1990s Decade

When it comes to clothes, Tom and Joyce Tucker of Laguna Beach have seen--and worn--it all during their three decades together. Between them, they've donned bell-bottoms, wide lapels, polyester suits, miniskirts and even a frizzy perm, which Tom now regards as a personal low in his style evolution.

It's Friday, and a girl sits in class crying because she doesn't have a date for Saturday night. She's in fourth grade. A mother does repeated double takes when she spots her daughter's classmates sporting tiny Doc Martens. They're in kindergarten. A boy wants his own Nintendo game, but his parents hold out for years. They give in when he is 8. These are all small slices of childhood life in the '90s.

The world's major powers, including the United States, have "regularly shirked" their duties on human rights issues through most of the 1990s, according to a survey released Thursday by Human Rights Watch, a private watchdog group. Western indifference or inaction is slowing the global trend toward democratization and putting at risk the rights of millions--if not hundreds of millions--of people, Kenneth Roth, executive director of the group, said in an interview.

One was the perfect hostess who charmed the world and redefined the title of First Lady with her style, elegance and dignity. The other, a driven professional who wins admiration with her eloquence, intellect and unflinching determination, is revolutionizing the role of presidential spouse. Three decades separate the reigns of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Hillary Rodham Clinton, and no two women better illustrate the sea change in public perception of the "ideal woman."

The oceans' traffic cops operate a complex system of checks and double-checks to ensure the safety of the tankers that carry almost half of the world's oil over the high seas. But you wouldn't know it by watching the ships coming and going here in the world's busiest port. Just last month, a pilot from the Rotterdam port was shocked by what he found when he boarded a small, Greek-owned tanker to guide it to its dock.

Any marketer who honestly believes that conspicuous consumption is out--and restraint is in--didn't make it to Beverly Hills over the weekend. There was ostentatiousness at its grandest. Three blocks of Rodeo Drive were closed so that Ferrari--the Italian maker of $100,000-plus sports cars--could display its 24-karat sheet metal to some of the wealthiest gawkers in L.A. Ferrari said it came to town to introduce its new $120,000 Spider convertible and, incidentally, to raise money for charity.

What is to become of California? Natural disasters, civil unrest, jobs and industries disappearing. Critics say the dream is dead. Spoilsports are moving to Seattle. Maybe it's time to hoist a sign over the southern end of the state: "Pardon us, we're remodeling." It would alert anyone in doubt that California style--the way people dress, what they drive, how they shape their world and live their lives--is under major reconstruction.

So your New Year's resolution was to cut down on your food bills. Which of the suggestions from three new books on thrift seems most practical to you? * Switch to the less expensive house brands at the supermarket ("The Penny Pincher's Almanac" approach). * Start baking your own bread and save the stale slices in a freezer bag for making bread crumbs (the Tightwad Gazette approach).

Like old houses being restored, big companies are being stripped down to their core businesses by major shareholders bringing pressure on managements. Westinghouse on Monday and Sears Roebuck last month have announced major shake-ups. Eastman Kodak and American Express remain on the hit lists of pension fund investors who want them to shed extraneous activities, refocus on their principal businesses and, above all, produce growing earnings to give shareholders a return on their investment.

Truth is I'm getting a little down about the '90s. First a guy calls me up to inquire about my stand on abstinence. That's all he says, abstinence, but I know what he means. Sex. He wants to know am I for it or against it. I wonder if he's thinking of drafting me for public office. But I don't think I'm his type. Then he says that seeing as how I write for the newspaper I should be "responsible" about promoting abstinence. This gets me really depressed. Because I agree.