland's medical students for many years, died of cancer Monday at that institution's hospital.The Greek-born physician, who began his teaching career at the medical school in 1966, was the author or editor of 11 books and numerous scholarly articles. Though he was a specialist in the field of eating disorders and depression, he was best known as an esteemed teacher."He had a strong speaking voice and was a passionate person.