Decorum

That Juan "Chi Chi" Rodriguez can strike a golf ball with precision and create numbers that make an impressive scoreboard picture have been well established. It also carries a degree of importance that he can make all the shots and even entertain with an enormous splash of showmanship.But nothing compares to the personal qualities of this humble man from the sugar cane fields of Puerto Rico who fought off dire poverty and ultimately touched the stars. He's at the top of the leader board when it comes to evaluating character, citizenship and caring about others.

WASHINGTON -- Dick Armey spent eight months last year preparing for a Republican takeover few others believed would happen. But the No. 2 House Republican has found an area he overlooked: coping with life in the limelight.The majority leader's recent gaffe, in which he referred to openly gay Rep. Barney Frank as "Barney Fag," caused a political uproar from which the seven-term Texan says he has still not recovered."I was shocked . . . that nobody would believe me," said Mr. Armey, who contends he simply stumbled over Mr. Frank's name and out came a word that, coincidentally, was a slur against homosexuals.

Mintz with BSOWhen: Thursday and Friday at 8:15 p.m.Where: Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.Tickets: $15-$30.Call: (410) 783-8000. With his blond good looks, his scintillating virtuosity and his creamy tone, it's all too easy to think of Shlomo Mintz as the picture-book image of a popular violinist -- the kind of fiddler who perpetually trots out the masterpieces of Brahms, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky to adoring audiences.Mintz, who performs Bruch's "Scottish Fantasy" with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra this week, is indeed immensely popular.

One unfortunate by-product of the warm weather is that the sidewalks, parks and outdoor cafes are again filling with young lovers, who are surely the most annoying people on the planet.With hormones raging at full throttle, they feel compelled to publicly announce their lust by entwining in passionate embraces at outdoor concerts or groping at each other during long, soulful walks on the boardwalk.Or they might be found in the midway at the state fair, furiously grinding their lips into each other, oblivious to the fact that there are upward of 500 people staring at them, including the heavily tattooed operator of the "World's Largest Rat!"

T here was the Maryland judge who was accused of letting the air out of a janitor's tires. And the one who ordered a spectator to jail for 10 days because she had called out "love you" to her handcuffed brother. How about the judge who was found to have paid for sex with a prostitute in his chambers? Ostensibly, they are embodiments of probity, stern arbiters of right and wrong, evenhanded enforcers of the law. But sometimes the things judges say and do get them into as much hot water as the defendants awaiting judgment before them.

Edward Fitzgerald Shea Jr., an attorney known for his efforts to uphold courtroom decorum, died Saturday of complications of coronary artery disease at St. Agnes Hospital. He was 70 and lived in Catonsville.Mr. Shea, who had been a lawyer for more than 40 years, was a partner in the Baltimore law firm of Kaplan, Greenberg, Engleman & Belgrad. His specialty was public utility law.His efforts locally and nationally to improve attorneys' courtroom conduct earned him recognition as the "Father of Professionalism," according to colleagues.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story is mostly stupid and tasteless, which makes it no different from 98 percent of what passes for comedies these days. But it's also pointed and satiric. Best of all, one must hasten to admit, it's pretty funny. A slap at all things pompous and mean-spirited, Dodgeball takes a sport we all played as kids - admit it, you were one of the kids everyone else ganged up on, right? - and uses it as an equalizer, a chance for the downtrodden to emerge victorious, against both great odds and common sense.

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- For diplomats, those courtiers of courtesy, those Princes of Polite, there's a whole lot of snubbing going on in the negotiations over south Lebanon.In their efforts to achieve a cease-fire, the parties have dropped their deferential ways, and are slighting each other like rivals in a beauty queen contest.First, the Americans did little to hide their disdain for the presence in the area last week of a handful of foreign ministers of other countries, including France and Russia, trying to assert some influence.

I was sitting in the splendor of Citronelle restaurant savoring forkfuls of roasted duck with bordelaise cinnamon sauce and taking sips of a knock-your-cuff links-off red wine, Autard '89 Chateauneuf Du Pape, when suddenly a crumb appeared on the corner of my mouth.The crumb was bad form. It had to be disposed of, properly. I picked up my napkin and brought it to the corner of my mouth. I did not blot or wipe with the napkin. I dabbed. The crumb was history.I knew that my dinner companion, etiquette expert Mary Mitchell, approved of my dabbing.

Each winter, they come to Annapolis in droves -- public-spirited citizens eager to share their views on legislation that could make a difference.Little do they know what awaits them.Interminable waiting, arbitrary time limits, brusque chairmen, absent and inattentive members -- all are often part of the experience of testifying before the Maryland General Assembly.Treatment of witnesses can be so bad that Annapolis veterans say the two main unwritten laws of public hearings are:1. Hurry up and wait.