Bones

It is always a macabre and chilling sight -- hundreds of densely packed human bones, tumbling out of a shallow pit, unexpectedly exposed by a backhoe or erosion. But it's not some Balkan nightmare. Nearly three dozen of these bone pits, or ossuaries, have turned up in tidewater Maryland since the 1850s, one as recently as 1992. The largest held the remains of hundreds of men, women and children -- 15th- to 17th-century Native Americans who lived in an area that today stretches from Montgomery County to Maryland's Atlantic Coast.

Twenty years ago, scientist Ellen Silbergeld helped prove that lead in gasoline harmed people terribly, then helped rid the United States of the danger. Now she has discovered that although that lead may be forgotten, it's not altogether gone.A new national study conducted by the University of Maryland professor shows that post-menopausal women are finding a sudden, dramatic increase of lead in their blood. Levels can rise an average of 30 percent, Silbergeld says, an increase that also raises the women's risk for hypertension and heart attacks.

Vicki Almond was peering into her computer screen one recent afternoon when a plumber overseeing excavation work at St. Thomas' Church interrupted her with some startling news."

Editor's note: The story of Georgia O'Keeffe and her life, from the canyons of steel in New York City to the red rock canyons in New Mexico.For other suggestions on books about fine arts, see the Summer Reading List on Page 6L.When I was twelve years old, I knew what I wanted -- to be an artist.I rode to town every Saturday to copy pictures from the stack in the art teacher's cupboard.At home, I looked out my window and drew pictures of what I saw.Maybe I could make something beautiful. ...At school in Chicago, I drew from statues in the museum.

SEATTLE -- Rather than summon 20-year-old birthday boy Matt Riley to the majors to fill an opening in the rotation, the Orioles will look to their bullpen and hand tomorrow's assignment in Oakland to right-hander Ricky Bones.This will be Bones' first start as an Oriole since signing as a free agent in December. He's 0-2 with a 5.86 ERA as a reliever.Bones will be appearing in only his third game since coming off the disabled list on July 17. He had been out for two weeks with a tired arm.Manager Ray Miller also had spoken to Scott Kamieniecki about returning to a starter's role in place of Juan Guzman, who was traded to the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.

Though still walking with a slight limp, Orioles first baseman Will Clark said he might be ready to play in today's series finale against Toronto.Clark hasn't started since July 1 because of swelling in his left knee. He took batting practice again yesterday and had been available to pinch-hit the past two games, but manager Ray Miller was reluctant to use him before Clark led off the ninth with a pinch single last night."I'll try to back off him a day or so and make sure he's getting stronger," Miller said before the game.

What was Sue thinking? That's what the Yak asked when he visited Chicago's Field Museum recently to see the famous Tyrannosaurus rex.The museum bought the world's largest, most complete T-rex fossil for $8.4 million in 1997. Workers are now cleaning and repairing Sue's bones, getting her ready to go on display in March 2000.The hot news is that museum paleontologists, or fossil scientists, have a 3D image of Sue's brain.The real brain decomposed 67 million years ago, of course, along with the rest of Sue's soft tissue.

Needing to clear a roster spot for Doug Linton, the Orioles gave pitcher Ricky Bones his outright release after last night's game against the Chicago White Sox was postponed because of rain. It will be made up today as part of a day-night doubleheader.Bones, 30, is free to talk with other clubs, but can't sign with anyone until Tuesday."It's one of the more difficult things in the world to do," said manager Ray Miller. "Maybe not necessarily on a performance level, but when you're talking about such a quality kid and a great worker.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Though Ricky Bones is listed as the Orioles' starter for Sunday's game against Detroit, manager Ray Miller indicated yesterday that a final decision hasn't been made."

Orioles manager Ray Miller has decided to stick with his original plan of giving Ricky Bones another start on Sunday.Miller also was considering left-hander Doug Johns, who followed Bones in Tuesday's 12-2 loss in Oakland. Bones, making his first start in almost two years, gave up four runs in the third inning before being pulled with two outs. Johns allowed four more runs in the fourth."I'm not going to judge [Bones] off that one outing," Miller said. "He did throw 60 pitches. We'll give him another outing and see if he can go a little better."

Psssst! Here's a stock tip for you: Make your own. Hot turkey sandwiches aren't the only option for Thanksgiving leftovers. Break up that turkey carcass, add some aromatic vegetables and perhaps a couple of uncooked chicken wings, cover with cold water and simmer. In a couple of hours, you will have what cookbook author Lauren Groveman calls "liquid gold," a rich, deeply flavored poultry stock that can enhance the flavor of everything from rice and vegetables to homemade soups and rich sauces.

No one makes a bad sitcom quite as badly as Fox. OK, yes there was the old UPN in 1998 and The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, starring Chi McBride, an otherwise terrific actor in a role I am sure he would like to forget as a fictional butler at the White House of President Abra- ham Lincoln. ( Yes, it was a sitcom -- look it up!) Do Not Disturb , a new workplace comedy starring Jerry O'Connell and pre- miering on Fox tonight , isn't that awful, but it is both bad and offensive in its depiction of some of the workers at a small hotel, The pilot is all about secret sexual trysts in the workplace, including the hookups involving supervisors.

A duffel bag containing a skull and what are believed to be three human bones was found in a Jarrettsville chicken coop yesterday, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office. The bones, found in the 1400 block of Rock Ridge Road, are to be taken to the medical examiner's office today, said Sgt. Dave Betz, Harford County Sheriff's Office spokesman. One of the bones contained markings of what appeared to be a stamp or writing, Betz said. Investigators are trying to determine whether the bones were used in an educational setting or whether a crime is involved.

Critic's Pick -- Brennan (Emily Deschanel) tries to figure out whether the Gormogon killer has a friend on the inside on Bones (8 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45).

Critic's Pick -- The team is quarantined over Christmas after Zack (Eric Millegan) accidentally releases deadly spores in Bones (8 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45).

Harley Garbani excused himself, ducked out of the room and returned with a savage set of 6-inch teeth and claws. "Take a look," he said, displaying the finer, if sharper points of a Tyrannosaurus rex. "If he picks you up with these, you can kiss your butt goodbye." That fate seems unlikely these days even if Garbani's home is more appropriate to, say, Jurassic Park than the trailer park in Hemet, Calif., where he lives. Moving from room to room is a journey of a few feet spanning millions of years.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The bones are whispering to Heather Walsh-Haney. Laid out on a stainless-steel examination table, they're hinting at the secrets of death that the forensic anthropologists are working hard to understand. How old are they? Whom do they belong to? And how did they die? "They can give you a tremendous amount of information," said Walsh-Haney, a 39-year-old professor at nearby Florida Gulf Coast University. "You just have to know how to read them." The eight skeletons are part of an unfolding detective story in this small city two hours south of Tampa.

Imagine a beautifully nuanced sauce built from a stock you've made in your own kitchen, coaxed from bones and aromatic vegetables and herbs. Imagine the slow pot, the beautiful machinery of a recipe, the way a dish can be assembled by degrees: stock from bone, sauce from stock, and from that sauce a dish to crown a perfectly realized meal. Yet a sauce is only as good as the ingredients used to make it. Which, for many sauces, means that a sauce is only as good as the stock that serves as its foundation.

MORRIS, CONN. / / Architect David Sellers feels certain there are folks out there willing to spend $1,950 to hunker down for a night in a cave. Not just any cave, of course. This is a custom-built retreat made from enormous boulders. Windows shaped like eyes offer views of a vast meadow. A huge stone fireplace -- so big it has a Jack-and-the-Beanstalk feel -- looms at the foot of the king-size bed. "People are going to see it," Sellers said, "and think, 'Oh my God, I've always wanted to get inside a giant rock pile.

NEW YORK -- Outraged relatives of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks - saying the revelation that more remains of victims have been found sparks the fresh pain of a reopened wound - demanded again yesterday that New York City launch a comprehensive search and give their loved ones a proper burial. City leaders, meanwhile, huddled in a closed-door meeting where they vowed to conduct a new search of underground sites similar to the manhole where Consolidated Edison workers stumbled upon the remains two days ago. The relatives also called for state and federal investigations into the failure to collect remains from Ground Zero, saying the fact that more were found five years after the terrorist attacks - and for the second time in the past year - is unacceptable and suggests the city does not take the task seriously.