Sense Of Humor

She might have been fine if she hadn't looked at them sitting onstage in their flowered dresses and oversized suits at a ceremony on their last day of elementary school. But when 22-year-old Mary Hanna turned toward her graduating fifth-graders -- her very first class out of college -- her voice promptly broke in the middle of her speech."I was thinking that was a big mistake, because I was about to cry," said Hanna, who finished her rookie year at Gorman Crossing Elementary School in North Laurel yesterday.

The first senior member of the "Star Trek" crew has died, and that particular universe will never be the same.DeForest Kelley, who played Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy on the original series that ran from 1966 to 1969 and gained immortality in syndicated reruns, died yesterday at age 79 after a long illness, said Carol Pfannkuche, spokeswoman for the Motion Picture and Television Country Home and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Calif.With William Shatner as Captain Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, Kelley was at the heart of a series that captured audiences with its imagination despite its sometimes cheesy effects and detours into camp.

A couple of dog talesDON'T BELIEVE everything you read -- especially on the bulletin board at the Huffard Animal Hospital in Pasadena. A recent posting: "Free to Good Home. Pit Bull 1 year old. Very Friendly "I'm sure.And another:"Puppies! $20. 5 adorable pups. Born New Year's Eve. Need home. Will stay very small "Yeah, right. OF COURSE, there are some signs that might have a little more validity, like the one in front of Pasadena United Methodist Church on Ritchie Highway."If you're looking for a sign from God, this is it," the message read recently.

The Jester has lost his jingle!"the King yelled in dismay."His bells no longer tingle!That's all I have to say!"Then without a thought and on a whim,the King decided to banish him."Banish me, Sire? Don't send me away!Why is your high Highness so down this fine day?"But the King gave no answer. He said nothing more,merely pointed his finger toward the front door.The Jester walked out slowly, and a tear fell from his face,for he'd never left the kingdom, never wandered from this place.And once outside, the Jester cried,"Oh Pharley, I fearwhat they say is quite true.

E. William Furey, twice chairman of the Maryland Racing Commission and senior partner in a suburban Washington law firm, died Tuesday of cancer at his home in Chevy Chase. He was 68.His colleagues at the commission universally praised Mr. Furey's sense of fairness and humor, his ability to solve disputes and his personal involvement with all types of racing people.John McDaniel, former commission chairman and current member, called Mr. Furey "one of the most unforgettable characters I've ever met. He had a great, dry sense of humor."

"Monkey King," by Patricia Chao. HarperCollins. 310 pages. $24.At this well-written novel's opening, the main character Sally Collisson Wang is being admitted to the Willowridge Mental Institution following a suicide attempt. From that moment on, the reader is led one step at a time toward a slowly opening door. Given that what happened to Sally has become so sadly commonplace, the reader has a pretty good idea what truth awaits behind the door that she, her sister and her mother have fought so hard to keep closed.

We were supposed to be toasting the holiday at a sumptuous dinner with our closest friends. Instead, we were holed up at the Salt Lake City airport, sharing stale peanut butter crackers with the kids.Uh-oh. The gate agent announced another delay. First it was the weather. Then a problem with the plane.Would we ever leave? Would we never get there?As the six-hour-late flight neared our Wyoming destination, a raging blizzard closed the airport. We traveled the last 150 miles by bus, staggering into Jackson Hole after midnight.

Speed and driver error were factors in the death of a 16-year-old Hereford High School student whose car slammed into the rear of a tractor-trailer rig on Mount Carmel Road on Friday afternoon, Baltimore County police said yesterday.Truck driver Charles Mielke Sr., 54, said that he was slowing down because of a cow that appeared to be wandering into the road and that the driver behind him did not notice in time, according to police.Police said road marks indicated that Tyler Clayton Emerick of 5000 block of Mount Carmel Road veered to the left and then the right as he tried unsuccessfully to avoid the truck.

A woman who became permanently disabled when a Boston surgeon removed fragments of her brain during elective eye surgery was awarded $5 million by a Superior Court jury, which also gave the woman's husband $1 million for loss of companionship with his wife of 26 years.The woman, Judith A. McEnaney, and her husband, John P. McEnaney, of Westford, Mass., declined to comment on the $6 million verdict returned Tuesday against Dr. Michael Joseph.Their attorney, Mark Regan, said the 45-year-old woman has permanently lost her short-term memory because of the surgical error made Nov. 21, 1990, at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston.

In the summer of 1965, in his first at bat as a Baltimore Oriole, young Davey Johnson smacked a single off New York Yankee immortal Whitey Ford. Then, gracefully dancing off first base full of new-found joie de vivre, Johnson promptly got himself picked off.This was considered not so good. So, when he drew a walk in his second at bat, Johnson was careful to wait until he got all the way to second base before getting himself picked off once again.In the Baltimore dugout that day, Billy Hunter corner him long enough to offer a piece of sage major league wisdom.

Philip Nelson can't wait to start his new job as Columbia Association president. "I think it's a great opportunity. I think it's a great place," he said. Nelson, 59, plans to resign tomorrow as city manager in Troy, Mich., and should be in Columbia full time by the end of April. His wife, Virginia, will stay in Michigan to sell their home. His term officially starts May 1, when he will replace Maggie J. Brown. The length of term and salary have not been finalized, said Tom O'Connor, chairman of the Columbia Association's board of directors.

Simon Kahle Price, who owned a Canton restaurant and a Butchers Hill bar, died Jan. 20 at Johns Hopkins Hospital of post-operative complications after an aortic aneurysm. He was 41. Mr. Prince, the son of a pastor and a Baltimore District Court judge, was born in Baltimore and raised in Annapolis. Known as "Si," Mr. Price was a 1985 graduate of Broadneck High School, where he had been a member of the wrestling, football and lacrosse teams. He attended what is now McDaniel College and Catonsville Community College before earning a bachelor's degree in sociology from Towson University in 1992.

Ricky Knight, a 12-year-old boy who never lost his sense of humor, determination or love of sports while battling brain cancer for more than a year, died of the disease Monday. Ricky, a sixth-grader at Elkridge Landing Middle School, was diagnosed with the cancer in April 2007. After a grueling summer of surgeries and treatment, he played football in the fall with the Elkridge Hurricanes. His father, Rick Knight, described the game as "good therapy," and coaches and teammates marveled at the boy's courage.

On March 1, 2008 "BOSTON" FRANK HAGGERTY, Age 71, passed away of natural causes. Beloved father of Jan, Frankie and Kam; step-father of Jim and Mike; grandfather of Jordyn, Cody and Amina. Frank attended the Merchant Marine Academy where he had a distinguished career until he retired in 1992. He lead a full and happy life. Your smile and sense of humor will be missed and never forgotten, we love you. Services will be private.

Ursula Klau, a Holocaust survivor and member of the Jewish Survival Group, died of a heart attack Friday. She was 75. The Pikesville resident worked as comptroller for Inland Leidy Chemical Corp. in Baltimore for about 25 years before she retired in 1997. She was an honored guest of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and participated in several forums where she discussed her experiences as a concentration camp survivor. As a teenager, Ms. Klau was imprisoned in two Nazi concentration camps - Westerbork in the Netherlands and Baden-Baden in Germany - with her parents.

Infinite Jest By David Foster Wallace With its baroque subplots, zany political satire, morbid, cerebral humor and astonishing range of cultural references, Wallace's brilliant but somewhat bloated dirigible of a second novel (after The Broom in the System) will appeal to steadfast readers of Pynchon and Gaddis. But few others will have the stamina for it. Too much happens here even to begin to summarize, but the author has a wicked sense of humor and a wonderful eye for capturing the odd juxtapositions of modern life.

Considering the beating his body has endured this season, Buffalo Bills quarterback J.P. Losman has maintained his sense of humor. The third-year quarterback has been sacked 44 times - the fifth-highest total in the NFL this season - and has been sacked at least three times in 11 games. Bills@Ravens Sunday, 4:15 p.m., chs. 13, 9, 1090 AM, 97.9 FM Line: Ravens by 9

Departing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld may be leaving behind a legacy of discord and failure at the Pentagon and in Iraq. But that doesn't mean he won't be highly sought after as a board member or corporate executive, say headhunters who have tracked his career. "He has a great business background and a great government background. As long as Nancy Pelosi isn't the lead director, I think he would be a real prize for any board," said Greg Crecos, who heads Gregory Michaels & Associates, a Chicago search firm.

Katherine Polites, who drew strength from the arts despite a disabling illness, died Monday of myofascial pain syndrome at her Rodgers Forge home. She was 52. Ms. Polites was born in Oak Park, Ill., and moved to Lutherville as a teenager. She was a 1973 graduate of Baltimore Lutheran High School. Ms. Polites began playing the piano when she was 6 years old and had hoped to become a concert pianist. But her plans were cut short in her early 20s when she was diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome, an incurable and disabling condition, said her sister, Angeline Polites, with whom she shared a Regester Avenue home.

Rowan is back. I can hear the happiness in his voice, and I don't think it has anything to do with medication. As far as I know, the only mood-enhancer at play here is the anticipation of Rowan's return to what Rowan does best - making people laugh at Harborplace, tourist capitol of the Queen City of the Patapsco Drainage Basin. (Couple of weeks ago, a guy writes from Hampden - or Honville - that he doesn't like it when I use John Goodspeed's old nickname for Baltimore. He thinks it's a putdown.