Hard Work

A snowball stand's success depends on two key things: hot weather and lots of hard work, say Baltimore-area purveyors of the summer treat. Add those ingredients to the crushed ice and syrup concoction that has long been a regional favorite, and summertime entrepreneurs say they can make a decent living during the season's warmest weeks. "A lot of people think it's easy to start it," said Margo Torsell, who along with family members runs a three-year-old stand on Liberty Road in Randallstown.

Having been raised in Baltimore, and lived in larger cities, it was with trepidation that I moved to the Eastern Shore many years ago. I have learned to appreciate the values, the culture and the hard work of the farmers and watermen who live here. Logically speaking, your opinion makes sense ("Smith Island denial," May 17). Erosion on Smith Island is a problem and is here to stay. However, if these people who care so much for their island and their way of life prefer to live on the island, then let them.

It is a large moment for Democrats, learning to stick with a good man through a rough period when the people who crave disillusionment have become disillusioned. It's like a winter vacation in the Caribbean when it rains buckets and you eat some bad shellfish and a shrieky teenager says you've ruined her life forever. You smile, take a shower and organize a volleyball game. You have to work at it. It's work. We the people are fond of hustlers and slick operators and the reverend with the diamond-studded Rolex and Sarah Palin slipping into Nashville and collecting a hundred grand for a 40-minute speech of no distinction whatsoever ("I'm so proud to be an American.

A forceful friend and an active advocate: These words describe my feelings about business and civic leader Richard E. Hug, whose hard work helped improve Maryland politics (May 7). As a volunteer participant in Bob Ehrlich's campaign for governor, I remember Dick Hug's 24/7 work in raising funds to help achieve election success. Citizen participation in a democracy means work, and that is the kind of volunteer participation and leadership that Mr. Hug gave. Thanks for his fine example.

A forceful friend and an active advocate: These words describe my feelings about business and civic leader Richard E. Hug, whose hard work helped improve Maryland politics (May 7). As a volunteer participant in Bob Ehrlich's campaign for governor, I remember Dick Hug's 24/7 work in raising funds to help achieve election success. Citizen participation in a democracy means work, and that is the kind of volunteer participation and leadership that Mr. Hug gave. Thanks for his fine example.

Well. I know I speak for many women when I say, "Thank heaven that's settled. " Women like me have been struggling with our identities as working mothers for decades, but thanks to Hilary Rosen, Ann Romney and Hillary Clinton, we now have some clarity. Because of commentator Rosen's unfortunate choice of words (Ann Romney "never worked a day in her life"), we have it on the highest authority that raising children is, indeed, hard work. And because Hillary Clinton was caught knocking back a beer and dancing in a Colombia cantina while on summit duty, we now know it is impolite for a woman to drink beer from a bottle instead of a glass.

Lansdowne High School, according to indoor track coach Charles Pridee, had not scored a point in the Baltimore County indoor meet in more than a decade entering this season. But last weekend, the Vikings scored 32 points and finished fifth out of more than 20 teams. Leading the Vikes was junior Yelnats Calvin, who joined the team as a sophomore and who has become its leader. He won the 500 meters (1 minute, 11.10 seconds), finished second in the 300 and helped the 800-meter relay team to second place and the 1,600-meter relay team to third place.

Mount St. Joseph's wrestling team won its 26th Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association wrestling championship on Monday, but the theme of the day was not the Gaels' dominance. Rather, it was the joy that came from seeing hard work by individuals and teams that are not always in the limelight succeed. John Carroll coach Keith Watson let out a big "Yes!" when he heard his team had finished second to Mount St. Joseph, 238.5-181. "Mount St. Joe is the Big Dog," Watson said.

By the time I entered the College of Notre Dame in the early 1960s, Sister Maura Eichner was already well known. Author of several books of poetry, she was friends with important literary figures like Flannery O'Connor, Karl Shapiro and Richard Wilbur - connections that were unusual for a woman teacher in the '60s - to say nothing of a nun garbed in a long black habit and veil. I had applied to be an English major with a writing concentration. This required a portfolio and a meeting with the department chair, Sister Maura.

An interchange is being constructed at Interstate 95 and Interstate 695. The work is part of a 10-mile project that began in 2005 and is expected to be completed in 2012. Two express toll lanes will be added to I-95 in each direction, which involves reconstructing bridges and interchanges. View more photos and see a video of the construction at baltimore sun.com/whitemarsh.

Annapolis is swimming in wine bars these days. The choices include the deeply cool Red Red Wine on Main Street, Justin Moore's food-forward Vin 909 over in Eastport and the accessibly cozy Grapes Wine Bar on Forest Drive. Crush Kitchen and Winehouse got there first, though, back in 2010, when it opened on West Street as Crush Winehouse. Crush is a big, inviting space, loud and lively, with a smartly arranged layout of banquettes, four-tops and high tables.

As the occasional snowflake fluttered through the air and landed on a makeshift football field, Jahvid Best once again stood on the sideline, watching others play the game he loves. This day, it was his choice. The Detroit Lions running back, who hasn't played a game since October 2011 because of multiple concussions, was one of 17 NFL players who visited St. Vincent's Villa in Timonium on Sunday morning. As Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kenny Britt captained teams of children, Best laughed, cheered and tried to stay warm.

Manchester resident Patrick Carmody was one of five members of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department who were recently promoted in the department. The 20-year veteran was promoted to lieutenant on Feb. 21 during a ceremony to honor the five officers' years of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice.

As a former coach, I am extremely proud of our Baltimore Ravens. This team showed all of these virtues of sport: hard work, dedication, teamwork, skill, determination, brotherhood, and a willingness to not quit. Sports can teach players how to work together, how the team is more important than self, and how to dedicate oneself to improving one's skills. As a Christian, I was inspired to hear the Ravens talk about their reverence for God and appreciation for His blessings to them as individuals and as a team.

Having grown up in a working class family in Rhode Island, I know what's it like for parents to struggle to make ends meet. There were six kids in my family supported by my dad's maintenance man salary and my mother's minimum wage job flipping burgers. Despite having two incomes, during the cold months, we had to choose between grocery shopping and paying the heating bill. There were plenty of pancake suppers during those winters. The conditions that my family struggled with still exist for so many.

A'Lexus Harrison made a decision after her freshman year at Digital Harbor that would mold her high school basketball experience much differently than the careers of her peers. She committed to Maryland. While others her age were still wading through the recruiting process, Harrison was working to shape her game to Maryland's style and to live up to the potential that Terps coach Brenda Frese saw in her as an exceptionally versatile and athletic 14-year-old. To Harrison, now a 6-foot-1 senior All-Metro forward-guard with more than 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds, accepting Frese's scholarship offer did not mark the culmination of her hard work.

Walter Chitwood, one of Anne Arundel County's most loyal, hard-working bureaucrats, recently discovered he had made TC mistake: He'd given more of the last 19 years to county government than to his own family. He knew the ins and outs of the county budget better than his kids. He spent so much time working that he forgot what he was working for.Many readers might have missed our small story about Mr. Chitwood's decision to quit his latest job, a fairly prestigious, well-paying position as assistant superintendent of county schools.

It's easy to understand why Westminster senior guard Mackenzie Murray is savoring her time on the basketball court more than many others this season. In each of the past two seasons, Murray suffered torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments, requiring two surgeries (one to each knee) 13 months apart. Murray, also a standout forward on the Owls soccer team, spent 4 to 5 months in physical therapy after each procedure to be able to continue her athletic career. After finishing as one of Westminster's leading scorers on the soccer field this past fall, her third year on varsity, Murray is now doing whatever she can to help the basketball team to a winning season.

Parents shouldn't try to shield their kids from the hard work of getting a good education by protesting the tediousness of math. Math is not just a bunch of abstract equations, it is the language we use to describe how things work. We are surrounded by systems that have inputs and outputs. Math is the only tool we have to understand them and describe how they work. Without math, kids would be thrown into a world with no skills to even appreciate, much less to understand, the complexities of what is going on around them.