Larynx

VATICAN CITY - Nine days after critical breathing trouble landed him in the hospital, Pope John Paul II emerged from the medical complex yesterday, boarded his glass-encased "popemobile" and rode through the streets of Rome to his home in the Vatican. From his vehicle, Pope John Paul waved haltingly at crowds outside the hospital, including patients in their pajamas, and at those awaiting him in St. Peter's Square. The surprise decision to use the specially fitted car for the three-mile journey, instead of the ambulance that rushed him to the hospital late Feb. 1, was seen as an effort to reassure an anxious public after the 84-year-old pontiff's latest health scare.

BALTIMORE CITY* ROBBERY: Northeastern District -- A resident of the 4900 block of Gunther Ave. was in the 5300 block of Moravia Road yesterday when three men, one with a handgun, robbed her of property valued at more than $200.* THEFT FROM AUTO: Northern District -- A suitcase containing property valued at nearly $300 was stolen from a car parked in the 200 block of Edgevale Road Saturday.* THEFT FROM AUTO: Northern District -- A notebook computer, clothing, money clip and five $1 gold coins dated 1899, all valued at more than $5,000, were stolen from a car parked in the 5600 block of Cottonworth Ave. over the weekend.

The picture of the man who accompanies him into clubhouses is indelibly stamped in Joe Garagiola's mind: former major-leaguer Bill Tuttle, half of his jaw gone, his face distorted after five operations for cancer brought on by chewing tobacco."

Bernie Lit, who overcame hearing and speech impairments to learn how to speak at the age of 32, died April 21 of renal failure at St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington, England. The former Glen Burnie resident was 46."I first heard his voice when he was 32, after his English therapists taught him to speak and they sent me a tape," said Evelyn Lit, his mother, who lives in Highlandtown. "His first words were, 'Hello, Mum. I love you.' It was so emotional."All of his life he was thought to be both deaf and mute and unable to learn sounds, and it was only after he moved to England that therapists at the General School in London discovered that he could be taught to speak despite the atrophied muscles in his larynx," Mrs. Lit said.

Harford County Sheriff Robert E. Comes insists that all is well with his department, despite mounting evidence that it badly mishandled the mysterious strangulation death of inmate William Ford at the detention center more than a year ago."Procedural errors" may have occurred, he says, but "there has been no . . . evidence of any wrongdoing involving my people." To suggestions that management changes are needed at the county jail, he declared: "I intend to oppose any change."This obdurate attitude, in light of various questionable judgments by his office in this case, should be a persuasive argument to take the jail out of the elected sheriff's hands and place it under county control.

So, Peg Browning, what do you tell the children?"I usually tell them they are dumb, dumb, dumb if they smoke, and I ask them if they want a voice like mine. I ask them if they would like to spend a few hours with me, see how hard it is for me to eat. It's such an effort that I don't eat much. I'm losing weight. It's getting worse and worse."Ms. Browning's words are more than a sermon on the evils of cigarettes. She also presents a riveting image of the consequences of a bad habit. Ten years ago, the 63-year-old Ellicott City resident and former smoker had her cancerous larynx removed.

Specialists at university medical institutions termed Pope John Paul II's condition last night as "serious," but said that it is not necessarily life-threatening as long as doctors carefully monitor the pontiff's breathing and administer appropriate medications. Vatican officials announced yesterday that the pope had been hospitalized as a precaution after his breathing became labored, possibly as a result of a bout of influenza. They said the pope was also suffering from "acute laryngeal tracheitis" and "larynx spasm crisis."

Top Ten Reasons for Avoiding "Captain Ron."10.) Do the words lame, lamer and lamest mean anything to you?9.) Cute kids.8.) Martin Short in yet another throwaway part. Here's a horrifying sub-thought: Suppose this is all the Martin Short there is? Suppose for the rest of his career he plays mild suburban dads who find themselves mildly overmatched by circumstances, make a lot of funny noises but ultimately and sentimentally rally in the end. The movie would have been a lot funnier if he'd done everything just the same except . . . he was Ed Grimley.

James E. Schmidt Sr., 68, welder and shop owner James E. "Smitty" Schmidt Sr., a retired welder and shop owner, died of cancer of the larynx Jan. 31 at home in Beechfield. He was 68. Born in Southwest Baltimore, he attended St. Martin High School and married Jean Crocetti in 1952. About five years later, after being trained as a welder, he went to work at Western Electric Corp.'s Broening Highway plant. He stayed 32 years and retired, but not for long. Mr. Schmidt became a welder for the Social Security Administration, working there for seven years and retiring in 1990.