Inaugural Parade

Tomorrow night, John Knoll will open his battered brown case, pick up his silver trumpet and prepare for "the walk." For 32 years, Knoll and other residents of the first block of Overbrook Road in Catonsville have serenaded their neighbors with Christmas carols. The carolers start the night with a potluck dinner at one of their houses. Then they march up and down the block, greeting those who couldn't attend the dinner. The block's most familiar dog, Shadow, often walks with them. Knoll's melodies serve as the foundation for the crooners.

State health officials in Maryland and Rhode Island are seeking a suspected food-borne organism that hospitalized 19 members of a visiting high school marching band who came to Maryland to march in President Clinton's inaugural parade."

"VMI truly marches to the beat of a different drummer," U.S. District Court Judge Jackson Kiser ruled.Not this year. Not in the presidential inaugural parade. It won't march at all. Traditionally the school's cadets have marched, but this year there will be no VMI on Pennsylvania Avenue.Some Virginians say their military school was snubbed because its males-only admissions policy is politically incorrect and unacceptable to the Clinton administration. Inaugural committee officials say that is not true, they just wanted more "diversity."

Michael Boyd's conversation is sprinkled with "ma'ams" and "sirs." His posture is flawless, his demeanor so no-nonsense it's disarming. It's the kind of discipline you don't often see in a teen-ager.That military bearing has helped make Mr. Boyd and five fellow members of the Young Marines of Baltimore an award-winning color guard unit. Come Wednesday, during the 1993 Inaugural Parade in Washington, they'll get to show off their ceremonial style for President Bill Clinton and the nation."We're kind of nervous because the whole world will be watching us," said Mr. Boyd, who at 18 is the oldest member of the unit and the one who barks marching commands to the others.

Being a positive person by nature, I was willing to giv President Clinton a grace period (say, two or three hours) before savaging him in print and satisfying the blood lust that is a pre-requisite for this job.I wasn't going to mention, for instance, that the man's hair simply does not move! - lending credence to the rumor that it's held in place by an industrial-strength shellac generally used on gymnasium floors.And there was to be no talk here of the new president bringing a cat to the White House, desecrating the halls where Lincoln once walked with a sneaky animal that would just as soon scratch out your eyeballs as look at you.No, my thinking was: Let others take their swings at the new president if they must.

William T. Whiteley III, 66, longtime sales engineerWilliam Talbot Whiteley III, a retired sales engineer and past president of the St. George's Society of Baltimore, died Sunday of a heart attack at his Monkton home. He was 66.Mr. Whiteley had been a sales engineer with Concrete Pipe & Products Co. in Jessup for many years. In 1990, he joined the staff of Ratrie, Robbins and Schweizer, manufacturers of road construction materials. He retired in 1995.In addition to the St. George's Society of Baltimore, Mr. Whiteley was a member of the Timonium-Cockeysville Kiwanis Club and Mount Moriah Lodge.

President Clinton, his wife, Hillary, and daughter, Chelsea, along with numerous other dignitaries owe one Harford County businessman a debt of gratitude.Every time a member of the first family or its guests left the reviewing stand during the inaugural parade to heed a call of nature, David Mitchell was flushed with pride. For it was he who provided a clean way station just a few brisk steps from the marching bands along Pennsylvania Avenue.According to Mr. Mitchell, his company, Mitch Pro Cleaning Services Inc. of Forest Hill, was sent to Washington last Tuesday to prepare and service the "Crowd Pleaser" -- a 10-toilet portable bathroom to be used by the president and vice president, their families, friends and other dignitaries assigned to seats on the reviewing stand.

For weeks leading up to the November election, Alison Velez Lane spent evenings and weekends volunteering for Barack Obama's presidential campaign, even traveling across state lines to help sway voters. "[It] gave me great hope. It showed that Dr. King's dream for me to live in a world where I am not judged by the color of my skin but the 'content of my character' is alive," said the Baltimore attorney. Lane, 46, also felt a personal connection to the candidate. "President-elect [Obama]

WASHINGTON -- This is the word that keeps coming to my mind, like a single emotional flag raised over the week of the 53rd presidential inauguration: Sober.I do not say that to rain on the Inaugural Parade. I remain a goose-bump patriot. I came here for the pageantry, the sound of Jessye Norman's voice, the citizen collage of hats and scarves, the democratic ritual. And I got what I came for. But the weekend celebration carried a sober aura around its glittering, glitzy center. The subdued image of the times kept reappearing, like the pentimento under a painting.

So, what's happening with our favorite Friends in love, Rachel and Ross? Well, it seems Rachel isn't all that thrilled with Ross' plans for the future"Friends" (8 p.m.-8: 30 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Rachel and Ross are arguing, Tom Selleck is back as Monica's love interest, and the boys go bowling. What's not to like? NBC."Murder, She Wrote" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) -- As this series winds down to its long-overdue conclusion, Angela Lansbury and Co. seem determined to wring everything they can out of this last season.