Family Affair

LOS ANGELES - Following up on the most spectacular royal tour ever, nearly 30 years ago, the wondrous tomb artifacts of Egypt's ancient boy King Tutankhamun have returned to America. Tut arrived in Los Angeles Wednesday with his own entourage, fanfare and the hype of a major modern-day rock star. Egyptian and American officials unveiled the new King Tut traveling exhibit, "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Hoping to equal the success of the 1970s exhibition, which broke museum attendance records wherever it went, this time the exhibit will travel to four American cities and run through January 2007.

Open to outsiders, Ha is worth a peek A Memorable Place By Laurette Poulos Simmons Special to the Sun It was amazing to see a story in the Travel section last year about visiting Bhutan, because travel to the country is so rare. My husband, LeRoy, and I recently returned from two weeks there, and like the writer last year, I agree that Bhutan is magical. Bhutan is nestled in the eastern Himalayas between China and India. The government, a monarchy, allows only about 9,000 visitors each year, and they must see the country on guided tours.

Et tu, HBO? The nation's premium channel titan has commendably refrained from the rush to reality. This is not to say that HBO hasn't done its share of verite video shows. The titillating Real Sex, Taxicab Confessions and G-String Divas fit within the genre. But they play in late night and are not series in the conventional sense. However, with Family Bonds, HBO descends into the muck that is tarnishing prime-time television. It's interesting that the documentary-style exploits of a family of bail bondsmen is making its debut tonight opposite the Emmys, traditionally HBO's proudest night.

Vince McMahon contorted his face and writhed in faux agony on the wrestling ring canvas as the raucous crowd howled in approval. Standing over the 58-year-old chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment was his smirking daughter, Stephanie, 27, reveling in a takedown of her father with a well-placed kick to his groin. Although he outwardly emoted intense pain, inside Vince had to be swelling with pride. That's because his daughter, like her brother, Shane, has followed him into the family business of professional wrestling, and this scene had played out just as it was scripted.

Each drama from Tree of Life Theatre Troupe in Eldersburg folds religion, charity and family into its production. The plays, presented twice a year, involve children and parents in staging, costumes and weeks of practice. Rehearsals start with a prayer for the cast and crew and for the organization designated as recipient of the play's proceeds. Formed in 1995 to give the community local theater opportunities, the company has raised thousands of dollars for organizations such as Carroll Food Sunday, ESCAPE Ministries and Piney Run Park - and along the way, offered children and their parents drama.

Hang around Ripken Stadium this week and you're bound to bump into Cal Ripken - as well as his mother and three siblings. The whole clan is taking part in the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen. The Iron Man and his brother, Bill, are there, having organized the event. Cal's sister, Elly, slips into the stands when time allows. The accounting manager for the Aberdeen IronBirds, she works at the ballpark. Fred Ripken, their older brother, serves as a tournament host, having opened his home in Havre de Grace to two youngsters from Missouri who are competing in the Babe Ruth League-affiliated 12-and-under event.

Zambelli Fireworks Internationale has become an explosive success in the business world. The 110-year-old company has provided displays for every president since John F. Kennedy. Its displays have been seen at tens of thousands of events, including Super Bowls, papal visits, World Fairs and, of course, Fourth of July celebrations. Baltimoreans will see the company in action tomorrow, when it illuminates the Inner Harbor's skyline during the city's 2003 Independence Day celebration. But Baltimore is just one of the cities that will see the firm's handiwork tomorrow night - Zambelli fires more than 1 million shells for about 1,800 Fourth of July displays every year.

Tell Jill Crommelin that the Shanley boys of Annapolis are the first set of five brothers to graduate from the Naval Academy, and she'll have a bone to pick with you. "They may have tied the record," Crommelin said by phone from Wetumpka, Ala., where her father and his four brothers grew up on a cotton plantation before enrolling at the academy. "But they damn sure didn't beat it." Last month, Naval Academy officials said that the Shanley brothers had set a fraternal record at the 158-year-old military college.

CLARIFICATION An article Sunday on Baltimore County Executive-elect James T. Smith Jr. said the vice chairwoman of his transition team, Del. Adrienne A.W. Jones, was not interested in a post in Smith's office. However, Jones, who has been a county employee for 26 years, does intend to keep her current job as head of the county's Office of Fair Practices and Community Affairs. Immediately after the votes were tallied in Baltimore County, the phone stopped ringing in C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger's office in Towson and started ringing in James T. Smith Jr.'s office in Reisterstown.

Jaime Daniels has plenty of hockey experience. The meteorologist from North Laurel played while growing up in Buffalo, N.Y., and knows the game well. So at age 42, Daniels knew that a shift had gone bad on him in an adult in-line hockey game last Sunday. Daniels, a skillful skater, fell several times during this turn on the rink in Alpha Ridge Park in Marriottsville. Back on the bench, one of his team's younger players waited with advice. "`Dad, you've got to stay on your skates a little more," said his son Brandon, 15. Fathers and sons playing together is not uncommon in this Howard County league because adults and children compete together.