Gratitude

I disagree with Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s characterization that President Obama is anti-entrepreneurship or self-reliance ("Mr. President, nobody else 'made that happen,'" July 22). The GOP whines that they hate government, but they're more than happy to accept Social Security, Medicare, police and emergency services, tax subsidies, corporate welfare and earmarks. As a parent, making sacrifices for my children is part of the job description. However, it's also my responsibility to instill a sense of gratitude, not entitlement.

A juvenile Cooper's hawk with a broken wing was running along the fences backing to Windstream Drive on March 5. I made several unsuccessful attempts to rescue the youngster with the help of some neighbors I had never met and a close friend. It was very cold and getting dark but I was determined to save this beautiful bird from certain death. In desperation I hesitantly called 911, fearful of being accused of (and possibly fined for) inappropriately calling. I was surprised and elated when the woman who answered kindly offered to call Animal Control directly since they were closed.

During the week after Christmas, my family and I returned to BWI on a military rotation flight after 10 days of leave in Germany. After passing through customs we were met by several hundred people enthusiastically cheering service members returning from Iraq. There were parents and grandparents and veterans and Girl Scout troops. I tried to hurry my family along as quickly as possible, feeling that this amazing welcome was not for us. But it was impossible not to smile. The gratitude and enthusiasm of that crowd of welcomers was palpable.

Marquetta Sullivan, 56, of Annapolis, sparkled like a purple jewel on Lot J on Sunday morning - metallic ribbons in her hair, nine necklaces around her neck, frosted purple eye shadow and a Ravens' tattoo on her cheek - all for the playoffs and to mark her hero's last home game. "I've been a Ravens fan for life, but the only reason I became a die-hard is because of Ray Lewis, she said. Lewis is the reason she and her husband, Jim Gerety, invested untold thousands into a purple game day bus, and he's the reason their tailgate spread includes a cake iced with the number 52. This week Lewis announced that he would be retiring at the end of this season after 17 years in the NFL, all with the Ravens.

For November, I'm cultivating an attitude of gratitude. You might have seen people giving thanks for something daily on social media. I'm posting each day this month on Facebook acknowledging the things (and people) big and small that I am lucky to have in my life. Maybe it sounds hokey, but for me, it works to keep me focused on the good and away from the negative chatter and the snark that can surround us. And I've noticed that when I'm keeping my eye out for positive things to post about, I notice even more of them.

With its extensive system of veterans cemeteries and generous eligibility guidelines, Maryland has committed many millions of dollars to providing free burial for veterans and their spouses, as well as free maintenance of the graves. That is not an inconsiderable benefit -- burial, apart from funeral expenses, can cost $2,000 or more. So it is no surprise that Maryland's veterans cemeteries are the busiest state cemetery program in the country.Inevitably, the costs of the $1.5 million-a-year program are growing -- and, not surprisingly, drawing the scrutiny of budget analysts as the state's budget crunch worsens.

S ometimes you can look at your life almost objectively. In these rare instances, you are permitted to pause and reflect a moment about what is really important. Some people have these epiphanies when they least expect it - at baseball games or in the shower or on long nature hikes. I suppose that's just happened to me. Over the past two weekends, for the better part of both Saturdays, my husband and I have attended funerals. Ordinarily, funerals do not come to mind as an appropriate subject for my column, but I think things happen for a reason - and the reason I am writing this week's column about funerals is they have a message for the living.

Research suggests that the regular cultivation of gratitude and appreciation has multiple psychological and physical benefits. Thankful people typically boast better overall health, fewer physical symptoms, higher income, more energy, larger social networks and stronger marriages. They also exercise more. They fall asleep more easily at night. They sleep longer and more soundly, and they wake up more refreshed. The practice of gratitude may increase the levels of immunoglobulin A in your throat and nose, increasing your ability to resist viral infections.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Bob Meyers sat in his blue Hyundai yesterday afternoon, letting the engine run to charge his well-worn cell phone that he used as the lifeline to share the news, one call after another. "The verdict was as severe as it could be on all four counts," he calmly said into the voicemail of his oldest brother, Larry. "If you want to talk further, give me a call." More than a year after their brother Dean H. Meyers was shot as he pumped gas at a station near Manassas, Va., John Allen Muhammad stood expressionless as the jury found him guilty for his role in the shootings that claimed the lives of Meyers and 12 others.

WASHINGTON - With Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley at his side, police Commissioner Edward T. Norris appeared at a national law enforcement conference yesterday and said he couldn't do his job without the mayor's backing. "If you don't have the support of your chief executive, you can't do this job," Norris said in a downtown hotel ballroom packed with police officers and other officials from around the country. They were gathered for a three-day conference on community policing. Norris recalled the criticism he faced after Sept.

He had lost a son many years before, the boy barely more than a toddler when he died. Now another son was dead, and grief sat on him like the shawl that draped his shoulders as he rattled around the big, cold house. His wife was emotionally troubled and spent money they did not have. His subordinates were insubordinate, convinced he was out of his depth and that they could do a better job. And his country had split along a ragged seam of geography and race, boys from Maine and Vermont fighting it out against boys from Georgia and Tennessee, their bodies left broken, bloated, bloody and fly-swarmed, dead by the profligate thousands.

As Thanksgiving Day approaches, let us reflect on the things for which we are grateful. Let us give thanks . . . That Superstorm Sandy didn't do much damage in Maryland - and that we have a federal government to respond to the less fortunate areas where it did. That utility crews work in ice, rain and mud to fix power lines while we moan about how uncomfortable we are. That postal carriers got our mail delivered even as Sandy slammed into...

For November, I'm cultivating an attitude of gratitude. You might have seen people giving thanks for something daily on social media. I'm posting each day this month on Facebook acknowledging the things (and people) big and small that I am lucky to have in my life. Maybe it sounds hokey, but for me, it works to keep me focused on the good and away from the negative chatter and the snark that can surround us. And I've noticed that when I'm keeping my eye out for positive things to post about, I notice even more of them.

I disagree with Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s characterization that President Obama is anti-entrepreneurship or self-reliance ("Mr. President, nobody else 'made that happen,'" July 22). The GOP whines that they hate government, but they're more than happy to accept Social Security, Medicare, police and emergency services, tax subsidies, corporate welfare and earmarks. As a parent, making sacrifices for my children is part of the job description. However, it's also my responsibility to instill a sense of gratitude, not entitlement.

SARASOTA, Fla. - When the Orioles arrived in Boston last September for their final regular season series at Fenway Park, Rays manager Joe Maddon - his own team leaving Boston for the Bronx trailing the Red Sox in the wild card race by two games - asked to leave a bottle of wine in the visiting clubhouse for Orioles manager Buck Showalter attached with a note that said "Go get them. " Baltimore had long since been eliminated from the postseason, and was on its way to completing a 14th straight losing season, but the Orioles would have their say in the postseason race.

  At the ungodly hour of 5:30 this morning, they step off the Walt Disney World Half Marathon in Orlando: the lean, serious speedsters and the dedicated plodders and the fat guys in Mickey Mouse ears just hoping to make it to the first water stop. Among them will be 28-year-old Georgia Cleland, a small woman from Ruxton with a ready smile. And you can bet she'll be smiling today, because hers might be the best story in the entire field, a three-hankie tale of a family's love and a father's crazy idea that raised millions for cancer research and spawned the whole running-for-a-cause movement.

The roar builds. In a moment, we will begin to inch forward, accelerating quickly toward speed, toward hurtling down the runway. Every seat is filled. I am by the window. The young woman next to me might be a student; next to her is the affable, middle-aged man who helped me with my carry-on. There is a family with small children, an older couple in wheelchairs, some teenagers and many who are traveling alone, all with their own purposes. We are strangers sharing our immediate location and our immediate destination.

SEATTLE-- --The heart of Ravens fan Michael Watts lives in Jeff Hansen, a longtime fan of the Seattle Seahawks. Hansen, 32, was at Qwest Field yesterday wearing a Steve McNair jersey and Ravens cap to honor the memory of Watts, whose heart Hansen received at a Seattle-area hospital a few hours after Watts died. Watts, 25, was an Air Force staff sergeant from Eldersburg who died while riding in a military vehicle in September 2006. He was returning home to Great Falls, Mont., to await the birth of his second daughter.

During the week after Christmas, my family and I returned to BWI on a military rotation flight after 10 days of leave in Germany. After passing through customs we were met by several hundred people enthusiastically cheering service members returning from Iraq. There were parents and grandparents and veterans and Girl Scout troops. I tried to hurry my family along as quickly as possible, feeling that this amazing welcome was not for us. But it was impossible not to smile. The gratitude and enthusiasm of that crowd of welcomers was palpable.

Thanks for your wonderful front-page article on wounded warrior Sgt. Michael Frazier ("Glyndon couple helps an injured warrior take flight," Dec. 22). It was such an inspirational story with which to start my day. We can never repay our brave soldiers for their courageous service, but acts of kindness like those displayed by Stephanie and Erwin Greenberg express the gratitude we all feel and remind us of the real meaning of the holiday season. Sally Morse, Ellicott City