Touched

A few weeks ago I arrived home from a snowy weekend in Sussex County, Del. My whole family had gathered there to celebrate the christening of the newest member, Paul Joseph Stewart Whaley. We drove back to Baltimore to accumulated mail, some newspapers and a red light flashing on the telephone answering machine. The message brought the news that an old family friend had died.At nearly 91, Therese L. Gonzalez had led a long life and always seemed blessedly free of major illnesses. Nevertheless, a death always comes as a shock.

A weekend festival in Canton that promised classes on bondage, role play and other sexual techniques has been canceled after the new operators of the Clarence H. Du Burns Arena idecided the erotic exposition was not appropriate at a facility also used for children's sports practices. The organizers of the Touch of Flavor event sued the arena's managers this week, saying that their contract was breached. They also made an unsuccessful bid for a restraining order that would have let the festival go on. The two-day event was to have featured classes on the use of hot wax, sex-dungeon safety and "Rope Bondage You Can Actually Use. " "We feel like there's been a great interest due to books and things that have come out," said Cassie Fuller, one of the organizers.

It's here, the worst new series of the TV season premieres at 9 tonight on WBAL (Channel 11). It's called "Touched by an Angel" and there's absolutely nothing divine about it.Well, OK, some might think Monica Downey ("A Woman Named Jackie") is pretty divine to look at. But CBS has Downey playing such a twinkie role that you wonder if her character, an angel named Monica, is on downers or something."I don't have any vices," Monica says tonight, "except I hate to wear shoes except when absolutely necessary."

When 302 Glenrae Drive in the heart of Old Catonsville went on the market March 27, 2013, it didn't remain there long. Only three days, in fact. The Bob & Ronna Team of Long & Foster Realtors brought a potential buyer to see the home on that very day, and a bid was placed immediately. "Not only that, it listed and sold at the same price — $425, 000," Ronna Corman-Chew said. "This is an incredible, completely remodeled three-bed and two-bath split-level with a retro flair," Bob Chew said.

When 20-year-old Miriam Wolfe died in the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, Rosemary Mild first felt horror. Her only child had been taken from her.Over time, horror was replaced by a bottomless sense of loss, the wearying knowledge that grief would be with her as far into her own future as she could see.Then came a sense of urgency. Rosemary Mild feared that the world would forget her daughter in a way that would be a second death. She feared that Miriam's memory would grow dim in the hearts of those she touched -- and there were many.

This is one in a series of occasional features highlighting people and organizations in the Baltimore area that exemplify the spirit of The Sun's annual Spirit of Sharing Holiday Campaign. To most people, gazing out the window onto a white Christmas can bring a sense of profound comfort. Eleven years ago, though, as a first snow fell on Baltimore just before the holidays, Jessie Snead felt something very different. Her son, Terrance Thompson, 26, had been killed in a Park Heights shooting only three months before, and the season was doing nothing to assuage her grief.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Two Los Angeles County social workers who interviewed the boy who said he was molested by Michael Jackson testified yesterday that the child insisted in an early interview that he was never touched inappropriately by the pop star. Irene Peters, a social worker in the sensitive case unit of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, took the stand in the Jackson molestation trial and described a Feb. 20, 2003, interview she conducted with the accuser and his family.

On the second weekend of June, lightning killed two men in South Carolina, struck three dogs and knocked out radar at an airport in Rhode Island, sparked a fire in New Mexico that forced 33 families from their homes and blasted the lights above Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. That same weekend, lightning struck 842 times within a 15-mile radius of the playgrounds at Annapolis Middle School. Two bolts set houses on fire. Another touched an oak. The one that touched the oak killed a man and injured eight.

Waking from a coma without his sense of touch, a man is rehabbed by a loving nurse (Jenna Elfman, above) in Touched (9 p.m.-11 p.m., Lifetime).

Touched by 'Erin'Editor: I must say the articles in the Sun Magazine are fantastic. And I mean with all CAPITALS! I look forward to reading nTC such informative pieces as "Letting Go of Erin," in the April 9issue.The reporter himself is the key to such a masterpiece. I know whoever else read this besides me was touched. Give that guy a raise!!Sharon HassellBaltimore

The following letter was sent regarding the article written by Bryna Zumer and is published with the consent of the writer. I just want to take this opportunity to acknowledge with heartfelt appreciation that I and my family feel for the wonderful article you wrote regarding Joshua's case. So many people have told me that your article touched them so much and brought tears to them. I am so thankful that you took your time to come and sit there and wait as we saw the court system has their own agenda and schedule.

There was a photo caption in the Sunday Sun article ("Landmark Measures for Maryland" April 7) about Senate President Mike Miller, House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Gov. Martin O'Malley. The caption stated that "When the three of us are on the same page," according to the governor, it would result in the passage of the governor's "sweeping agenda. " In reality, it's more like a steamroller agenda. In reference to the so-called sweeping agenda, yes, the residents of Maryland who initially trusted the Three Ms have been "swept" under the carpet.

Wedding date: Feb. 9, 2013 Her story: Megan Quick, 36, grew up in Oaklyn, N.J. She is a registered nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her father, Michael, works for Susquehanna Bank and her mother, Doreen, is a retired medical receptionist. His story: Aaron Shirk, 39, was born in Vietnam and lived in various countries. He is a computer engineer for Bill Me Later in Timonium. Both of his parents - Peter Shirk and Roxie Gilmore - worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

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House hunters searching for an in-town, historic mansion in Mount Vernon, the heart of Baltimore's cultural center, need look no further than 514 Cathedral Street. The address is home to a 9,000-square-foot town house lovingly restored over the last eight years by its owner, Drew Rieger. Dating to 1847, the six-level, elegant home was once the residence of a commander of the Civil War. "It's the only house in Mount Vernon that has been restored back to its original 1840s floor plan," Rieger said.

"Why didn't he just pay for his surgery?" That was a prevalent thought as I was watching "The Last of McGuinness," a documentary that chronicles the wrestling retirement tour of a man who chased his dream his entire adult life. Nigel McGuinness wanted to be a professional wrestler, making the most money possible, which meant working for WWE.  He achieved this goal. He had a contract in hand and needed only to pass a physical to be cleared and begin his journey to what he surely felt was stardom and millions of dollars.

On September 2, 2003, THOMAS BOSLEY "BO" BAUGHER; beloved father of Mary Kathleen Baugher and Kimberly Anne Baugher; loving step-father of Cheryl Weathers and Chris Grill; devoted brother of Janet Lee Covington; dear grandfather to Jim Weathers and Sydnee Grill; great-grandfather to Athena and Merlin Weathers. He is also survived by a host of family and dear friends in Baltimore and Atlanta. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, September 13, at 11 A.M. at the Oak Crest Village Chapel, 8820 Walther Blvd, Baltimore.

`Touched by Katrina' Get a child's-eye view of the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city and community of New Orleans at the exhibit Reflections on the Storm, through March 12 at Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in Winterthur, Del. The exhibit includes 22 works of art by second- through fifth-grade art pupils in the Talent Education Program at Jefferson Parish public schools in Louisiana. The exhibit is part of the larger exhibit Touched by Katrina: Healing Art in the Aftermath of the Storm, on display at Winterthur.

During this year's AFC championship game, patrons of Fells Point staple John Steven Ltd. were mesmerized by more than Joe Flacco's command of the offense. "Customers couldn't stop talking about the smell from the shrimp and the Old Bay," manager Cortland Leggio said. "The smell in there is very unique. " A longtime spot for fresh seafood, John Steven Ltd. keeps its bartenders busy by not only serving drinks, but also steaming mussels, clams and shrimp behind the wooden bar. It's an old-school Baltimore touch not often seen anymore.