Strangers

I'm a Cub Scout of Pack 678 and I'm currently working towards my Citizenship pin. One of my duties is to write to a newspaper (that's you) about an issue that I'm concerned about. Well, I'm concerned about school safety after the incident in Connecticut. I personally think that in every school there should be a security guard or policeman walking in the building to make sure no strangers come in to the building or any children bring any weapons in. I also think that every school should do a lock-down weekly so everybody is familiar with what to do if a stranger should come in the school.

A 28-year-old man who police were initially told died after being hit over the head with a beer bottle by a stranger in Curtis Bay was killed by a family member who punched him during a brawl, police say. Bobby Mack Jr., a cousin of victim Cyril Montel Holland, is now facing one count of manslaughter. Mack's attorney said the incident was an "unintended tragedy as a result of horseplay between family members. " Holland died April 10 at Maryland Shock Trauma Center after suffering a fatal blow to the back of the head.

Boston.--There have been strangers in my garden this spring. Each time I come across another one I am surprised, rather like a hostess encountering uninvited guests at her lawn party.In April, it was the crocuses. They dropped in, unannounced, out of nowhere. They made their appearance in full blue bloom, under the bushes.Then came a single red tulip, unplanned and, I assure you, unplanted. It stood around boldly, upright and unabashed, as if it were an innocent passer-by and not a gate-crasher.

A prominent Idaho businessman has lost his job after allegedly slapping a toddler on a plane when the child wouldn't stop crying. While many parents and fliers can agree that "Toddlers on a Plane" would be a terrifying premise for a film, most of us can figure out that hitting a stranger's child is not OK. But what steps can parents take to lessen their children's impact on other passengers? Some people swear by slipping kids a little Benadryl , but I've never gone this route.

A NOTED etiquette expert spoke recently on the demise of American manners. According to her, we eat too fast, we don't write thank-you notes, we interrupt too often in conversation. Then, as an example of where we've really gone awry, the expert said, "And it's rude to pass a stranger on the street and not acknowledge that person with a smile and a hello. I wondered in which parallel universe she had been spending the past decade, how she could have missed the fact that strangers have become the enemy.

AMID THE BUSTLE of activities surrounding the holidays, two readers took the time to share their appreciation for the kindness of strangers.A reader from the Southgate community wanted to thank newspaper deliveryman Jose Gaige, who helped them escape a fire at their house.Mr. Gaige, who has delivered The Sun for four years, was making deliveries around 2:30 a.m. Dec. 9 when he noticed a fire in the doorway of a home on Macintosh Drive.He began banging on doors and windows to awaken the retired couple and drew the attention of a neighbor, who called the county fire department.

Friends and strangers alike made pilgrimages yesterday to a small, grassy hillside in Woodlawn, the site of Thursday's tragic car crash that killed five members of an extended family, including four youngsters.They arrived bearing flowers, stuffed bears, balloons and baseball cards, creating an impromptu shrine along the busy street. Small piles of mementos -- including "The Cat in the Hat," the favorite book of many a child -- marked the places where the young bodies lay covered by white sheets just a day earlier.

Q: My 5-year-old son enjoys talking to strangers. He just goes up and starts talking to people. While I don't want to scare him, I know I need to break him of the habit. How should I do this? -- Danielle Jefferson, San Diego, Calif.A: Sometimes the standby rule, "don't talk to strangers," can backfire. Mark Rahorn, a father from Tempe, Ariz., says he was surprised at the response from his 6-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter after teaching them to be wary of people they don't know."We were walking into a shopping mall, and this guy walking out says 'Good morning,' and I said 'Good morning' back," Mr. Rahorn says.

Howard County police are investigating more complaints of strangers approaching or watching children in Ellicott City in the last week, a month after three similar incidents were reported.Friday, police said a 9-year-old girl was getting mail from her mailbox in the 3400 block of Font Hill Drive when a vehicle stopped and a man opened a passenger door and asked her if she wanted a ride. The girl ran back inside her home and told her parents, police said.The suspects were described as two white males in a cream-colored vehicle with Chesapeake Bay license plates.

THE CRUNCH of metal, the shattering of glass; soon the flashing of lights and the wail of police car and ambulance sirens.One minute I was driving along feeling safe and confident. A few minutes later, I was being carried on a stretcher to a hospital emergency room.With the loss of my car, as with any loss, there were emotional stages: shock, anger, sadness, finally acceptance. I am left, too, with a renewed sense of vulnerability. If this could happen once, so unexpectedly, it could happen any time.

I'm a Cub Scout of Pack 678 and I'm currently working towards my Citizenship pin. One of my duties is to write to a newspaper (that's you) about an issue that I'm concerned about. Well, I'm concerned about school safety after the incident in Connecticut. I personally think that in every school there should be a security guard or policeman walking in the building to make sure no strangers come in to the building or any children bring any weapons in. I also think that every school should do a lock-down weekly so everybody is familiar with what to do if a stranger should come in the school.

The ties between Maryland and Notre Dame in men's lacrosse already run deep. Both Dick and George Corrigan, uncles of Fighting Irish coach Kevin Corrigan, were All-American attackmen for the Terps . On the flip side, Maryland coach John Tillman once interviewed for a job at South Bend. The word Wednesday that Notre Dame will join the Atlantic Coast Conference, in all sports but football and ice hockey, takes things even further. Five times, the schools have met in lacrosse.

Description: How much does a Facebook "friendship" really mean? One researcher explored it by creating a fake account on the social networking website with only a limited amount of personal information that could make it appear the person is a college student. The question was, would study participants accept the friendship? Researchers: Robert Lemieux, a McDaniel College professor whose previous research and teaching have touched on romantic relationships, health campaigns and the culture of organizations.

There are few issues as contentious in American society today, including here in Maryland, as immigration. While immigration is inherently an economic issue, a cultural issue and a political issue, at Baltimore-based World Relief we view the issue first and foremost from the perspective of our Christian faith. As an organization that empowers churches to serve vulnerable refugees, human-trafficking victims and other immigrants throughout the United States, we believe the Bible has a lot to say thatshould inform our thinking as we confront the challenges and opportunities of immigration.

As remarkable as 41 consecutive berths in the NCAA tournament are, Johns Hopkins has been unseeded just once (2010) during that span. The Blue Jays, who were awarded the No. 2 seed in the upcoming tourney, are very familiar with that position. They are 18-7 as a No. 2 seed and won national championships in 1974, 1978 and 1980. Coach Dave Pietramala chuckled when informed of that history. “All I can say is, I hope,” he said late Sunday night after the bracket was released.

After the first few weeks of engaged euphoria mellow out, and you stop staring at your ring instead of the road while driving, it's time to focus on the task at hand. There are a zillion and one details to iron out, and as a first-time bride, you probably have no clue where to begin. While thrilling and romantic, the quest for an all-star cast of wedding vendors quickly proves to be dizzying and daunting. A simple Google search for "Baltimore Wedding Photographer," for instance, will yield dozens of results.

WE HEAR Rob Tregenza's movie, "Talking to Strangers," was a big hit in the Big Apple over the holiday season. Vincent Canby of the New York Times called the Baltimore-made film a "stylistic tour de force" and "a nearly perfect antidote to today's jazzy conception of montage."The movie's star -- Ken Gruz -- recently returned home to the Big Crab from L.A. and is currently, ah, talking to new strangers for the Kennedy Center screenings of "Talking to Strangers" and Tregenza's latest feature, "The Arc," on Jan. 20.*MEGA DEVELOPER Erwin Greenberg held a "Jambalaya Jam" kick-off bash at his posh harborview high-rise condo last night for the Baltimore Opera.

On March 12, my wife and I entered Catonsville, via Frederick Road, traveling east to a doctor appointment at 4 p.m. Suddenly, our car was enveloped in a cloud of steam coming from the engine, forcing us to stop on the side of the road. An urgent call to AAA assured us that assistance would arrive in 30-45 minutes. Some 15-20 minutes later, as I was examining the engine, a gentleman, approaching from behind, tapped me on my shoulder to ask the nature of our problem. I assumed he was the AAA service contractor.

Regarding Baltimore MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blakeand her guests at Ravens games ("Mayor invites family, donors, allies to M&T box" (Feb. 9), was she supposed to invite strangers, political non-contributors and enemies? Horrors! Slow news day, guys? Michael L. DeVincentis, Jr., Timonium