If you go back in time just one generation, you would find not a single restaurant in Clarksville. Today you can travel the culinary world without ever leaving town.

The newest entry to the dining out/carry-out scene is MiMi's Kabob at 12345 Wake Forest Road, directly across Route 108 from St. Louis Church. The restaurant offers authentic Afghan cuisine and more.

The menu at MiMi's Kabob is still evolving. You'll find Chopan Kabob (flame broiled lamb chops), beef, chicken and lamb kabobs and the popular vegetable platter.

The pumpkin or eggplant side dishes have been well received and are quite tasty. Meals are prepared quickly.

If you're in a rush, you could call ahead and have your order waiting, but it's more entertaining to watch chef John waving the fan (direct from Afghanistan) over the kabobs to spread the flame for even cooking or watch the making of tandoori bread as the taste-tempting aromas waft through the air.

Next time, I'll try qabuli rice. It looks so tantalizing.

Chef Victor is still there from the previous restaurant on site and by popular demand you'll find pizza, calzone and wings for lunch. More salads, sandwich wraps and an Afghan pizza are in the offing. Edwin and Compos are the new crew members. Current hours are Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sunday, 3-9 p.m. The phone number is 410-531-2000.

You can see they'll never hire me as a food critic. I love food. Each Clarksville eatery offers something to suit someone from Mc Donald's fries (kids love 'em) to an exotic taste of far-flung corners of earth. You can have a wonderful "Staycation" right where you live.

Katherine Lee Essman turned 7 on Aug. 6, but she wasn't in Clarksville. Kate celebrated her birthday at Emerald Isle, N.C., along with brother, Brent, sister, Megan, and a whole bunch of cousins. Kate's all set to "Dive into Excellence" as a second-grader at Dayton Oaks Elementary. Happy birthday, Kate. Have a great year.

We have so many excellent young musicians in this area. Perhaps some will audition for the Maryland Youth Symphony Orchestra's 45th season or the Maryland Youth Preparatory Orchestra. New member auditions are set for Aug. 16 and 23 and Sept. 6 and 13. Plan for an MYSO concert tour of Northern Italy in June. For more information, go to www.myso.info or call 410-442-5645.

The second annual Paper Drive at Linden-Linthicum United Methodist Church to benefit Habitat for Humanity (Sandtown) runs through August 31. Last year, paper recycling netted $250. This year, they hope to reach $500. You need to get rid of your papers anyhow. Why not put them to a good cause? If you need help getting a large number of magazines or papers to the bin, call 301-54-0179 or e-mail mmcb@aol.com.

Howard County is facing a critical shortage of certified school bus drivers. On average the pay is $15 per hour and you work 4-10 hours per day depending on the contractor and runs assigned. If interested contact HCPSS Office of Student Transportation at 410-313-6733.

This is an edited version of an earlier story.

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