Ski Mask

I was thumbing through one of those outdoorsy magazines for tree huggers recently when I came upon this gooey piece about raccoons.Apparently, the person who wrote it had just had part of his brain removed. Because in the article, raccoons were described as gentle, friendly and inquisitive -- and probably brave, trustworthy and good to their mothers, too, if I'd gone deeper into the text.All in all, it was enough to make you throw up, which I couldn't do because we were sitting in the orthodontist's office at the time.

The world -- sunlit snow, green pines and skiers gliding off the chairlift -- faded out, then swam back into focus."Are you all right?" asked a lean young man in black pants and a ski mask, popping his skis off and leaning over to check out the recumbent body -- my body -- on the snowbank. "You need to drink lots of liquids when you exercise at this altitude," he continued, pulling off the mask and proffering a water bottle.Fifteen years skiing in the Rockies, and I'd never felt queasy before.

A 24-year-old Brooklyn Park man told police he was shot after a masked gunman kidnapped him outside his home and drove him to a deserted area early yesterday morning.William David Frankhouse, of the 5100 block of Wasena Avenue, was taken to Shock Trauma Center at University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. His condition was not available yesterday.Police spokesman Capt. Michael Fitzgibbons said investigators aretrying to determine a motive for the shooting. Frankhouse said the shooting happened shortly after 7 a.m., although he did not call police until 9:45 a.m.Police have no explanation for the delay.

A Bowie man charged in two rape cases was being held without bond at the Prince George's County Detention Center yesterday after he was detained by an off-duty county police officer early Tuesday morning.The officer, who lives in the same block as the suspect, looked out his window at 2 a.m. and saw a man wearing a ski mask and gloves parking his car. The victims in the two rape cases had said their assailant wore a ski mask.Dorian Aloysius Barboy, 18, of the 2700 block of Babbett Lane was charged with two counts of first-degree rape and burglary in incidents on Dec. 6, 1990, and May 23.

Police investigators say they believe the same man held up two Bel Air-area service stations within three days late last month.Officers from the county Sheriff's Department and the Bel Air Police Department are investigating robberies at the Moores Mill Citgo on Conowingo Road and the BP service station on Churchville Road.John W. Harkins, spokesman for Bel Air police, said investigatorsbelieve the robberies are connected because of the similar descriptions of the suspects and the similar way the businesses were robbed.

Two Crofton women were raped Sunday morning by men who broke into their homes. However, police said the incidents are unrelated.At 8:45 a.m., a 39-year-old woman who lives on Vineyard Lane was raped and choked by an attacker. A police report said the woman was awakened by a man standing next to her bed. She was taken to the basement of her house and raped, the report said.The woman was treated at Anne Arundel Medical Center where she is listed in good condition. The suspect got into the house through an unlocked rear door.