Haitians

At first Stanley Hermane held up a toy phone to his ear as if an expectant caller had rung. Then the 21-month-old decided that the object was a baseball and threw line drives. Then it was a hammer that he banged with delight. The Haitian orphan that adoptive parents Michael and Monica Simonsen just brought back from the earthquake-ravaged country has already latched onto a favored object — so much so that he seem unfazed by the reporters who keep coming to witness the latest chapter in his story.

Michael and Monica Simonsen, the Baltimore couple who have been trying to adopt a Haitian orphan toddler nearly all his life, were scheduled to fly home with him Tuesday evening. Michael Simonsen traveled to Haiti hoping to bring home Stanley Hermane, a 21-month-old who had been at an orphanage for most of his life. Simonsen and a couple of other adoptive fathers were able to bring seven Haitian orphans to the U.S. - far fewer than they expected - from Port-au-Prince early Monday morning.

Michael and Monica Simonsen, the Baltimore couple who have been trying to adopt a Haitian orphan toddler nearly all his life, were scheduled to fly home with him Tuesday evening. Michael Simonsen traveled to Haiti hoping to bring home Stanley Hermane, a 21-month-old who had been at an orphanage for most of his life. Simonsen and a couple of other adoptive fathers were able to bring seven Haitian orphans to the U.S. - far fewer than they expected - from Port-au-Prince early Monday morning.

Haitian folk artists have long fashioned sequins, beads and recycled cloth backings into ornate, colorful flags depicting island deities. Said to offer protection to those who display them, the flags have been working overtime here in Baltimore since the catastrophic earthquake Jan. 12 - offering protection in a way that says as much about local generosity as the flags' spiritual powers. Since the earthquake struck, Sideshow, the gift shop at the American Visionary Art Museum, has raised some $15,000 through sales of the ceremonial flags and other pieces of Haitian folk art. Operator Ted Frankel, who makes two or three trips a year to Haiti in search of material for the shop, has been sending all proceeds back to the Caribbean nation and the artists themselves.

The Orioles will raise money at their annual FanFest today to support the Haitian earthquake relief effort. Money will be collected through a portion of FanFest admission fees, proceeds from a silent auction of Orioles items and the team's memorabilia sale and through other donations. The Orioles will match the donations. Fans may also donate by sending checks to the Baltimore Orioles Charitable Foundation, with "Haiti Relief" in the memo line, Baltimore Orioles Haiti Relief, 333 W. Camden St., Baltimore, 21201.

On her first day in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, Dr. Rana Hamdy discovered that a patient she had seen upon arrival had died - a teenage boy in need of dialysis whose life she knew was in jeopardy after noticing blood in his urine. Shortly before Hamdy departed, an expectant mother had gone into labor. During that pendulum swing from death to life, the Johns Hopkins third-year pediatrics resident sometimes spent more than 20 hours each day aiding victims of the tragedy that has killed an estimated 200,000 Haitians while leaving many thousands injured.

In a matter of days, Stanley Hermane will likely go from a crowded orphanage in earthquake-ravaged Haiti to a warm and cozy bedroom in Baltimore. Michael and Monica Simonsen, a Riverside Park couple who have been trying to adopt the 21-month-old boy for most of his life, are eagerly awaiting his arrival. Now it appears that last week's earthquake had a small silver lining for families in the adoption process: Much of the red tape has been removed. The Simonsens are among scores of families looking to benefit from a recent Department of Homeland Security measure that will allow many Haitian children already in the adoption process to come to the U.S. right away.

In a matter of days, Stanley Hermane will likely go from a crowded orphanage in earthquake-ravaged Haiti to a warm and cozy bedroom in Baltimore. Michael and Monica Simonsen, a Riverside Park couple who have been trying to adopt the 21-month-old boy for most of his life, are eagerly awaiting his arrival. Now it appears that last week's earthquake had a small silver lining for families in the adoption process: Much of the red tape has been removed. The Simonsens are among scores of families looking to benefit from a recent Department of Homeland Security measure that will allow many Haitian children already in the adoption process to come to the U.S. right away.

Friends recall Flores McGarrell as an unforgettable artistic force. A performer at numerous Artscape events, he helped create a live memorial drama after the 1995 burning of the Clipper Mill in Woodberry. His teachers said he was one of the most recognized students at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he studied and taught for nearly a decade. The former Baltimorean, who was leading a Haitian arts center, died Tuesday when he dashed into a collapsing hotel during the earthquake to retrieve a computer that stored his records and artistic concepts.

Created as the ultimate "damned if you do, damned if you don't" matrix in Joseph Heller's novel of that name Catch 22, in simple terms, is the classic no-win or double bind situation and one in which the United States finds itself relative to the catastrophe in Haiti. Instantly off the mark in response to the earthquake and its aftermath, the Catch 22 scenario developed in a nanosecond. First, Rush Limbaugh, champion blowhard of America, condemned the Obama administration for acting far more quickly to the crisis in Haiti than it did when a maniac tried to explode his underwear on an airliner.