Doughnut

It's National Doughnut Day.  You get a free doughnut at Dunkin' Donuts with the purchase of a beverage. And Krispy Kreme is just plain old giving a free doughnut to anyone who comes in, with no purchase necessary. But ake a look at the stressed-out comments on the promotion's Facebook page. One commenter said, "Our store said we couldn't get an apple fritter or a bar. I thought 'any variety' would mean ANY variety. " Follow-up commenters try to explain that a fritter is not a doughnut.

Count Orioles first-round draft pick Kevin Gausman among those devastated by the news that snack food company Hostess is closing its doors. Other than his promise as a future front-line, right-handed starter, Gausman -- the fourth overall pick in June's draft out of LSU -- is known for having a quirky set of superstitions. Among them is eating four powdered mini-doughnuts before innings when he pitches. His preferred mini-doughnut of choice is Hostess' powdered Donettes.

Dunkin' Donuts, the article in The Sun says, will add 172 locations in the Baltimore-Washington area, in which the company believes that it has identified ''one of the country's most doughnut-prone populations.''How did they find out that I am doughnut-prone?Did they detect the beginnings of a paunch? Is there a lingering aroma of grease like a nimbus around my clothes? Did someone see confectioner's sugar sprinkled on my lapel? Do I display the meditative but furtive countenance of an incipient dunker?

During his meeting with reporters Tuesday, Orioles manager Buck Showalter joked that he would have doughnuts waiting for Saturday's mystery starter -- a reference to first-round draft pick Kevin Gausman, who actually will be pitching for LSU this weekend in the NCAA Super Regionals. The quirky right-hander eats four mini-doughnuts in between innings during games he starts . Could that superstition fly in Baltimore? “We'll have to run that by Brady,” Showalter said, referring to club special assistant and fitness guru Brady Anderson.

IT'S FUNNY how people get distracted from what is important. Take for example what happened a few weeks ago when I got that dreaded call from my home-security service that the alarm at my house had gone off and I needed to go there immediately.I called the hospital where my wife is a nurse to advise her of the potential calamity and ran to the parking deck to wake up Ol' Betsy, my 13-year-old vehicle of choice.Traveling moderately fast on the highway, not wanting to risk a speeding ticket from an unsympathetic traffic cop, I saw something that completely shifted my thoughts.

Recently, one of my most closely held beliefs about the world fell apart before my eyes (and taste buds) when I found out the truth about where doughnuts come from.Admit it. You thought it was a doughnut machine, too, didn't you?Ah, the doughnut machine, star attraction of my favorite childhood stories. Having read "The Doughnut," by Robert McCloskey, from his book, "Homer Price," at least a baker's dozen times, the description of the workings of Uncle Ulysses' doughnut machine whirs readily to mind:"The rings of batter kept right on dropping into the hot fat, and an automatic gadget kept right on turning them over, and another automatic gadget kept right on giving them a little push, and the doughnuts kept right on rolling down the little chute, just as regular as a clock can tick."

Katharine Heuisler was getting driving lessons at Windsor Castle exactly 50 years ago this month.The Allied invasion of France was less than a month away and she was a Red Cross worker behind the wheel of a huge General Motors six-wheeler, a doughnut truck, one specially made to bring crullers and coffee to the troops fighting in World War II.Today she recounts those days as she sits in her North Baltimore apartment. One large scrap book is filled with the letters signed "Kassy" that she wrote to her family.

Anna "Nancy" Penn, who had owned a chain of doughnut shops and video stores with her husband, died of cancer Tuesday at Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville. The former Ellicott City resident was 76. Anna Marie Bemkey was born in Baltimore and raised on Barre Street. She was a graduate of Seton High School and worked briefly as a secretary at Calvert Distillery in Relay. In 1951, she married Reynold J. Penn, a businessman who opened a Dunkin' Donuts shop on Frederick Road in the 1960s.

The heady aroma of fried dough seems to bring memories of sunburned days in Ocean City for customers of the Fractured Prune, the new doughnut shop in Columbia's Hickory Ridge Village Center. That is because, until recently, Fractured Prune doughnuts were available only in Ocean City. Now, franchises are popping up throughout Maryland and the East Coast, including two in Howard County. "We used to go the beach every year since I was a kid, and we would have a tradition of going to the Fractured Prune," said Les Wachterman, who lives in Columbia and recently purchased a chocolate-covered doughnut from the Columbia outlet.

Severna Park goalkeeper Jason Zaks has a weird way of preparing for soccer games.At 8 o'clock the night before a big game, the junior can be found sitting at the Doughnut Shack on Ritchie Highway in Severna Park, enjoying a strawberry frosted doughnut and a medium punch."

  In the coming days, we'll learn quite a bit about the Orioles' first-round draft pick, Kevin Gausman of LSU . But, as quick primer, the kid is full of superstitions. Among them is an intricate ritual the right-handed pitcher goes through while putting on his socks. But perhaps the most interesting is his love for powdered doughnuts, which he scarfs in the dugout between innings. More details from a profile on LSU's web site : He eats one powdered donut before taking the mound, something that he's done since the 7th grade.

It's National Doughnut Day.  You get a free doughnut at Dunkin' Donuts with the purchase of a beverage. And Krispy Kreme is just plain old giving a free doughnut to anyone who comes in, with no purchase necessary. But ake a look at the stressed-out comments on the promotion's Facebook page. One commenter said, "Our store said we couldn't get an apple fritter or a bar. I thought 'any variety' would mean ANY variety. " Follow-up commenters try to explain that a fritter is not a doughnut.

Assuming you've burned off enough calories at free yoga and fitness classes, here's a special treat: Friday, June 3 is National Doughnut Day ! And some companies plan to mark the occasion with promotions. Dunkin' Donuts is offering a free doughnut with drink purchase while supplies last. Bottled beverages displayed in the store's cooler don't qualify, actually, so plan to get something at the counter. Customers are also encouraged to follow @DunkinDonuts on Twitter, with hints that more prizes may be available.

Not everybody at The Sun gets to spend their day in the fresh air and sunshine at Pimlico. Some of us have to stay downtown to help get the paper together and work on the website. But we're not missing out on the festivities altogether. Peter Hermann and I recently enjoyed a few Black-eyed Susan doughnuts, which I bought at the Dunkin Donuts near the Sun offices on my way in this morning. I was surprised to see them, so I got two. It seems to me that it's more reminiscent of the flower than the famed Preakness day libation.

Somehow, it's not hard to imagine Richie Fields at 16, driving a van down Coastal Highway at 3 a.m. to deliver fresh doughnuts from his parents' Ocean City bakery to a chain of convenience stores. With his contagious grin and friendly personality, he's always been something of a natural salesman. But picture the future country music singer negotiating a side deal to navigate his doughnut-shop-on-wheels around the streets of a trailer park at 8 a.m. each weekday, honking his horn and calling out, "Doughnuts, pastries!"

The family members arrived with signs and flags and messages of thanks to hand out on the pier. A local businessman showed up with 120 dozen doughnuts; a school in Park Heights brought every one of its students to stand and cheer. And when crew members of the USNS Comfort finally walked through the gates at Canton Pier on Friday, hoisting the belongings they'd taken during a seven-week tour providing emergency medical care in Haiti, the kids screamed and pressed certificates of thanks into their hands.

SOME MONTHS ago, a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts store opened near me and I discovered a way of life that has all but vanished from this country.At Krispy Kreme, nobody obsesses about calories or fat content or fitting into a size 8 cocktail dress.Nobody sits around swapping nutrition tips or discussing how their workout went at the gym that morning.At Krispy Kreme, if you brought up the subject of your latest cholesterol reading, someone at the next table would probably put down his chocolate iced doughnut and whack you over the head with a rolled-up newspaper and tell you to shut up.That's one reason why I love doughnut people.

F at Tuesday is a day I support in a two-fisted manner, with both of my fists covered with powdered sugar. The idea behind Fat Tuesday, or in French, Mardi Gras, is that sinners get one last day of indulgence before facing 40 days of mortification, also known as Lent. I have always been keen on the indulgence aspect of this transaction and pretty feeble on the mortification. Among the foods that shout "pleasure binge," doughnuts lead the chorus. The prime example of a Fat Tuesday doughnut is a beignet.

Inside the Doughy Dog truck, workers are preparing more than hot dogs, breakfast sandwiches and mini-doughnuts. They're preparing themselves for more stable lives, working toward increased self-sufficiency one chubby hot dog at a time. This is food with a social mission: The big red Doughy Dog truck is a business venture of the Arundel House of Hope, a 17-year-old nonprofit organization in Glen Burnie that helps homeless people. The organization's clients get paid job experience and growing self-confidence.