Maryland Community Newspapers Online
Talk about getting wrapped up in your work.
Ronald S. Wade is the director of the Anatomical Services Division of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and director of the Maryland Anatomy Board that administers the statewide body donor program.
The mummies originally were used for educational purposes, but the specimens now are maintained as a historical collection — known as the Allen Burns collection.
Burns, a Scottish anatomist, likely accumulated the bodies and body parts through grave robbing, a practice which was used when dissection was illegal, Wade said. Eventually the collection, which includes 10 mummified bodies of children, was sold to the university, which has maintained it since 1820.
Of the 200 specimens, only one has any identifying marks that offer a clue about the person — a mummified skin sample that shows a tattoo on the forearm depicting the coat of arms of Pope Pius VII, who became head of the Catholic Church in 1800.
— Erin Cunningham
What, no crab cakes?
It's customary for the mayors and governors representing the World Series opponents to make friendly wagers on the outcome of the Fall Classic.
Even the Catholic archbishops of New York and Philadelphia have gotten in on the act this year, with a dozen bagels and a box of Tastykakes on the line.
But it's not often that legislators from other states get involved.
However, the matchup between the Yankees and Phillies hits home for several Maryland pols.
So Tony O'Donnell, who was raised a Phils fan near Harrisburg, and Nancy King, who grew up in a Yankee household in Niagara Falls, decided to make things a little more interesting.
If the Bronx Bombers win the best-of-seven series, O'Donnell will buy King a hot pastrami sandwich, a New York classic. If the Phils prevail, King will owe O'Donnell a Philly cheese steak.
To boot, the loser has to wear the winning team's jersey on April 5, the opening day of the 2010 season, which falls a week before Sine Die.
"It will be a poignant reminder of our wager," O'Donnell yukked.
Both were feeling pretty confident on Wednesday, prior to that night's Game 1, which was won by the visiting Phillies.
"I'm up to the challenge, and I think my Yankees are, too," King said.
"I think it's very symbolic that I am supporting the team symbolized by the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and the average common working man in Philadelphia, and the senator is supporting the team of Federal Hall, strong federal government and the cultural elites of New York City," O'Donnell said, suggesting a link between the duo's baseball allegiances and their political affiliations.
They're not the only lawmakers weighing in on the series outcome.
Mike Lenett, another NYC native, takes an "ABY" approach — that's "Anybody But the Yankees." Lenett grew up cheering for the Mets, whose fans are torn between pulling for their crosstown rivals and their in-division foes. But he said he doesn't harbor any resentment toward the Phils, who only recently have developed a rivalry with the Mets.
Roger Manno, a New Yorker, declined to say which team he's pulling for — must mean he's a Yankees fan with statewide ambitions who doesn't want to give a future opponent any ammunition or lose votes in Baltimore.
On the flip side, Brooklyn native Andy Harris might gain some votes. The one-time Yanks fan dumped his New York sports loyalties when he moved south.
"They used to be the team that everybody loved to love; now they're the team that everybody loves to hate," he observed.
Mike Miller, an Orioles season ticket-holder, is pulling for the Yankees out of division loyalty, even though the teams are fierce rivals. Another factor is that his three younger brothers root for the Pinstripers.
Across the hall, Mike Busch, who went to college in the City of Brotherly Love, is backing the Phillies.
It might be the first time Busch and O'Donnell see eye to eye.
"We don't have the money to throw around like the New York Yankees, but we're the underdogs, and America loves the working-class underdogs as opposed to the cultural wealthy elite, so I like our position," the GOP chief said.
— Alan Brody
From Selma to Silver Spring
To those who didn't already know him, John Lewis became a familiar face before and after the election of President Obama.
The 11-term congressman from Georgia is the only person still living who has the distinction of speaking at the March on Washington in 1963, when he headed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
In February, David Remnick wrote about Obama's connection to Lewis and the civil rights movement in a piece in The New Yorker, entitled "The President's Hero."
Lewis will talk about the movement and the music that helped shape it as part of a program presented by the Maryland Humanities Council on Nov. 17 at Montgomery College's Takoma Park/Silver Spring Performing Arts Center.
The program also will feature singer, composer and cultural historian Bernice Johnson Reagon, ethnomusicologist Portia Maultsby and "The Hip Hop Wars" author Tricia Rose in a roundtable discussion about the music of the civil rights movement.
The Bowie State University Gospel Choir will perform, and Maureen Bunyan of WJLA-TV will moderate the discussion.
"Music of the Movement: A Sustaining Voice" is the culminating event of the council's two-year look at the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., 40 years after his assassination.
"The music of the civil rights movement is inextricably linked with the movement itself, and, in turn, the movement shaped American music — folk, country, jazz, hip-hop, soul, and the blues," Suzan Jenkins, chief executive officer of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, said in a statement.
The program is free and open to the public.
— Sean R. Sedam
Guv behind mayoral hopeful
Gov. Martin O'Malley wants to make sure the mayor in his adopted hometown remains a Democrat.
That's why his campaign sent out an e-mail solicitation last week in support of Annopolis Democratic mayoral candidate Josh Cohen, who only became the party's nominee after primary victor, Zina Pierre, withdrew from the race amid revelations of personal financial problems and questions about whether she met the residency requirements to run for mayor.
"The next year will determine whether we'll be able to build on the progress we've made to improve our schools, protect our environment and strengthen our economy — or move backwards," O'Malley said in the e-mail. "Here's the first step to ensuring continued progress here in Annapolis: we need to elect Democrat Josh Cohen as mayor this November 3rd."
The appeal seeks volunteers and contributions for Cohen's campaign, and O'Malley pledges his help to ensure Cohen defeats GOP nominee Dave Cordle, a city alderman, and independent candidate Chris Fox, who owns the Sly Fox Pub on Church Circle.
— Alan Brody
