Boulder

BOULDER, Colo. - With its excellent public services, rich cultural offerings and fall afternoons that glisten like gold in a prospector's pan, it is no wonder that this outdoor-recreation mecca has also become a retirement paradise. But for transplanted and local retirees alike, getting to see a doctor can be even harder than registering for one of Boulder's overbooked computer classes for seniors. Medicare cards, long considered a guarantee of health care in old age, are proving little better than fool's gold.

It's easy for internationally renowned musician Shodekeh to journey with just carry-on luggage; his instrument travels in his soul. The Baltimore-based beatboxer and vocal percussionist performs in a multitude of genres and music domains, including dance and the visual arts. By channeling the concepts of musical instruments and soundscapes, he vocalizes dynamic emulations of everything; drum sets, turntables, ocean waves, sleigh bells. Shodekeh is the founding director of "Embody, A Music Series of The Vocal Arts," which strives for artistic and cultural unity through the vocal traditions of the world, ranging from opera to beatboxing.

ANNAPOLIS - They call him "Boulder" because he looks like one, a compact ball of flesh and bone. The nickname fits Navy fullback Clarence Cee Harris - though anyone 5 feet 3 who'd play big-time college football must surely have rocks in his head. Day after day, practice after practice, Harris chugs on, a dinghy amid the destroyers. At 63 inches, he's something of a national wonder, the shortest of all players in Division I-A. Why risk getting squashed some more? "We're all made differently; it's what you do with it that counts," said Harris, a sophomore from Chesapeake Beach, in Calvert County.

LAUREL -- The Maryland-built NEAR spacecraft buzzed the asteroid Eros early yesterday, flying to within 18,000 feet of its boulder-strewn surface -- the cruising altitude of a commuter airliner. It was the nearest any spacecraft has ever come to an asteroid, and scientists lost no time poring over the first of the 227 high-resolution pictures NEAR sent back, looking for clues to the structure, geology and history of Eros' surface. The first images revealed a landscape sculpted by faint craters and littered with boulders -- some the size of houses, others as small as 4 feet across.

A passenger was killed, and the driver and a second passenger were seriously injured early yesterday when a car ran off the Inner Loop of the Baltimore Beltway and crashed, state police said. The Chevrolet Cavalier was eastbound on the Beltway near Providence Road at 2:17 a.m. when the driver lost control. It traveled down an embankment off the right shoulder and struck a boulder before going airborne backwards and crashing into a light pole and a guardrail, said Tfc. David Johnson of the Golden Ring Barracks.

EL PASO, Texas - In bouldering lingo, a climbing route is called a "problem." Some problems here in Hueco Tanks State Historic Site are tougher than others. Mine was a gentle overhang pocked with shallow depressions, among the easiest routes in the park. No need for a 5-inch-thick pad to soften my landing, I thought. After all, I'm only a few feet off the ground. I clung to the gritty granite, struggling against gravity until my grip on a thin ledge failed and I fell to a flat, slanting rock below, landing on my keister on the desert floor.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Of all the dangers facing U.S. forces in Haiti, perhaps none is more feared than the tarantula spider. Except perhaps the poisonous centipede. Or the banana spider, a nasty little critter with a yellow body and a painful bite. Not to mention the millions of mosquitoes and fleas, which can make life impossibly irritating."I've seen tarantulas as big as footballs when they're spread out," said Master Sgt. Timothy McMahon, 37, a veteran of 18 years' service with the Air Force.

BOULDER, Colo. -- A Boulder County district judge released portions of the autopsy of JonBenet Ramsey yesterday, indicating that the 6-year-old beauty princess was not only strangled but also suffered severe head injuries and some kind of sexual assault.The judge, Carol Glowinsky, issued a truncated version of the coroner's report, ruling that "release of certain portions of the autopsy report of JonBenet Ramsey would substantially injure the public interest."The portions made public do not give the time of death or the location of the body.

Tiger Woods had an unusual problem during the final round of the 1999 Phoenix Open golf tournament.Tiger's tee shot on the 13th hole landed right in front of a 1,000-pound boulder. Uh-oh! He could not take a full swing. Then he had an idea.Tiger asked the fans if they would move the boulder for him. Twelve guys lifted the boulder.After it was moved, Tiger had room to lash a great shot. Tiger thanked the fans and kept playing the rest of the hole. He birdied the hole.You were the rules official.

In mid-January, my boyfriend, Rob, and I went to a jeweler in Towson to find a watch for him. Being a particular fellow, he spent over an hour trying on watches while I struggled to maintain interest. We then took a walk around the mall so he could mull over his choices, and by the time we returned I was ready for some Me time. I pointed to a canary-ish ring in the case and asked to try it on. Rob and I had discussed engagement rings before. I knew I wanted a solitaire, preferably canary, with a thin band.