What was going on when I was born?

Officials of the Treasury Department and the New York Federal Reserve Bank told a Senate securities subcommittee today that broad regulation of the market in Government securities was unnecessary despite last week's collapse of Drysdale Government Securities Inc. Mark E. Stalnecker, Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary for Federal Finance, called the Drysdale episode ''a very isolated instance'' and said ''it does not appear that there is a need for additional regulation of the Treasury market.'' His statement came a week after Drysdale shocked the financial markets by failing to pay $160 million of interest that was due on securities it had temporarily borrowed. Anthony M. Solomon, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, also rejected more formal regulation of the securities market, particularly because dealers are already scrutinizing credit risks and revising some practices linked to Drysdale's activities.

Federal Judge Harold H. Greene today ordered the various parties to the proposed antitrust settlement between the Justice Department and the American Telephone and Telegraph Company to file new, clarifying comments on the plan and prepare for a public hearing at the end of June. With this unexpected order, Judge Greene of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia rebuffed the call by the Justice Department and Bell last week for prompt approval of the proposed settlement. It would give A.T.& T. new freedom to expand into information processing in exchange for its divestiture of 22 regional telephone companies. The judge said that the 8,000 pages of comments on the proposed antitrust settlement filed this spring by more than 600 individuals, corporations, associations and governmental bodies did not clarify issues enough for him to act on the proposal.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has ''overstated'' its deficit projections for New York City's transit system and can balance its budget with a fare increase of no more than 15 cents, the State Comptroller said yesterday. The Comptroller, Edward V. Regan, a Republican, thus joined the debate over how much of an increase might be needed this summer in the 75-cent subway fare. Richard Ravitch, the M.T.A. chairman, has said that the fare might have to go as high as $1.05; Democratic leaders in the State Legislature have argued that the fare can remain where it is. The M.T.A. has scheduled public hearings next month on possible increases in bus, subway and commuter fares. Fares are set by the M.T.A. board, but it must rely in part on state subsidies for its operation.

Argentina repeatedly called today for a negotiated peace in the Falkland Islands with the help of Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar. In language seemingly designed to please London, the Argentine Foreign Minister, Nicanor Costa Mendez, said the negotiations must be open-ended, with no conditions fixed in advance. And Mr. Costa Mendez avoided mention of a cease-fire, speaking instead of a ''cessation of hostilities.'' London has previously accused Buenos Aires of trying to prejudge the outcome of any talks to settle the islands' fate. Now, with its military operation under way, Britain prefers the less precise language referring to an end to hostilities rather than a cease-fire.

A New York City legislator reported yesterday that an ambulance carrying an 89-year-old woman who was suffering from a heart attack had been turned away from Flushing Hospital and Medical Center in Queens because the hospital's emergency room was closed to cardiac cases. The ambulance then took the woman to the emergency room of nearby Booth Memorial Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead an hour later after efforts to resuscitate her failed. The incident occurred on the night of May 5 and was disclosed yesterday by Alan G. Hevesi, a Democratic Assemblyman from Queens and the deputy majority leader of the Assembly. He said the diversion of the ambulance had ''probably'' contributed to the woman's death.

''The application of the right of self-determination to the case of the Malvinas Islands is a simple travesty.

While Poland and Rumania have borne the brunt of the problem thus far, Eastern Europe's huge $60 billion debt to the West is putting strains on almost every member of the Communist bloc. Weak demand for their exports has cut into the revenue that was to pay off the debt. The lenders, facing their own political pressures, are holding back on new credits while trying to decide how to help their debtors. High interest rates in the open market have added to the problem. Given the pinch, there is widespread conjecture that Hungary and East Germany, once the Eastern bloc's economic showcases, may follow Poland and Rumania in asking to delay debt payments.

Muriel Siebert, who resigned Tuesday as New York State's Superintendent of Banks, yesterday announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate. She cited her background of state service and 22 years of work on Wall Street. The Republican state chairman, George L. Clark Jr., estimated that 60 percent of the 62 Republican county chairmen in the state supported Miss Siebert, who has been meeting with party leaders. The county chairmen will control the Republican state committee when it meets next month to designate a candidate.

Amid generally declining interest rates, Citibank, the nation's second-largest bank, lowered its prime lending rate yesterday to 16 percent from 16 1/2 percent. The move reflected the bank's expectation that the drop in interest rates could generally be sustained. It was the first reduction in the prime rate by a major bank since March. The prime - which Citibank refers to as its base rate - is the key rate on which interest rates on most business loans are based. Many other loan rates, including some mortgages, are scaled up or down from that rate. The prime rate has hovered between 16 percent and 17 percent since the beginning of this year.

IN most families a special occasion calls for a celebration in a restaurant. But in the family of a restaurant critic that is hardly the case, for the very nature of a celebration, it seems, is that it be marked by something out of the ordinary. Because my husband and I generally eat dinner out six or seven nights a week and our son often joins us, our idea of a treat is dinner at home, sometimes with elegant dishes but more usually with lusty, homey family favorites that we cannot get in restaurants. What we miss most as a result of eating in restaurants is such dishes as bacon and fried or scrambled eggs Recipes are on page C8. cooked exactly as we like them, meat loaf, meatballs and spaghetti, all sorts of stews and pot roasts, hand-me-down family recipes and specialties that I have developed to our taste during the 27 years that my husband and I have been eating together.

Citibank lowered its prime lending rate to 16 percent from 16 1/2 percent. The move came amid generally declining interest rates and reflected the bank's confidence that the easing would continue. It was the first reduction in the prime rate by a major bank since March. Treasury Secretary Donald T. Regan described the Citibank move as a good sign for the economy. Paul A. Volcker, the Federal Reserve's chairman, said the central bank would continue to fight inflation by holding down monetary growth. (Page D1.) New car sales by the Big Three auto makers rose 15.3 percent in mid-May, the companies reported. G.M.'s sales increased 23 percent in the period, while Chrysler's rose 5.5 percent and Ford's declined 0.6 percent. The three companies have now reported two consecutive periods of sales growth. Analysts, though pleased with the improvement, cautioned it doesn't constitute a recovery. (D1.)

Reagan Administration officials said today that Iran's rout of Iraqi forces threatened the stability of Persian Gulf states and was creating a situation potentially more dangerous to Western interests than the unresolved Arab-Israeli conflict. The officials expressed frustration over the inability of the United States to bring about an end to the Iranian-Iraqi war, and they were doubtful that Islamic and third-world intermediaries would have any success either. An Iraqi military spokesman was quoted today by the Iraqi press agency, in a report monitored in Beirut, as saying that Iraqi forces had completed a withdrawal from Khurramshahr in the face of Iranian attacks. (Page A4.)