Rags To Riches

LONDON -- Do we so quickly have to repeat history, the first time as a near tragedy, the second as what would be farce, if it didn't emanate from such a serious source?Last week, the Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, speaking at the annual forum of the Association of South-East Asian Nations, called for a review and possible re-write of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights. The declaration, he declared, "was formulated by superpowers which did not understand the needs of poor countries."

BUENA PARK, Calif. -- The disc jockey was on the line. Would Tom and Pauline Nichter be up for doing a 7 a.m. interview?No problem.How about "The Maury Povich Show" in New York?Not sure. Pauline Nichter's never flown before.How about a 3 a.m. interview with a radio station in Ontario, Canada?No way. Even the Nichters -- the honest couple who have become instant celebrities -- have to sleep.There has been little time for sleeping, however, ever since the Buena Park couple found a wallet containing $2,394 in cash and returned it to police.

It was a riches-to-rags-to-riches story that would have turned Hollywood on its ear. Instead, it turned the Howard County volleyball scene upside down.The Mount Hebron volleyball team, Class 2A state champions in 1991, entered this season with low expectations after losing five key starters. True to form, the Vikings went 3-4 to open the season.The players -- mostly sophomores and juniors -- became frustrated. The coach began to have her doubts. Pretty soon, winning the state title seemed like a distant memory.

In the continuing debate over the distribution of wealth and income -- the richest 1 percent of American families control more wealth than the bottom 90 percent -- one school of thought says findings like this, however extreme, do not present a true picture.In this view these data are flawed because they are snapshots of a moment and fail to reflect the constant ebb and flow of fortunes.Even if the raw numbers are accurate, these economists say, the portrait fails to capture the amazing fluidity of American society.