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There'll be a coming-home party on West Lexington Street tomorrow afternoon. True, the guest of honor is dying of AIDS. True, he has a home detention monitor strapped to his right ankle.But it will be a time to celebrate. Indeed, a large part of 47-year-old Harry B. Johnson Jr.'s story is a Christmas story. It's about coming home for the holidays, about forgiveness and redemption and good will. It's also much too sad for Christmas.H.B. (as some call him; others call him Skinny) has sent more than 150 invitations to this nonalcoholic fest.

Editor:      As I write this, I am in the joint hearing room listening to freedom-loving Marylanders testify in opposition to HB 294. These proud men and women, around 5,000, took off, losing a day's pay, to stand up for their right to bear arms; I am honored to be in the same room with them. You can rest assured that I will continue to hold firmly to my position on the Second Amendment: "I believe, in accord with the founders, that our right to own firearms stands next in importance to the constitution itself.

Charles H.B. Edel, a retired sales representative for several textbook publishing companies who loved to travel, particularly to Europe, died Tuesday after collapsing at his home near Towson. He was 86. The son of Marie and J. George Edel, he grew up along the York Road corridor and lived in houses on Beaumont Avenue, Hillside Avenue and Linden Terrace. He graduated from Towson High School in 1932 and set off with friends on a cross-country trip to California, said his wife, Melis R. Erlbeck Edel.

Georg H.B. Luck, whose career teaching the classics at the Johns Hopkins University spanned two decades and included studying the role magic and witchcraft played in the theology and world of the ancient Greeks and Romans, died Sunday from complications of cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. He was 87 and a longtime resident of the city's Poplar Hill neighborhood. "Georg was a modest man who had great gusto for the things that interested him," said Richard A. Macksey, a noted Baltimore bibliophile and professor of humanities at Hopkins.

MONDAY, 2 p.m. Senate Economic and Environmental Affairs, Room 200, James dTC Senate Office BuildingHB 274 Collection Agency Licensing -- Fees; HB 961 State Board for Professional Land Surveyors; HB 1413 Home Improvement Contractors -- Liability Insurance; HB 1418 Home Improvement Contractor -- Experience or Education RequirementTUESDAY, 1 p.m. Senate Finance, Presidential Wing, James SOBHB 387 Insurance -- Filing of Underwriting Guidelines -- Termination Date;...

Tuesday, 1 p.m. Senate Finance, Presidential Wing, James Senate Office Building176 Health Insurance -- Summary Explanation of Benefits; SB 562 Health Care Cost Containment -- Uniform Claims FormsHouse Economic Matters, Room 150 Lowe House Office BuildingHB 858 Construction Contracts -- Payment by Contractor to Subcontractor; HB 1000 Real Property Sale -- Disclosure of Proximity to a LandfillWednesday, 1 p.m. Senate Finance, Presidential Wing, James SOB593...

Tuesday, 1 p.m.Senate Budget and Taxation Subcommittee on Public Safety, Transportation, Economic Development and Natural Resources, Room 400, James Senate Office BuildingBudget Hearings: Department of Economic and Employment Development, Maryland Economic Development Corp., Department of Licensing and RegulationSubcommittee On Health, Education and Human Resources, Room 100, James SOBBudget Hearing: Maryland Biotechnology Institute and Sea GrantHouse Economic Matters Room 150, Lowe House Office BuildingHB 127 Investment Advisers -- Definition; HB 957 Real Estate Brokers -- Licensing Exception; HB 1132 Registration of Retail Service Station Dealers -- Extension of Conversion Moratorium; HB 1196 Maryland Securities Act -- Investment Advisers -- Registration; HB 1249 Investment Advisers -- Definition and Exemptions; HB 1398 Maryland Securities Law -- Exempt Securities and Transactions; HB 1405 Maryland Securities Law -- Revisions and Corrections; HB 1406 Maryland Securities Act -- Fees and Penalties$Wednesday, 1 p.m.Senate Judicial Proceedings, Room 300, James SOBSB 408 Construction Contracts -- Losing Bidder Entitled to Damages; SB 439 Job-Related Drug Testing -- Requirements and Confidentiality of InformationHouse Economic Matters, Room 150, Lowe HOBHB 792 Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority -- Small Business Surety Bond Program; HB 814 Financial Institutions -- Interest-Bearing Accounts -- Calculation and Accrual; HB 954 Maryland Defense Diversification...

Monday, 3 p.m. House Appropriations, 130 Lowe, House Office BuildingHB 1158 The First Budget Reconciliation Act for Fiscal Year 1993; HB 1352 The Budget Reconciliation Act for Fiscal Year 1993House Environmental Matters, Room 160, Lowe HOBHB 1003 Growth Management -- Comprehensive Plan Enforcement; HB 1195 Economic Growth and Resource Act of 1992Tuesday, 1 p.m. Senate Finance, Presidential Wing, James Senate Office BuildingSB 523 Group Health Insurance --...

Aberdeen EaglesHead coach: Ken Zorbach.Assistant coaches: Ron Petrey, Dick Slutzky.1991 record: 2-10.Returnees: Seniors Chris Myers (FB), Chad Kolb (HB), Zach Fowl (HB), Ryan O'Connor (Striker), Mike Ruth (S), Steve James (GK).Newcomers: Seniors Josh Broth (S), Thomas Lindgren (FB). Juniors Jon Thomas (HB), Giro Cristello (HB), Mike Baldwin (S). Sophomore Andy D'Amico (HB).Coach's outlook: "We are showing better skills than a year ago, but we still need to get the goals."Harford County Sun outlook: Five starters return, as do eight others who saw varsity action, providing more experience than in recent years.

The Rev. Henry Bruce Land Jr., a retired Southern Baptist minister and military chaplain, died of an infection complicated by Parkinson's disease Oct. 2 at St. Agnes Hospital. The Catonsville resident was 87. Born in Martinsville, Va., he decided to enter the ministry at 17 and earned degrees at Wake Forest College and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. During World War II, he took chaplaincy training at the College of William and Mary and joined the Navy. One of his first assignments was preaching three Sunday services to 3,000 new recruits at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station.

Charles H.B. Edel, a retired sales representative for several textbook publishing companies who loved to travel, particularly to Europe, died Tuesday after collapsing at his home near Towson. He was 86. The son of Marie and J. George Edel, he grew up along the York Road corridor and lived in houses on Beaumont Avenue, Hillside Avenue and Linden Terrace. He graduated from Towson High School in 1932 and set off with friends on a cross-country trip to California, said his wife, Melis R. Erlbeck Edel.

Highlights in Annapolis today:House of Delegates meets at 10 a.m., House chamber.Senate convenes at 10 a.m., Senate chamber.House Environmental Matters Committee hears HB 1370, to allow farmers to sue over financial damages caused by disparaging perishable foods, 1 p.m., Room 160, House office building.House Economic Matters Committee hears HB 1213, to limit fees charged by ticket brokers, 1 p.m., Room 150, House office building.Pub Date: 3/17/98

Annapolis Panthers1995 record: 8-7-1. Coach: Dave Gehrdes (12th year).Top players: Oscar Alfaro, Jr., F; Justin Daniel, Sr., HB; Art Hendricks, Sr., FB; Todd Nicolini, Sr., FB; Chad Jacobson, Sr., HB; Chad Klakring, Jr., D; Steve Gioffre, So., F.Outlook: With the graduation of four-year starter Andy Holt, Gehrdes has a big question mark in the cage, but experience elsewhere as his Panthers aim for an encore. "We're hoping to play the way we did last year," said Gehrdes, referring to last year's winning record that included a couple of playoff victories.