Young Man

He is a young man, only 25, although there's no way of knowing this from his appearance. Fire has excavated almost to the bone both his face and body. Still, even in his blunted features, agony has found a way to express itself. The young man's suffering is captured in the flickering black-and-white images of a grainy tape filmed in a Texas hospital 25 years ago.Once, Donald Cowart was an Air Force pilot who flew jets in and out of Vietnam; a handsome, strong-willed man with a passion for driving fast in his Alfa Romeo.

Edward Joseph Snowden, the government contractor who revealed the National Security Agency's massive telephone- and Internet-surveillance program, has left few public clues about his life growing up in Crofton and Ellicott City. Snowden, 29, attended Anne Arundel County public schools until leaving Arundel High midway through the 1998-1999 academic year, a district spokesman said Monday. He went on to take courses at the county's community college for the next half-dozen years but never received a degree, according to officials there.

Taipei, Taiwan -- Anne Akiko Meyers' presence in a restaurant proves more interesting than the food.Some people stare at her. Others introduce themselves, saying they've met her on occasions that Meyers politely struggles to recall. Still others say hello to her luncheon companion as a pretext for being introduced to her.Meyers attracts such attention partly because she is, as one writer put it, an "almost hopelessly beautiful young woman." But most admire her for being what one young man stammered in awe upon hearing her name -- "the famous violinist?"

I look at the photograph of attempted murderer Daniel Gladden, and underneath the thin veneer of looking pseudo-tough, I see a young man who is seemingly angry with the universe ("Gladden pleads guilty in shooting," Feb. 20). I ask myself just when our society began churning out these conflicted youths who are totally devoid of guilt or compassion about stomping the life out of another human being. What bothers me even more than the anger, the hatred, is the aura of total indifference he has cloaked himself in. This was the classic case of a young man who chose to ostracize himself from a supposed normal and balanced society.

Anne Arundel County police said they are investigating a suspected homicide in the western part of the county. The body of a man believed to be 22 years old was found early Monday morning near Route 198 and Red Clay Road, police said. Further information was unavailable.

The body of a male between 15 and 20 years old was found in Baltimore's Inner Harbor early Sunday morning, police and fire officials reported. Emergency responders, including divers with the city's fire department and city police officers, responded to 301 Light St. at about 3:15 a.m. after a caller reported a body in the water, said Chief Kevin Cartwright, a fire spokesman. Divers entered the water near the Inner Harbor's promenade and discovered the body, Cartwright said. The operation, which was not a rescue but a recovery effort, took until about 4 a.m., Cartwright said.

Homicide detectives had no leads last night in the shooting death of a young man on a Northeast Baltimore street near Lake Clifton Park.Police had not identified the victim, who appeared to be between 15 and 18, last night, said Detective Joseph Kleinota.Someone called police before 9 p.m. saying one or two young men were standing on the street in the 1600 block of E. 25th St. when a shot was fired. The victim was hit once in the chest and was unconscious when police arrived, Kleinota said.

A motorist driving by Leakin Park today discovered the body of a young man who police believe had been shot through the head and shoulder less than an hour earlier.The victim carried no identification, police said. He was dressed in cutoff blue jeans, a blue T-shirt, white socks and tennis shoes.The body was in a small turnaround area off the 4800 block of Franklintown Road.Police said they had found three cartridge shells at the scene from what appeared to be a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.

Hundreds of mourners packed Baltimore's Douglas Memorial Community Church yesterday to bid a solemn farewell to Murray Alexander Schmoke Jr., the mayor's half brother who was killed last week in a traffic accident in South Africa.In a memorial service that was warm and dignified and even funny at times, Mr. Schmoke, 25, was remembered as a generous young man who exuded an infectious love of life."He had a way of walking into life and saying, 'What's up?' " said the Rev. Marion C. Bascom."Today, we are sending Alex heavenward," he continued.

I once worked with Kenny Brown's old man and, in our travels together, we came across all sorts of people living one step away from prison, from eviction, from unemployment, from the mental hospital, from the grave. Kenny's father used to hold his thumb and index finger about a half-inch apart and say, "That close, man, we could all be that close from the edge."Then Kenny Brown called me. His father's son, all right. He stopped in the middle of the road Monday night because some poor soul was lying, maybe dying, in it. "Late 20s or early 30s," Kenny figured the man's age. "He was crawling across the road.

I was excited to read about Austin Altman in the Columbia Flier ("Hawks' Altman passes for a pro," Jan. 3), not because I'm a sports fan (I'm not) but because I met Austin earlier that same day.   As a college marketing rep, I speak to students in schools across Maryland. Friday, Jan. 4 I was waiting in the River Hill High School office for a student to guide me to the classroom.  My escort was Austin; he was accompanied by a young man with special needs. Apparently Austin gets credit for helping this young man, but what I observed went way above and beyond the call of duty. As we walked back to the classroom, I observed Austin engaging this young man in a playful banter. It was charming. Back in the classroom, this banter continued but I noticed that Austin was helping his charge work on an assignment.

Editor's note: Each week, InsideMdSports.com provides this blog with a Maryland recruiting feature that previously appeared as premium content on its site. Maryland's frontcourt recruiting was in poor shape when Mark Turgeon arrived. Turgeon made it a priority, signing four frontcourt players in his first recruiting class. With just one high school big man, Damonte Dodd - along with 2013-eligible transfer Evan Smotrycz - joining the team next year, Turgeon will be looking to continue bolstering the frontcourt in the 2014 class.

I don't usually praise any man, nor do I play politics much, so I can honestly say that President Obama's address in Newtown, Conn., this week was truly genuine ("'We have wept with you,' Obama says," Dec. 17). Many will say that his speech was a preface to more gun regulations, while others will call his prayer just amazing. Neither will be correct. What President Obama did that night wasn't just a speech or just a prayer. It was his true attempt to be the leader of our nation. He literally wanted to use his office for good.

Rookie has amazed Sam Farmer Los Angeles Times It's a bizarre coincidence that at the midway point of the season, Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck have identical passing yardage totals (2,404, tied for third) and team records (5-3). Overall, Manning has better numbers with the league's best completion percentage (69.5, compared to Luck's 29th-ranked 56.6) and passer rating 108.6 (Luck is 25th at 79.0). So, by the numbers, Manning is having a better season. But what Luck is doing in Indianapolis is phenomenal.

Although I have never met John Plevak, I like him. No, I take that back - I love the man ("A night to remember for Kauffman," Oct. 24). Mr. Plevak is the men's soccer coach at Stevenson University. Being the sensitive, compassionate man he obviously is, he allowed the team manager to play in a match against Hood College. For those who are uninformed, the manager, Kyle Kauffman, has cerebral palsy. Coach Plevak saw the bond that Kyle, a senior at Stevenson, had forged with the members of the soccer team.

The first time I saw Audie Mickens, he had just turned 19 and he'd been arrested as the shooter in an attempted murder in Northwest Baltimore. He appeared at a hearing in District Court, and as I listened to the prosecutor detail the charges against him, I wondered how his life would turn out. Would the young fool go to prison? Would he die an early death? Was there any hope for a better outcome? Police alleged that, on the afternoon of May 3, 2007, Mickens had slipped a paintball mask over his face and stepped out of a Chevrolet Monte Carlo with a .45-caliber handgun.

A 3-year-old girl and a young man shielding her in his arms were killed late Saturday as at least two gunmen opened fire at a crowded West Baltimore street corner.The girl's mother and another man were wounded in the attack, which occurred about 11 p.m. in front of a row of businesses near the corner of Clifton Avenue and Garrison Boulevard in Walbrook Junction, city police said.Homicide detectives said Steve Allen Cochran, 20, was apparently trying to protect young Shanika Day when he was shot five times in the back -- with two shots passing through his body and killing the child.

On the back of his senior class portrait, Paul Marcum scrawled a note to his mother, Pat:"You feel these years have gone by quick, but they've all been fun, huh? Time to face the real world. Yes I'm a young man now! But you're still my mom! -- Love, Paul. 1991."As he wrote those words, Paul Sumpter Marcum, 18, was looking forward to the most exciting times of his life. He was ready to graduate from high school, ready to spend time with his girlfriend, ready to begin studies at Carroll Community College in the fall.

Thanks for Susan Reimer 's commentary on the shootings at Perry Hall High School ("Failing Bobby," Aug. 30). This young man seemingly didn't have a "normal" home life. To read about other students throwing food at him or ridiculing him makes me hope that those that made fun of him are not only praying for his alleged victim but also for themselves to be better friends to everyone. Anyone who ever bullied Bobby had a hand in his shattered soul. D. Taylor, Baltimore

The body of a male between 15 and 20 years old was found in Baltimore's Inner Harbor early Sunday morning, police and fire officials reported. Emergency responders, including divers with the city's fire department and city police officers, responded to 301 Light St. at about 3:15 a.m. after a caller reported a body in the water, said Chief Kevin Cartwright, a fire spokesman. Divers entered the water near the Inner Harbor's promenade and discovered the body, Cartwright said. The operation, which was not a rescue but a recovery effort, took until about 4 a.m., Cartwright said.