Comment by Adam Gopnik. Comment on Bill Clinton's confession that he once tried marijuana, but didn't inhale. In 1967, in Philadelphia, writer was in 8th grade. Reminisces about his experience with marijuana...

The Talk of the Town Safe by John Seabrook. Talk story about Richard Krasilovsky, the owner of Empire Safe, at Canal and Varick Streets. Richard's father, Monroe, started the business; his uncle, Mike, was a safe-mover. Richard, 41, went into the business in 1977. On display in the store are wall safes, jewelry safes, cash-drop safes, and...

The Talk of the Town Finer by Mindy Aloff. Talk story about a show of microfibre fashions at the Hotel Macklowe, part of a conference put on by the Polyester Council of America. Microfibres are the tony version of everyday polyesters. They're made of polyethylene terephthalate, one component of which is basically antifreeze. PET--as it's called for short...

The Talk of the Town Conglomeration by James Albrecht. Talk story about a concert by Tuck & Patti at the Central Park Zoo, sponsored by radio station WQCD and by Apple & Eve, which, in turn, is promoting four new lines of fruit-flavored iced tea. Tuck & Patti, a guitar-playing husband and a scat-singing wife, perform...

Fiction This Bed by Adam Schwartz. Seth and Sarah, 35-year-old twins, are home in South Orange, New Jersey, for their mother Frances' surprise 60th birthday party, which she helped Sarah to organize. Frances greets Seth and he catches her staring at the scar above his eyebrow, where she hit him with a mug over...

A Reporter at Large A TEHERAN SPRING by Robin Wright. A REPORTER AT LARGE about Iranian politics. There are two main political groups, the hard-liners, or Ruhaniyoun, and the Ruhaniyat, who are more open to the idea of dealings with the West. Tells baout the April 10 elections, which the Ruhaniyat won, perhaps partly because the Council of Guardians...

The Theatre THE PRICE IS HALF RIGHT by Edith Oliver.

Dancing by Alastair Macaulay.

Our Local Correspondents ALL MIXED UP by Susan Orlean. OUR LOCAL CORRESPONDENTS about Sunshine Market in Jackson Heights. All kinds of people from all over the world come to live in Jackson Heights. Most of them have jobs and homes and regular lives. Some of them move here and get into trouble. Tells about prostitution there. The "Times" ran...

Musical Events by Andrew Porter.

Books by David Cannadine.

Poetry A Lecture by Czeslaw Milosz. A certain student in the city of Paris...

Poetry A Rough Night by Mary Jo Salter. Nailed into your coffin alive, to witness...