Young Man

BOZMAN -- P.T. Hambleton could probably make this run blindfolded, and at 4:30 in the morning, he might as well. Gliding through pitch darkness aboard his boat, the Lexi Maye, he is accompanied by the low gurgle of the vessel's diesel engine. Only the barest of navigational running lights mark the bow and stern. Electronic blinks of the Global Positioning System, nautical radar and depth finder pinpoint Hambleton's precise position - which he knows by heart - among the narrow channels and sandy shoals of Broad Creek, where four generations of his family have earned their living as Maryland watermen.

A man in his early 20s was shot yesterday in Baltimore's Remington neighborhood and died later at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, a city police spokesman said. The victim, who has not been identified, was found about 1 a.m. in the 2900 block of Miles Ave., near 29th Street. Officer Troy Harris, a police spokesman, said the man had been shot several times. It was the city's 146th homicide this year, compared with 127 the same time last year, police said. Harris said police have no suspects and know of no motive.

The couple flew to Vegas, as couples do. Afterward, they rented a car to begin a road trip to the Grand Tetons. Then Tom Hicks of Baltimore found himself at a way station built in the 1800s for pioneers trekking to settlements along the "Mormon Corridor" - the same place anyone going the distance on Interstate 70 would find. The Hicks were not in Las Vegas anymore. They were in Cove Fort, Utah. "We saw one car in town. Never did see anybody," says Hicks. "But the place stuck in my mind."

A picture of French aviator Hubert Latham sitting on the wing of a wrecked Antoinette monoplane in 1909 was published recently in The New York Times. Currently part of a Paris photography exhibit, the picture shows Latham floating in the English Channel, off the cliffs of Dover, casually puffing a cigarette while awaiting rescue. As crowds cheered and ships blew their whistles in encouragement, a cranky engine suddenly put an end to Latham's second attempt at flying the Channel from Calais to Dover.

WHAT YOU SAY One of my favorites is also one of Will Smith's first - Six Degrees of Separation. Smith showed that he had a future in acting in this movie. Starring with veterans Stockard Channing and Donald Sutherland, Smith held his own and gave a very believable performance. This movie was not mainline cinema, and many people have never heard of it, but it is well worth watching. Smith plays a young man trying to survive by pretending he is the son of famous parents and befriending a young man with rich parents in order to live the lifestyle he so desires.

All I know is what they tell me - what Gregory Welsh's parents, his brother, his spiritual counselor and the police tell me. It's always like this, the columnist coming in after the funeral, after everyone has finished crying. You arrive late, after another young man's death in the city of Baltimore, and they spread photographs on the kitchen table. In this case, they offer you samples of Gregory Welsh's wayfarer poetry, too. And you sit and listen, then walk away in the drizzle shaking your head, trying to feel something besides grim resignation.

A young man shot Tuesday night outside a house in Baltimore's Central Park Heights neighborhood died yesterday morning at Sinai Hospital, city police said. Northwestern District officers investigating a report of a man shot in the 3300 block of St. Ambrose Ave. about 9 p.m. found Davon Sampson, 18, of the 3400 block of Alto Road bleeding from at least one bullet wound to the abdomen, said Agent Donny Moses, a police spokesman. Police had no suspect or motive, Moses said.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Sen. George Allen, Republican of Virginia, was caught on tape referring to a campaign worker for his Democratic opponent, James Webb, as a "macaca." The campaign worker, S.R. Sidarth, is East Indian, and it was quickly noted that the word "macaca" is considered a racial slur in some European countries. Macaques are monkeys and, thus, the derivative "macaca" is considered racially insensitive. Mr. Allen said he didn't mean to be offensive and was just joshing with the young man, but The Washington Post twice treated the incident as front-page news, and one of its columnists, Eugene Robinson, unburdened himself in 770 words hinting, if not at Mr. Allen's supposed racial insensitivity, then at his stupidity.

A young man was killed and two teenage boys were wounded early yesterday in North Baltimore's Harwood neighborhood when at least one man opened fire on the trio as they sat on the front steps of a rowhouse, city police said. Officers responding to a call for gunfire about 1 a.m. in the 400 block of Ilchester Ave. -- off Greenmount Avenue -- found two boys, ages 16 and 17, wounded on the steps and the man -- 23-year-old Ryan J. Teel of the 3000 block of Mayfield Ave. -- dead, said Officer Nicole Monroe, a police spokeswoman.

When my assignment editor, Chuck Weiss, called to tell me I would be visiting X Games and AMA Motocross Champion Travis Pastrana's home in Davidsonville to photograph him in advance of this year's X Games, I was pretty excited. If it is dangerous and on wheels, Pastrana does it - from motocross and rally car racing to launching motorcycles 30 feet into the air to perform daring flips and twists. I arrived a few minutes early and pulled up to an enormous garage. When I asked about Travis, the people there said he had gone to the hospital that morning, and wasn't at the garage.