Advantages

Consider it a fortunate accommodation, one of the true pleasures of life, that you have lived to actually see Tiger Woods strike a golf ball. It's an experience all unto itself. There has never been anything comparable to the length, accuracy and scoreboard results he's achieving. No need to study film clips, read dispatches from tournament sites, listen to what contemporary players, or golden heroes of the past, are saying about a young man of 24 whose ability has surpassed the intense examinations that golf offers to anyone, adult or adolescent who picks up a club and takes aim at the flagstick.

Waves of selling struck Wall Street again yesterday, driving the Dow Jones industrial average down 72.27 points to finish at 3,626.75, its lowest close since November. Officials imposed "computerized program trading curbs" twice during the gloomy session.With just today to go before the first quarter ends, the Dow is down 127 points, or 3.4 percent, from the beginning of the year.So, with stock and bond markets tumbling, let's turn to lighter topics, including this little quiz:TEST YOUR MEMORY: Many local firms, past and present, have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars popularizing their slogans.

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Greg O'Connell is a Brooklyn native and ex-cop who's found a way to make business thrive in Red Hook, one of New York City's toughest neighborhoods.In Civil War-era buildings set on finger piers jutting out into the harbor of Upper New York Bay, a site with stunning views of downtown Manhattan, Mr. O'Connell has created a home for 40 firms with a total of some 150 workers -- many of them ''locals'' recommended by a non-profit friend, the South Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation.

Looking for the slightest edge on No. 1-ranked Catholic, Mercy found one in the slope of the Cubs' Herring Run field that rolls slightly downward toward one goal.Attacking the lower goal on a slanted field first, No. 5 Mercy played the Cubs even. But after the halftime switch, it was all up hill for the Magic.Alison Healey scored on a penalty kick five minutes into the second half to spark the Cubs to a 4-0 victory in the Catholic League A Division match.Healey's goal ignited a blistering second-half display by the Cubs attack which outshot the Magic 17-0.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The one, the only, the unforgettable and irreplaceable Magic Johnson is going into the Hall of Fame. Gee, no kidding. This one has been on the schedule since that night in 1980 when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was out and Johnson jumped center in the NBA Finals, getting 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists against the Philadelphia 76ers and leading the Showtime Lakers to the first of five titles. He was a 20-year-old rookie. Forget the old line about waiving the five-year rule.

Alice Bullwinkle has some advice for you. "Pay attention now; save money when April 15 rolls around," says the manager of personal financial counseling for the accounting firm of Ernst & -- Young in Denver.Who wants to think about taxes now? There are still about 90 days until the end of 1991. Time enough later.If you put it off, you may lose some advantages -- and some money -- when you file.Regardless of your income, anyone who files a tax return should do at least some simple planning.

Washington.--Truck scales will be needed to weigh the printed words spoken in coming weeks on campaign finance reform. Yet the only campaign law appropriate for a free society would contain just four words: ''No cash; full disclosure.''One reason ''reform'' is being pushed is to defuse the drive for term limitations for senators and congressmen. But the reform bill being debated in the Senate is fresh evidence of the need for term limits. It proves that the political class in its quest for protected incumbency would trample the Constitution.

Andy Hood can sum up the advantages -- and disadvantages -- of being a nearly lifelong "Detourian" in a few sentences."What do I love about living in Detour?" Hood asked rhetorically. "The river.""What do I hate about living in Detour? The river."Detour is on the banks of the Monocacy River in a corner of Carroll County so far west that driving there seems to turn back the clock with every mile.Though Detour sits squarely on Route 77 and traffic is steady, the community has retained that small-town flavor of yesteryear.