Aria

Driving a limousine through the streets of Kabul is never easy. It's tough to avoid the potholes and the rutted washouts, the carts pulled by donkeys and men, the beggars in burkas. It's almost impossible to negotiate some dirt roads and traffic circles.

"You are about to hear a story," says Don Basilio, aka Mel Whitehead, the guy in the really weird hat leaning forward over an audience of kids sitting cross-legged on the linoleum floor. "If something is funny," the don says, "you can laugh. If you like something, you can applaud." Whew. Is that ever a relief. 'Cause, I mean, you never know about this opera stuff.

The Angels say they haven't lost confidence in third baseman George Arias, but sometimes actions--in this case, the signing of third baseman Dave Hollins to a two-year, $3.8-million contract--speak louder than words. Arias was the surprise story of last spring, batting .388 in the exhibition season to win the starting job, but the only question this spring seems to be whether Arias would be better off on the big-league bench or playing at triple-A Vancouver.

George Arias is batting .203, he has been removed for a pinch-hitter in 13 games, and he has at times appeared overmatched at the plate, but Manager Marcel Lachemann will apparently stick with his rookie third baseman for the time being. "Third base is not our problem," Lachemann snapped when asked if he was considering a change. "It's not George's fault we're not hitting. He wasn't supposed to hit. All he was supposed to do is play good defense, and he has. . . .

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez, the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner for his plan to end hostilities in Central America, will be the principal speaker at Harvard University's 337th commencement this spring.

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez, calling intransigence and dogma the main obstacles to Central American peace, said today a cease-fire in the region's guerrilla wars could still be reached by Christmas. During a stopover on his way to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize for authoring a regional peace plan signed by the five Central American presidents last August, Arias told reporters he remained confident it could work.

The last sentence in Peter D. Bell's article ("Central American Presidents Show Real Grit in Quest for Peace, Opinion, Oct. 18) should be our first concern, for Bell accurately describes the crucial element needed for Central American peace: U.S. support. Arias is a worthy recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and his fellow Central American presidents have shown great courage in standing up for peace in view of notable lack of U.S. support for both the Contadora and Arias peace plans.

George Arias apparently will be the Angels' starting third baseman. Manager Marcel Lachemann said he is leaning heavily toward starting the 24-year-old rookie over veteran Tim Wallach. "I'm still kind of in shock," said Arias, who had 30 home runs and 104 runs batted in at double-A Midland last season. Arias went three for three in Monday's 8-7 exhibition loss to the Colorado Rockies, improving his spring-training average to .436. Wallach is batting .421, but defense has given Arias the edge.