Heart And Soul

In his 1969 book, Love and Will, existential psychologist Rollo May contended that human tragedies that catch our attention can exemplify an underlying malady of the society in which they occur. Using an example whereby dozens of onlookers failed to take any action as they observed the brutal stabbing of a woman in New York, May wrote of our collective inability to love and to exercise our will in healthy ways. Instead, we choose detached sex and power grabs without consideration of the welfare of others.

Towson University President Maravene S. Loeschke's decision to discontinue the men's soccer and baseball programs and add men's tennis blew my athletic socks off and bruised my heart and soul ("Towson criticized for cutting sports teams," March 21). As a graduate of what was then known as Towson State Teacher College (Class of 1942), my experiences as a student athlete there had a big effect on my later life. From athletic director Donald I. Minnegan, for example, I learned to eradicate the word "no" from my vocabulary.

It's a magazine whose time has come, says publisher `D Reginald Ware.Although the idea took a while to germinate -- about four years -- the premiere issue of Heart and Soul magazine hit newsstands )) last week.So what makes this magazine different from the numerous other health-oriented magazines that are on the market?It's a glossy, 84-page quarterly magazine that bills itself as "the nation's first healthy lifestyle publication for African Americans."Says Mr. Ware: "We try to delve deeply into the African-American lifestyle -- into every aspect of our daily life.

In his 1969 book, Love and Will, existential psychologist Rollo May contended that human tragedies that catch our attention can exemplify an underlying malady of the society in which they occur. Using an example whereby dozens of onlookers failed to take any action as they observed the brutal stabbing of a woman in New York, May wrote of our collective inability to love and to exercise our will in healthy ways. Instead, we choose detached sex and power grabs without consideration of the welfare of others.

SEIFFEN, Germany -- As another Christmas season creeps onto the cobblestoned streets of this hamlet known as Toytown, the winter sun sets early and holiday lights burn late. In the warmth of workshops, whole families gather for a few more hours of hammering, sawing, sanding and painting.It has been this way for more than 300 years in this mountain town near the Czech Republic border, and in window after window you can see the locals at work. They stand before lathes and benches, turning blocks of wood into toy nutcrackers, animals, trains, whimsical "smoking men" and whirling Christmas pyramids.

At Mastellone, a small Italian grocery in Parkville, customers gather at the counter to share recipes, gossip and even homespun cures for nagging arthritis pain. Across the street, at Mueller's Deli, the meat slicer is in constant swing, producing perfect slivers of liverwurst, bratwurst and knackwurst for hearty sandwiches on imported pumpernickel, sourdough or dark-brown hunter bread. At Near East Bakery in Hamilton, buckets of fresh olives greet shoppers and beckon them to taste the pungent fruits of the Old World.

NBA games lost yesterday: 8.Total games missed: 217.Earliest estimated date season can start: Jan. 1.Negotiations: Talks resumed in New York but no progress was reported after a 10 1/2 -hour meeting.Projected player salary losses (through Jan. 1): $330 million.Today's best canceled game: Toronto at New York. Charles Oakley, the heart and soul of the Knicks for 10 years, returns to Madison Square Garden.Pub Date: 12/04/98

It's too bad that Disney has stupidly positioned America's Heart and Soul, Louis Schwartzberg's documentary cross-section of the 21st-century United States, as its alternative to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, thus insuring condescension from many critics. First, the studio refused to release Moore's film (although Miramax, a Disney company, produced it). Then, the studio screened Schwartzberg's film for the conservative group Move America Forward, which has tried to pressure Moore's film off movie screens.

So it only took two seasons for Miguel Tejada to decide that he wants out of Baltimore. When he arrived for his first spring training, didn't he make headlines by standing in front of his new teammates and announcing that the losing was over? It turned out to be a bigger job than he expected. Now the whining has begun. Lovely. We know the Orioles need to add at least one quality starting pitcher, and it's frustrating to see major deals being pulled off by division or regional rivals. But this is no time for the supposed heart and soul of the team to jump ship.

How did all this happen at Maryland?How did the Terps run up a 17-4 record and become one of the top 10 basketball teams in the country? They're No. 8 this week.How did Maryland, which was only 8-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference last year (7-2 now), get to where it is -- facing No. 1 North Carolina at College Park tonight in a game that could tie the Terps for first place in the ACC?The students at Maryland obviously think Joe Smith is the answer.At the Virginia game last week, a banner was unfurled at Cole Field House that said: "On the eighth day God created Joe Smith."

The fun of Ghost Town starts with the title and doesn't end until the final line. In fact, the ending, in its own milder way, is as perfect as "nobody's perfect" in Some Like It Hot. In this movie, New York City is the ghost town, and not because everyone has left it, as in I Am Legend. Without even knowing it, surviving friends and loved ones, because of their unresolved emotions, keep a horde of dead Manhattanites tethered to Earth. As the dentist who discovers he can converse with the dead, Ricky Gervais gives the film a rich, bittersweet center.

The scent of printer's ink fills the minuscule lobby of Howard County Tourism Inc., where an overflowing rack of information guides greets visitors to the basement office in the old Ellicott City Post Office on Main Street. The hot-off-the-press, "Howard County Wildlife Driving Tour" guide is making its presence known among the brochures with a pungent aroma only the staff could love. "When the guides arrived, a staff member called me and said, `They're here, and they smell great!'" recounts Executive Director Rachelina Bonacci with a contagious laugh.

So it only took two seasons for Miguel Tejada to decide that he wants out of Baltimore. When he arrived for his first spring training, didn't he make headlines by standing in front of his new teammates and announcing that the losing was over? It turned out to be a bigger job than he expected. Now the whining has begun. Lovely. We know the Orioles need to add at least one quality starting pitcher, and it's frustrating to see major deals being pulled off by division or regional rivals. But this is no time for the supposed heart and soul of the team to jump ship.

It's too bad that Disney has stupidly positioned America's Heart and Soul, Louis Schwartzberg's documentary cross-section of the 21st-century United States, as its alternative to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, thus insuring condescension from many critics. First, the studio refused to release Moore's film (although Miramax, a Disney company, produced it). Then, the studio screened Schwartzberg's film for the conservative group Move America Forward, which has tried to pressure Moore's film off movie screens.

Half a mile. That's about all that's ever separated Benson Erwin from the tradition of Johns Hopkins lacrosse. As one of four adopted children of Robert and Nancy Erwin, Benson grew up in Baltimore's Tuscany-Canterbury neighborhood, in the shadows of historic Homewood Field. He made the short walk from West 39th Street to countless Blue Jays games as a youth, but even if he didn't attend, he always knew exactly what was happening on game days. Peering out his third-floor window, Erwin could just make out the stadium lights through his thick bifocals.

As the boys lacrosse coach at Mount Hebron, Jeff Doolan watched former Towson High standout Ben DeFelice play several times in high school. But the DeFelice he remembered was a small, skinny attackman who also took faceoffs for the Generals. That DeFelice bore resemblance to the player he encountered last year on his first day as an assistant coach at Towson University. "We were going full field and [Doolan] asks, `Who is that kid facing off and going down the field?' " recalled Tigers coach Tony Seaman.

Downtown is your playgroundLooking for somewhere that's fun, yet affordable, to take the kids this weekend? Look no further than downtown Baltimore, where more than 18 attractions and 10 restaurants will offer programming and free or discounted rates for children as part of "Take the Kids Downtown Weekend."Among the offerings are a Craft Corner at the Maryland Science Center, where kids can create and take home their own Valentine love bugs, a Fun Hunt at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House & Museum and an appearance by Winnie the Pooh and Tigger at the Disney Store at the Gallery at Harborplace.

On July 2, 2003, JOYCE MAE ELLMAN (nee Hoff); loving and beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and center of life for her adoring family, became free of an insidious cancer against which she fought with great heart for four years. She was 67 years old. Born July 11, 1935, in Baltimore, Maryland, she was devoted and treasured wife of Nathan Ellman, of Cherry Hill, NJ, with whom she shared a rich life and much of the wide, wide world. She was the mother of Franklin (Gina) Caplan, and of Karen Caplan, and of William Ellman, and she was the precious grandmother of her special soul mate, Cailen Caplan.

At Mastellone, a small Italian grocery in Parkville, customers gather at the counter to share recipes, gossip and even homespun cures for nagging arthritis pain. Across the street, at Mueller's Deli, the meat slicer is in constant swing, producing perfect slivers of liverwurst, bratwurst and knackwurst for hearty sandwiches on imported pumpernickel, sourdough or dark-brown hunter bread. At Near East Bakery in Hamilton, buckets of fresh olives greet shoppers and beckon them to taste the pungent fruits of the Old World.