Comment by Jonathan Schell. For readers of the "Times," at least, last week was a discouraging one from the point of view of human beings." Discusses the article in the "Times Magazine" by Stephen Singular, "Moving On-Reaping the Rewards of the Women's Movement." One young woman, who had just had a baby, found...

The Talk of the Town Spring by Faith McNulty. Talk story about burgeoning of store goods and social events in a New England town in spring. Writer walks down Main Street, discovering one delightful spring thing after another. Describes what all the different stores are selling and what local organizations are sponsoring breakfasts, dances, and other events. In Damon's...

Fiction Birdsong by Lou Myers. The narrator remembers when his father died. They were catching birds and decided to go for a dip. His father drowned. The family and friends play bingo to forget their sorrow. They remember the father, who liked betting on horses, playing poker, spending money, and was sometimes out of work...

The Talk of the Town Counterman by Stanley Mieses. Talk story about Leo Ratnofsky, a counterman at the B & H Dairy Luncheonette at 127 Second Ave. who is retiring after almost 40 years of work. Writer visits B & H on Ratnofsky's last day. Describes Ratnofsky's routine chores (like squeezing the juice of three cases of oranges at...

Journals From the Journals of the Frog Prince by Susan Mitchell. In March I dreamed of mud...

The Theatre by Edith Oliver.

A Reporter at Large THE ONE-WAY MIRROR by Janet Malcolm. REPORTER AT LARGE about family therapy. For an hour a week for 8 weeks the writer sat behind a one-way mirror in an observation room in a psychiatric clinic & watched & listened to a family's sessions with a family therapist. The therapist was a young woman psychiatrist named...

Obituary by Lee Lorenz. Obituary of cartoonist Perry Barlow, who died recently at the age of 85. His first drawing was published in "The New Yorker" in 1926. (Date of his death was Monday, Dec. 26, 1977...

Television Screen by David Pascal. Cartoon spread showing a man dissatisfied with watching a television screen. He goes out, possibly to a museum, where he sees various examples of modern art, ending with Pop Art. He finds it all unappealing and rushes back to his TV screen...

Puzzle 8530-0 by Mark Singer. Talk story about Course 8530-0, known as Beyond Crossword Puzzles, and taught by 15-year-old Michael Miller at the New School for Social Research. Michael will receive a high-school diploma in a couple of years, after completing requirements at the Collegiate School. Tells how he conducted the course...

The Race Track by G. F. T. Ryall. The 24-year-old jockey Robert Pineda died in a Baltimore hospital from injuries suffered in a spill at Pimlico last Wednesday afternoon...

Musical Events by Andrew Porter.

The Current Cinema by Penelope Gilliatt. Review of "The Last Supper", a film set in Cuba at the end of the 18th century, directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea...

Fiction Supreme Court Roundup by Veronica Geng. Satire in form of a newspaper column on legal gibberish and the Supreme Court. Column lists one session's decisions under headings: First Amendment, Search and Seizure, Taxes, Moral Blight, and Greed. The Court rules in favor of a 12 year old's right to audition for the Clint Eastwood role in...

The Talk of the Town Name of the Game by Anthony Hiss. Talk story about how the six new teams in the North American Soccer League got their names. They are the New England Tea Men, Philadelphia Fury, Houston Hurricane, Memphis Rogues, Detroit Express, and Caribous of Colorado. Many teams are owned by rock stars. Talks to public relations men and other...

Jazz by Whitney Balliett.

Dancing by Arlene Croce.

Poetry Spirit by Leonard Nathan. I'm thinking now of something...