Nicole Martyn

Daily Life

"I'll clean all of her clothes. I'll clean her face and she'll be beautiful," says Brenda Franz as she replaces the stuffing of a 50-inch Gund doll at her doll hospital and repair shop, Attic Antiques and Things in Ellicott City, Md. Franz explains that as the filling material settles within a doll over the years, the doll's head and appendages will droop.
   
"I'm just hot and weak," said Detroit resident Ida Lee, 92, who called the Detroit Housing Commission for water and was relieved when it was delivered during the 2003 blackout. The Detroit Housing Commission operated a hotline that elderly residents could call and have water delivered to their home. The city distributed 30,000 gallons of water and 5,500 ready-to-eat meals to seniors.
  
Ten-year-old Dan Springer (left) and 9-year-old Ryan Mitchell (right) of the West Howard Swim Club compare muscles as opposing team member Seth Kramer, 9, sits between. The boys were waiting to swim 9-10 25 meter backstroke during at meet between the two pools.
     
  
The powerful sound of Towson University's marching band was a little too much for 4-year-old Alexandra Kollman who covered her ears as the group passed by during the school's homecoming parade.
   
Most people marched or rode the length of the 2006 Fallfest parade route in Westminster, Md. Students at the Carroll Gymnastics Center flipped, cartwheeled and walked it on their hands. Here, Jess DiNenno, 16, does an aerial while Christine Niles, 16, left, tries to get back into position to do another flip.
   
Mike Smith caresses girlfriend Jennifer Doyle's face as the couple shares a dance during the ARC of Carroll County's 50th anniversary celebration. The pair, each of whom has Down syndrome, has been inseparable since meeting six years ago at the ARC.
     
  
Each year, African American girls from Columbia, Md. - following in the steps of their mothers, aunts and grandmothers before them - mark their entrance into womanhood and society with a curtsey at the Delta Sigma Theta Alumnae Association's Debutante Cotillion. Debutantes chat in a salon outside the ballroom as the Delta Sigma Theta Cotillion approaches. From left are Tierra Williams, Kiiana Jones, Joi Gaddy and Taylor Davis.
   
A group of girls gathers in the bathroom to chat during a middle school dance at St. Louis School in Clarksville, Md.
   
Eighty-year-old Frank Gosman has been the driving force behind the Country Showcase America Jamboree for over 30 years. Here, he laughs as he announces an upcoming act on his show, which broadcasts live on the internet from the barn behind Gosman’s home. "When he dies, Maryland's going to lose a big part of its heritage," says Nashville independent music producer Dick "R.C." O'Leary.
     
  
Classes at the Linwood Center in Ellicott City, Md., a school for children with autism and autism-related disorders, operate differently from typical public school classes. Great lengths are taken to accommodate the special needs of individual children, who are given more freedom than most students. Here, Jennifer Knopfmacher colors while wearing a heavy coat and sunglasses. Meanwhile, Vincent Sarro plays on the computer and Kyle Brown stretches. At right is Sam Odedokun, a therapy aide.