Proud

AS I PREPARE TO leave office, I continue to be asked, "What is it that you are most proud of over the past 12 years?" I've given it some thought, and the question is not easy to answer, because there is so much of which to be proud.For example:* We've been able to increase the city's General Fund contribution to our public schools by more than 47 percent since I took office. And we were able to negotiate a partnership with the state, which resulted in an infusion of still more money, $254 million over five years for the schools.

Sometimes, planning can be fruitless.It was for Proud Run in the $75,000 All Brandy Stakes yesterday, as the 5-year-old mare altered her game plan by surging to challenge for the lead, capturing it, then holding off Earth to Jackie for a convincing length victory over a firm turf course at Laurel Park.The daughter of Proud Truth completed 1 1/8 miles in 1 minute, 46 2/5 seconds while scoring her first victory of 1999 after a string of five seconds and thirds."We planned to lay off the speed, but it didn't work out that way," said jockey Mark Johnston.

DEATH, Redd Foxx sagely joked, is nature's way of telling you to slow down. A poet suggested defiance -- "Death, be not proud" -- and another noted that death is the "great leveler."We all share natural, common reactions and responses to death, but each of us also has our own personal coping mechanisms.When artists of note die, I console myself by reminiscing about good old times. If they are performers, as was jazz singer Joe Williams, who died two weeks ago, I think back to the last time I saw them in person, or I drown myself in their recordings.

Sometimes the friends of Kurt L. Schmoke make trouble for him when they should simply shut up. It happens on Park Heights Avenue, in Northwest Baltimore, and in the city's Housing Department, too, and in an election year it does this mayor damage he doesn't need.In the 4300 block of Park Heights Ave., there once was a movie house called the Avalon Theatre, which closed and became radio station WSID, which later moved and left an empty shell, which has been rotting there for more than a decade.

TCCity should revive displays at Pratt libraryOnce there was a proud walk along Cathedral Street. It stretched a block, had one building only, the Enoch Pratt Free Library.The walk featured the library's 12 windows, high and deep and arresting, showing and telling what was going on in the city.Who before had done that, given such care and attention to such matters? Such windows and displays a half-century ago were revolutionary. Then from over the country, from over the world, librarians came and saw and copied.

Mr. Rogers didn't put on a sweater or change into his sneakers before addressing Goucher College graduates yesterday. But he did lead the Class of '93 in song.And what song? Oh, you can guess:"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood . . ."Indeed it was. A spotless May day, brilliant in green and blue, with just enough of a breeze to ruffle the tassels. A special day, with a male student, John Finegan, giving the senior class address for the first time in the college's history, and Mr. Rogers, the embodiment of all things calm and good and true, to send the graduates out into the world.

METAIRIE, La. -- Republican presidential candidate David Duke says he is "proud" of his years as a Ku Klux Klan leader and still believes in "genetic differences" based on race.Duke also said that blacks and other minorities now have the upper hand in America, and that he sees "minority problems as a threat" to the white culture he loves."Obviously the scale is tipped over in their favor, and what happens is the rights of the majority come down," he said in an interview at his suburban New Orleans campaign office.

You want your kid to strive for perfection in everything. So, when he/she does things, you encourage him by saying he can do it even better the next time, and someday it will be perfect.No, it won't, because being perfect is an unreachable goal. In the meantime, the message your kid receives is:What I did isn't good enough, therefore I'm not good enough, and until I'm perfect, I won't be good enough.This mind-set can lead to a lifetime of:* Apathy and underachievement -- "What's the use of trying?"

We armed Iraq, we trained Iraq, and if we attack, Iraq will do us proud.This is make or break for the world trade talks and no one cares. As an issue, trade does that to people who aren't in it.

22 Dumbarton Rd.Baltimore, Md. 21212December 18, 1990Dear Mother,Well, how have you been? It's been a while since I've heard from you. A lot has happened here in Baltimore since we last spoke.The kids are growing up fast. Andy is the leading scorer on the middle school soccer team and was picked by his league's coaches to have a free trip to an international soccer camp in Toronto next summer. You can imagine how excited he is and how proud we are of him. I know you would be, too, if you were here.

The grandmother of Olney native Sgt. James R. McIlvaine, killed Thursday in Iraq, characterized him as a man who longed to please his father, which is exactly what he did when became a Marine in 2001. Sergeant McIlvaine joined the Marines after attending Sherwood High School and graduating from a military school in Virginia. "His father was very patriotic, loved the flag and country," said Patty DeSimone, Sergeant McIlvaine's paternal grandmother, who said her grandson died in combat in Al Anbar province.

Thoughts on the inauguration from The Baltimore Sun's community on Twitter. "I feel like people should be wary of those they give power to, not treat them like rock stars." Bill Mill "I feel proud to be an American and ready to do the work that lies ahead. Finally, a President I can believe in ... and trust." Tracey Halvorsen "He is a very good speaker; full sentences and everything. I loved the appeal to put aside our differences and to start work." John Busteed "I watched the swearing-in from a bar at LAX. Time seemed to stop there.

WILLIAM BOZEL, JR., born September 22, 1926 in Balitmore, MD, died suddenly November 27, 2007 in Cairo, GA. He was a proud career United States Marine. Private interment was held in Tallahassee, Florida on December 1, 2007.

Gerald Harris is one proud Food and Drug Administration worker. So proud that he composed a four-page score and more than 100-word homage to his employer for the centennial being celebrated at picnics and ceremonies this year. Imagine these words set to a rather robust hymn and you've got Harris' "FDA Centennial Anthem": We honor those who carried on before. O'er these hundred years public safety to secure. For food, vaccines, drugs, devices, blood and more. They strove to see these goods effective, safe and pure.

The frenzy surrounding the nomination of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court paid a short visit to a well-trimmed golf course suburb off Route 40 in Ellicott City yesterday, where the nominee's parents and two sisters crowded around an arsenal of microphones to say how proud they all are. Flooded by telephone calls and several visits from reporters the past two days, Roberts' family members said they coordinated the news conference with...

How they did: Seven of the 30 media members whose picks were published in yesterday's Sun correctly picked War Emblem to win the Preakness. No one correctly chose Magic Weisner to finish second, and two were right about third-place finisher Proud Citizen. Here are the media picks again, with horses' names in boldface if the finish was predicted correctly. Reporter, Affiliation First Second Third Tom Keyser, The Sun Proud Citizen Medaglia d'Oro Magic Weisner Steve Anderson, Daily Racing Form Equality Medaglia d'Oro War Eblem Kent Baker, The Sun Harlan's Holiday Proud Citizen Equality Andrew Beyer, Washington Post Medaglia d'Oro Harlan's Holiday War Emblem Dan Farley, Racing Post War Emblem Proud Citizen Easyfromthegitgo Mike Farrell, Bergen Record War Emblem Harlan's Holiday Medaglia d'Oro David Ginsburg, Associated Press War Emblem Medaglia d'Oro arlan's Holiday Ed Gray, Boston Herald Medaglia d'Oro USS Tinosa Easyfromthegitgo David Grening, Daily Racing Form Medaglia d'Oro War Emblem Equality Gene Guidi, Detroit Free Press Medaglia d'Oro War Emblem Proud Citizen Bill Handleman, Asbury Park Press Harlan's Holiday Medaglia d'Oro Equality Ron Indrisano, Boston Globe Medaglia d'Oro Harlan's Holiday Proud Citizen Dave Joseph, S. Fla. Sun-Sentinel Harlan's Holiday Proud Citizen Medaglia d'Oro Steve Klein, Daily Racing Form Proud Citizen Medaglia d'Oro War Emblem Dave Litfin, Daily Racing Form War Emblem Proud Citizen Equality Michele MacDonald, Thoroughbred...

Menacing Dennis played the hare this time. And local favorite Magic Weisner came flying through the stretch to provide a magical moment. Except for those variations, the 127th Preakness was eerily similar to the Kentucky Derby, where War Emblem and Proud Citizen ran 1-2 all the way around the track in that order. War Emblem was content to follow the pace run by the speedy, but outclassed, Menacing Dennis, who set the fractions for six furlongs before fading to finish 10th. The pace was brisk, and War Emblem was right there, a neck away, refuting the idea that he would fold if pressured early.

On a dreary afternoon along North Point Road, the rain made tiny bomb bursts on the hood of Jim Rhoda's truck while he waited for his son outside a car dealership. Like most Americans, he was struggling to define the catastrophic events that have shaken the nation since the terrorist attacks Sept. 11. But closer to his heart, the son he now waited for - bright, handsome, a new father - is a combat Marine, and destiny has summoned him to go into harm's way as war is on the wind. Just like Jim Rhoda himself, when he was young and stood straight as an arrow and looked like a kid on a Marine Corps recruiting poster.

Text of George W. Bush's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention yesterday in Philadelphia. Remarks as prepared for delivery: Mr. Chairman, delegates, and my fellow citizens. I accept your nomination. Thank you for this honor. Together, we will renew America's purpose. Our founders first defined that purpose here in Philadelphia. Ben Franklin was here. Thomas Jefferson. And, of course, George Washington - or, as his friends called him, "George W." I am proud to have Dick Cheney at my side.

Jockey Ramon Dominguez had to find an avenue for Crafty Toast yesterday in the $75,000 All Brandy Stakes at Pimlico. The opening appeared just in time and Dominguez adroitly guided the young gray mare through it to overtake Proud Run and prevail by a head at 22-to-1 odds. Crafty Toast, trained at Delaware Park by Bruce Jackson, was supplemented to the race, which attracted most of the top female turf runners in the area. "They sent her to the farm from New York a couple of months ago with the intention of breeding her, but she started to act so fresh and look so good, they kept her training," Jackson said of Bohemia Stable.