Nan

"Everyday People," by Stewart O'Nan. Grove Press. 268 pages. $24. For the past decade, Stewart O'Nan has been turning out books bursting with catastrophes almost yearly. The tragedies that drive his novels "Snow Angels," "The Names of the Dead," "Speed Queen" and "A Prayer for the Dying" include, respectively, the murder of a young woman by her husband after their 3-year-old daughter drowns, a Vietnam vet's struggle with his past, the final confession of a drug-addicted murderer on Oklahoma's death row and an outbreak of diphtheria in the Midwest in the 1870s.

Nan L. Vickers, a retired registered pediatric nurse and avid reader, died Wednesdayof respiratory failure at Oak Crest Village retirement community. She was 88. The daughter of a machinist and a homemaker, the former Nan Leimbach was born in Baltimore and raised on Berwick Avenue in Hamilton. After graduating from Seton High School in 1942, she earned her nursing degree in 1945 from the Union Memorial Hospital School of Nursing. Mrs. Vickers then joined the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps.

Nan Hayden Agle, an author whose numerous children's books included a series about the adventures of triplet boys and a story about a former slave, died Feb. 14 at Copper Ridge in Sykesville of complications from a fall. She was 100. She was born Anna Bradford Hayden on her family's Catonsville farm, Nancy's Fancy on Nunnery Lane - now part of the Academy Heights neighborhood. She was a 1923 graduate of Catonsville High School. In several autobiographical articles Mrs. Agle wrote for The Sun, she recalled an inspiring high school English teacher who "sits enthroned in the highest seat of memory.

Nan Yarnall, a former art instructor, bookstore owner and recovering alcoholic who spent years helping those similarly afflicted, died Wednesday of Alzheimer's disease at the Copper Ridge assisted-living facility in Sykesville. She was 76. Miss Yarnall was born and raised in Philadelphia, where she was a graduate of the Germantown Friends School. She attended Wheaton College and the University of Pennsylvania. During the 1950s, she was an art instructor at Sandy Spring Friends School, and during the 1960s and 1970s owned and operated the Cricket Book Shop in Olney.

Nan Rosenthal loves to be creative with her style. In her work as an event coordinator and public relations consultant for nonprofit organizations, she must stay professional. The 72-year-old Pikesville resident looked stylishly put-together when we "Glimpsed" her at a holiday party thrown by Sascha Wolhandler and Steve Suser. "I usually wear something fun - a pin or some kind of accessory, something that brings some personality [to the outfit]. ... It makes me feel better, and it creates conversation, too."

Be tall. Be thin. Be young.Alas, that's what one fashion director recommended when asked for tips on how best to coordinate hose with fall's new outfits.Well, if you're all of those things, you've got it made. If not, applaud her honesty. . . . and remember, she also said that there now are so many options for legwear that you're sure to find something flattering.And she's right: Driven by a combination of innovation, technology and pure marketing, women's hosiery is available now in a truly bewildering array of shades, weights and styles.

Wish You Were Here, by Stewart O'Nan. Grove/Atlantic. 528 pages. $25. The Maxwells, like most American families, seem on the brink of disaster. The family's annual ingathering of three generations at a lakeside cottage unfolds in the pages of Stewart O'Nan's new novel, though Henry, the paterfamilias, is absent. His death the prior winter has set in motion what little action is to be found in Wish You Were Here. So many plot devices are wheeled out and made ready that the very lack of exterior drama is something of a triumph.

At the start of "The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best," a New York musician loses his girlfriend and his day job, then botches a gig as a singing moose in a kindergarten class. In desperate straits, he partners with an eccentric motormouth performer who relies on kiddie instruments like kazoos. Along with a sassy female rock entrepreneur, they embark on a tour that ends with a battle of the bands in Los Angeles. With a slew of original songs and two lead characters who could take turns in an "I'm With Stupid" T-shirt, "The Brooklyn Brothers" aims for a blend of farce, music and heart.

The sales pitch to 46 uniformed men was simple: Welcome to Baltimore. Next time, bring a tall ship. City and state officials and the nautical community have begun a marketing drive aimed at filling the Inner Harbor with majestic sailing vessels and gray-hulled warships for the War of 1812 commemoration finale, Sept. 6-14, 2014. On Wednesday, they pitched military attaches from 40 countries, including Canada, Mexico, Turkey and Sri Lanka. Navies begin planning their sea exercises and courtesy calls about a year in advance, and there's a lot of jockeying among East Coast seaports to secure the biggest and best ships for summer events.

Just a few shockers in tonight's episode. And that includes the wink-wink product placement for 1-800-DENTIST. WOAH, THAT OPENING: The best overall three minutes of this above-average episode were the first three. We're right back where we left off, at the now-ironically titled Festival of Tolerance. Total carnage and badass-ness. Eric goes after Bill, random vamps go after hapless humans (especially the one who screams, "We're on your side!"), Nan stabs a spellbound vamp in the neck.