Breakfast Club

Ah, if her fans could see her now! Molly Ringwald, permanently ensconced in the minds of Gen-X film buffs as the redheaded heroine of John Hughes' teen trilogy -- Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink -- is currently kicking up her heels in a considerably more mature role. SWEET CHARITY -- Runs Tuesday through April 22 at the Hippodrome, 12 N. Eutaw St. -- $27-$72 -- 410-547-SEAT or BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com

Leonard E. Brown, a retired telephone company lineman, died of congestive heart failure Wednesday at Anne Arundel Medical Center. He was 80. Mr. Brown, known as Lenny, lived in Annapolis. Until retiring in 1984, he was a lineman and central office repairman for C&P Telephone Co., said his son Steven Brown of Centreville. He was born in Baltimore, grew up in Waverly and attended City College before serving in the Navy from 1945 to 1947. His family said he loved to go sailing, fishing and crabbing in the Chesapeake Bay. He liked to search the water for small treasures, using a metal detector to locate watches and other items.

Flashing a big smile to show off her missing teeth, 7-year-old Gretchie Coates reached up to give "Miss B" a hug in front of the breakfast counter.The smell of frying bacon and freshly baked biscuits filled the air as the first sleepy-eyed children wandered through the door. Some stopped briefly to shed their winter coats and book bags. But most rushed right up to the counter for a plate full of scrambled eggs and a cup of hot chocolate."I come every morning," Gretchie said, smacking her lips as she eyed the tray of hot buttered biscuits.

The great Ray Charles stars as himself in 1964's Blues for Lovers, spending half his time singing, the other half helping a sightless boy get to Paris for an operation. The movie, being shown at 7 p.m. Wednesday as part of the summer film series at An die Musik, 409 N. Charles St., was directed by Paul Henreid, best known for playing Victor Laszlo in Casablanca. The program includes some appearances by Charles on The Dick Cavett Show. Tickets are $8. Information: 410-385-2638 or andiemusiklive.

Every generation deserves its Breakfast Club. This one can do better than The Perfect Score, even if its cast does include hot-young-actress-of-the-moment Scarlett Johansson. The Breakfast Club, about a group of high school kids in detention fighting adults' condescending attitude toward them, was one of those seminal films that burns its way onto a generation's psyche, a clarion call for understanding and identity, a plea by a younger generation for its elders to give them a break. Written and directed by John Hughes at the height of his abilities, its charismatic young cast (including Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy and Anthony Michael Hall)

Proving political activism is ageless, about 150 elderly people turned out yesterday for a breakfast to support Democrats Barbara Mikulski and Tom McMillen in their re-election bids.The group, mostly from Anne Arundel County and the southern neighborhoods of Baltimore City, went to Michael's Eighth Avenue sporting campaign buttons and enthusiasm."I was born and raised a Democrat," said Walter Miles, from Baltimore's Curtis Bay neighborhood. "They can be trusted."Emma Tolodziecki, also from Curtis Bay, agreed.

Washington -- There's no business as cruel as show business, no business I know.Take the case of Anthony Michael Hall . . . please.Not 10 years ago he was the Macauley Culkin of the '80s. In two successive John Hughes films -- "16 Candles" and "The Breakfast Club" -- his cute freckled face, his thatch of red straw hair, and his ingratiating ways propelled him into the status of American icon. He was the geek as boy next door, Peck's bad boy, Peter Pan and Huck Finn all rolled up into one.And then a terrible thing happened.

Gov. William Donald Schaefer will talk to a newly formed political club here Sunday morning about "unity in the Democratic Party."Organizers say State Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein and Representative Benjamin L. Cardin, D-3rd, will also be present at the inaugural meeting of the Breakfast Club of Howard County. Council member Paul R. Farragut, D-4th, and state Delegate Virginia Thomas, D-13A, also plan tobe present, organizers said.County Council member Shane Pendergrass, D-1st, is the club's moderator.

Leonard E. Brown, a retired telephone company lineman, died of congestive heart failure Wednesday at Anne Arundel Medical Center. He was 80. Mr. Brown, known as Lenny, lived in Annapolis. Until retiring in 1984, he was a lineman and central office repairman for C&P Telephone Co., said his son Steven Brown of Centreville. He was born in Baltimore, grew up in Waverly and attended City College before serving in the Navy from 1945 to 1947. His family said he loved to go sailing, fishing and crabbing in the Chesapeake Bay. He liked to search the water for small treasures, using a metal detector to locate watches and other items.

Poetry, they say, is about living, and that is something 28-year-old actress Ally Sheedy has definitely done. At 18 she moved to Hollywood and quickly became a star. She's appeared in such hit films as "Bad Boys," "The Breakfast Club," "St. Elmo's Fire," "Short Circuit" and most recently "Betsy's Wedding." Although she was critically acclaimed for her blithe movie portrayals, her life in the late '80s was far from light and happy: She battled bulimia, went through terrible depressions and became addicted to drugs.

During a recent spring-cleaning at my mother's house, the basement rafters gave up a treasure. A rod and reel - my dad's - covered in dust and rust was wedged between some cracked plastic sheeting used to cover basement windows and some ancient curtain rods. I hadn't seen it in years, make that decades, since my dad and grandfather used to take me fishing on the Pennsylvania portion of the Susquehanna River, from Tunkhannock to Laceyville. I figured it had disappeared in 1972, when the floodwaters of Hurricane Agnes swept away Uncle Walter's riverfront cabin, lock, stock and hammock.

Ah, if her fans could see her now! Molly Ringwald, permanently ensconced in the minds of Gen-X film buffs as the redheaded heroine of John Hughes' teen trilogy -- Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink -- is currently kicking up her heels in a considerably more mature role. SWEET CHARITY -- Runs Tuesday through April 22 at the Hippodrome, 12 N. Eutaw St. -- $27-$72 -- 410-547-SEAT or BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com

Oh, the '80s. Madonna. Mix tapes. Top Gun. Shoulder pads. Big hair. Ferris Bueller. Prince and The Revolution (pre-weird symbol). The DeLorean. Smurfs. If you were too young or too dweeby to take it to the max back then, some small part of you wishes you could turn back time and find a way to relive that decadent decade. This is your ticket. From food and clothes to cartoons and concerts, this is the recipe for an everything-'80s weekend. Take these tips straight-up or put your own spin on them -- just don't get too wrapped up. "We can't actually become the '80s," said TV personality Mo Rocca, who appeared on VH1's I Love the 80s and I Love the 80s Strikes Back.

`Cotton Club' spins woe No doubt trouble's in the air at a roaring jazz joint that mingles music, mobsters and molls. Gregory Hines plays a 1920s star of the stage who faces discrimination off the job in The Cotton Club (8 p.m.-10:15 p.m., TMC). At a glance Cuts (8:30 p.m.-9 p.m., WUTB, Channel 24) - Kevin pushes Tiffany's beau to propose, thinking that's the key to running the salon solo. UPN. The Bachelor (9 p.m.-11 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) - Charlie O'Connell gets a look at the bachelorette harem that will fight over him. ABC. Las Vegas (9 p.m.-10 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11)

Every generation deserves its Breakfast Club. This one can do better than The Perfect Score, even if its cast does include hot-young-actress-of-the-moment Scarlett Johansson. The Breakfast Club, about a group of high school kids in detention fighting adults' condescending attitude toward them, was one of those seminal films that burns its way onto a generation's psyche, a clarion call for understanding and identity, a plea by a younger generation for its elders to give them a break. Written and directed by John Hughes at the height of his abilities, its charismatic young cast (including Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy and Anthony Michael Hall)

An interview with Lita Schabra Parke, founder of the Breakfast Club book club. Why do you call yourselves "the Breakfast Club"? We're actually looking for a new name, but we met for the first time in July for breakfast - [at] Bob Evans - but because of the makeup of the group we have been moving the time around to meet everyone's schedule, and now we meet in the evening. How did you get started? Was there some spark? I read a book called Honey for a Woman's Heart by Gladys Hunt, and that book spurred me to take action.

Monday mornings at the South County Senior Center wouldn't be the same without Marie Lomax and her sister-in-law Chrystal Clements.The two women from Edgewater cook and serve the first meal of the day for tables full of men dubbed The Breakfast Club.And they do it for free.Last month, Mrs. Lomax, 66, and Mrs. Clements, 68, were honored by the center for their volunteer efforts to establish the breakfast program.Eight months ago, Mrs. Lomax and a friend, Helen Hopkins, approached the center's activities director with an idea.

An interview with Lita Schabra Parke, founder of the Breakfast Club book club. Why do you call yourselves "the Breakfast Club"? We're actually looking for a new name, but we met for the first time in July for breakfast - [at] Bob Evans - but because of the makeup of the group we have been moving the time around to meet everyone's schedule, and now we meet in the evening. How did you get started? Was there some spark? I read a book called Honey for a Woman's Heart by Gladys Hunt, and that book spurred me to take action.

In the early morning at an Annapolis tavern every Wednesday, coffee and fruit-filled pastries are served with a heavy dollop of conservative politics and Republican humor.It's where a joke like "it takes a village idiot to vote for Clinton," can find a favorable audience, and people who meet an hour before their day jobs can freely discuss tax caps and crime, talk strategy or swap a joke or two.As cream and sugar is swirled into steaming cups of coffee at the Middleton Tavern, where the Wednesday Republican Breakfast Club meets every week, members talk of hope and the belief that the city of Annapolis, and Maryland as well, are on the verge of becoming more Republican-friendly.

Eldridge and Carr running for HouseJohn C. Eldridge Jr. and Steve Carr, both of Annapolis, have launched campaigns for seats in the Maryland House of Delegates.Each is seeking the Democratic nomination to one of three seats in District 30, which includes Annapolis and the lower Broadneck Peninsula.Mr. Eldridge, 27, has worked as the legislative aide to Anne Arundel's 13-member House contingent for the past two years. He also was elected to the county Democratic Central Committee in 1990.Mr.