Rachel

Rachel Brown had dreamed of this moment since she was 5 years old. She stood on the stage in her high school auditorium, staring down at the rows of parents, teachers, neighbors and fellow students. Despite the chill of this February evening, it seemed as if the entire town of Greenup, Ky., had come out to celebrate.One by one, the principal called the names of a dozen girls. When Rachel's turn came, she joined the others at center stage. All wore white satin jackets emblazoned in gold with the words "National Champs 1999."

When we left off last episode, Marley had faceplanted at sectionals, causing all of the glee kids to drag her to a back room in the middle of her performance and basically get disqualified. So the Warblers win...and now New Directions' season is over. Umm..what do we do now? Is there even a season left? Hellooo , Ryan Murphy, what the heck is going on here?! Cut to New York and we learn Kurt is auditioning for NYADA...again. We also learn about the school's prestigious winter showcase.

On Thursday, April 8, 2004, ROBERT J.; brother of Nancy Tillson; uncle of Linda Mc Kenney and David Tillson; great uncle of Megan and Robert Mc Kenney and Rachel Tillson. Friends may call at Loring Byers Funeral Directors, Inc., 8728 Liberty Road, (2 miles west of beltway exit 18-B), Friday, 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 P.M., where service will be held Saturday, 1 P.M. Interment Kriders Church Cemetery.

Suddenly, On April 25, 2005, ADAM CHRISTIAN WEIR, beloved infant son of Bradford S. and Rachel (Emanuel) Weir. Cherished grandson of Robert and Jean Weir and Vister and the late Joyce Emanuel. Friends are invited to attend Graveside Services Friday, April 29, 2005 at 4 p.m. at Columbia Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Twin Rivers Church, P.O. Box 726, Columbia, MD 21045. See www.slackfuneralhome.com for directions.

The student: Rachel Soobitsky, 8 School: Ilchester Elementary School Special achievement: One of four second-graders chosen to represent Ilchester Elementary in a short-story competition in December as part of the State of Maryland International Reading Association Young Authors' Writing Contest. Rachel entered the contest with her story "Cats." "I like cats. I play with them every day," she writes. "They like to cuddle. They like to play." What was her inspiration?: "I thought of my cat Jerry," Rachel says.

Students: Ann and Ginger Breneman, Rachel Milne, seniors, and Heather Williams, a junior at Arundel High School.Activity: Ann, Ginger, Rachel and Heather were four of about 90 Arundel students who delivered hand-crafted gifts and sang Christmas carols to the residents of four area nursing homes last Thursday.The gifts "are really of high quality," says Rachel, 17. "And we receive a grade on them."The four girls participated last year as well in the annual event, under the direction of Linda Green, an art teacher at Arundel.

Most viewers for CBS' Riding the Bus With My Sister will be tuning in to see how Rosie O'Donnell does in the role of a developmentally challenged woman suddenly forced to cope with the loss of her care-giving father. The short version: O'Donnell does well enough - in part, because she gives her character a hard, selfish, even obnoxious edge that nicely undercuts the built-in sentimentality of a Hallmark Hall of Fame film. Ultimately, it is Andie MacDowell's performance as a career-obsessed older sister that makes or breaks the film, and that is a more complicated matter.

Let's talk about sexy, baby, 'Glee' style. S-e-x was the topic of conversation tonight on 'Glee.' After a vanilla version of "Tonight" from West Side Story by Rachel and Blaine, aka Maria and Tony, Artie asks them about their lack of passion. Both the main characters admit to being virgins and waiting for the right person. But Artie's concerned they won't be convincing to the audience. After all, WSS is about teenage sexual awakening. Sparks fly when Blaine revisits Dalton as the Warblers are performing their rendition of "Uptown Girl.

The Western Maryland College Theatre has brought the work of an important new American playwright to Carroll County with its current production of Craig Lucas' "Reckless."Lucas is well known for his dynamic screenplay for the recent film, "Longtime Companions." He is less well known for his highly original and individualized style of theater, represented by "Reckless," "Blue Window," "Missing Persons" and his most recent hit, "Prelude to a Kiss," which, after a long run on Broadway, is now being made into a motion picture.

WHEN many families convene for a celebration these days, the festivities are increasingly likely to be multicultural, reflecting the growing number of unions of people from different cultures and religions.Instead of finding the pull between two cultures or religions an irritant, they celebrate their diversity, saying that it helps give their children a sense of grounding and belonging.We asked some local couples to share how being in multicultural relationships has enhanced their lives:Jessica Strauss, 44, a human services consultant, and her husband, Paul Harris, 40, an organization development consultant, live in Mount Washington and have been married for 6 1/2 years.