Entire Family

Throughout the Mitroka house, family photographs tell a story. Here's one of the whole clan: Mom's next to Dad in his Army uniform. Brother G. A. is in his. Twin sisters Kristy and Kathy are in dress whites and caps. There's Tim, the baby, in a plain blue suit and a tie. Here's one of the four Mitroka children: G. A.'s in his West Point graduation uniform. Kristy and Kathy grin beside him in matching West Point uniforms. And Tim's on the end in shorts and a T-shirt. No more. At the end of the month, 17-year-old Tim will be the last member of his family to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

When most people think of Halloween, images of pumpkins, witches and ghosts usually come to mind. Whether you like to be scared senseless in a haunted house, learn more about true ghost stories or prefer a simple hayride on the farm to pick out pumpkins, there is plenty of fun to be had in Harford County this fall for all ages. For the scariest Halloween fun, be sure to check out Legends of the Fog - Harford County's largest haunted attraction. Located on about 80 acres of Aldino Sod Farm in Aberdeen, Legends of the Fog is open on weekends in October through the first weekend in November.

Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim regrets the passing of SAMUEL ISAK, and extend condolences to the entire family.

A great big thank you to all you greeted me with much enthusiasm when I collected door to door for the Fourth of July celebration. Even the dogs were cooperative! In one house I saw an entire family chatting and sitting at their table having dinner. It looked like a Norman Rockwell scene. (I didn't bother them). I collected more than $821. Once again there was an opportunity to share Catonsville with very special people who rose to the occasion. Margaret Milleker Batimore

The National Board of Hadassah, WZOA, mourns the death of ESTHER BLOOMBERG, mother of Jackie Cohen, our esteemed colleague. Our heartfelt condolences go to the entire family. May her memory be forever blessed. JUNE WALKER, National President

John Mackey was quite simply the greatest tight end in NFL history, and the Baltimore Colts were America's team before there was an America's Team. I hope Mackey and Johnny U. are having a great game of catch in Heaven. God bless him and his entire family. Don Doby

A great big thank you to all you greeted me with much enthusiasm when I collected door to door for the Fourth of July celebration. Even the dogs were cooperative! In one house I saw an entire family chatting and sitting at their table having dinner. It looked like a Norman Rockwell scene. (I didn't bother them). I collected more than $821. Once again there was an opportunity to share Catonsville with very special people who rose to the occasion. Margaret Milleker Batimore

Christmas tree farms around the area open this weekend, gearing up for families who wouldn't think of celebrating the holiday season with anything but a freshly cut tree they bring down themselves.Despite the dismal economy, there's hope among the area's 300 Christmas tree growers that otherwise skittish consumers will dig deep to celebrate this holiday season."When it comes to trees, people will find the money to buy," says J. C. Kirby, owner of JCK Trees near Westminster."People will spend money to buy a beautiful tree, even if they have nothing to put under it," adds Helen Winter, owner of the 32-acre Frostee Trees in Perry Hall.

Here is one health training product that you'll want in your medicine cabinet. The American Heart Association has released a home training kit, with a manikin and training DVD, to teach your family the basics of cardiopulmonary resuscitation -- CPR. CPR Anytime comes with a blow-up mini-manikin named Anne that lets you practice critical chest compressions and rescue breathing at home. You follow a 22-minute DVD to learn, step-by-step, how to resuscitate adults and children. The kit costs $29.95 at cpranytime.

Dr. Joseph B. Bronushas, a plain-speaking East Baltimore physician and professor of medicine whose work as a family doctor inspired medical students, died Friday of cancer at Mercy Medical Center. The longtime Middle River resident was 75. Dr. Bronushas was the son of an East Baltimore physician. He maintained a general practice from 1955 until 1971, when he became a full-time associate professor of medicine in the University of Maryland Medical School's department of family medicine.

John Mackey was quite simply the greatest tight end in NFL history, and the Baltimore Colts were America's team before there was an America's Team. I hope Mackey and Johnny U. are having a great game of catch in Heaven. God bless him and his entire family. Don Doby

Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim regrets the passing of SAMUEL ISAK, and extend condolences to the entire family.

Since this is the height of vacation season and everyone's walking around with a camera and snapping pictures, it's a good time to address something that's ticked me off for years. And that is: People who don't say "1 ... 2 ... 3" before they take your picture. In other words, people who snap your picture without any kind of cue or heads-up. What is the deal with these people? Here we have a long, proud history in this country of not actually snapping a picture until you say "1 ... 2 ... 3."

Here is one health training product that you'll want in your medicine cabinet. The American Heart Association has released a home training kit, with a manikin and training DVD, to teach your family the basics of cardiopulmonary resuscitation -- CPR. CPR Anytime comes with a blow-up mini-manikin named Anne that lets you practice critical chest compressions and rescue breathing at home. You follow a 22-minute DVD to learn, step-by-step, how to resuscitate adults and children. The kit costs $29.95 at cpranytime.

Carroll County's largest charitable event, Westminster Fallfest, opens tonight with rides, food, games, family activities and music at the Westminster City Playground. The four-day festival - which brings together civic, business and nonprofit organizations with the Westminster Parks and Recreation Department and radio station WTTR - donates thousands of dollars to four charities each year. This year's charities are Habitat for Humanity of Carroll County; Human Services Programs of Carroll County; Kiwanis Clubs of Westminster; and Mission of Mercy, a mobile medical clinic that provides free services.

MOBILE, Ala. - There won't be any witnesses here. No memories of the howling winds or bending trees, no visions of the flooding, the destruction, the deaths or whatever else they imagine. Hurricane Ivan arrived in southern Alabama last night. That was clear from the television reports, and from the invisible beasts that rattled the metal doors. But the people who most respected Ivan's power - those who followed officials' advice and fled to the concrete-walled safety of the city's high schools and hospitals - will remember only the communal sounds and smells of shelter life, and always the cold, hard floor.

Attorneys for an East Baltimore man accused of torching a neighbor's home in one of the city's deadliest arsons asked a judge yesterday to move the federal trial outside Baltimore, saying the region's residents are so outraged by the tragedy that they could not serve as impartial jurors. Darrell L. Brooks, 21, is scheduled to stand trial in September in U.S. District Court in Baltimore in connection with the October arson that killed Carnell and Angela Dawson and their five children. Brooks, who was charged late last year in a 10-count federal indictment, could receive the death penalty if convicted.

Award-winning Korean-American novelist Chang-rae Lee (Native Speaker, A Gesture Life) writes about the complications of American life with a nuanced attention that is awesome. His third novel, Aloft (Riverhead, 352 pages, $24.95), unfolds like a little origami box, each fold revealing yet another aspect of the complexities of aspirations, avocations and ethnicities as they coalesce in the life of one Long Island family. At 59, Italian-American Jerry Battle enjoys early retirement until his live-in girlfriend of 20-odd years, the Puerto Rican Rita, dumps him. Then his son Jack runs the family landscaping business into the ground, his daughter Theresa and her fiance come to visit for the summer and his father, Hank, rankles in a retirement home.