What was going on when I was born?

An article in Metropolitan Report Nov. 29 about the city of Buffalo incorrectly quoted Pete Rozelle, commissioner of the National Football League. Mr. Rozelle, who did not mention Buffalo, said he was considering changing the sites of two playoff games this season because of forecasts of severe winter weather.

Oil blowout sowing fear in Al- berta backwoods A2 To Israeli Arabs, war in Lebanon is still a ''bad dream'' A3 Around the World A5 Quebec physician campaigning for nationwide abortion clinics A6 A two-way view of Andropov A7 Excerpts from Jaruzelski's speech A9 Salvadoran rebels kill 11 soldiers in overrunning army post A12 Bonn inquiry on bribes is spread- ing for politicians A13 Irish Labor Party agrees to form coalition A14 Washington Talk Briefing D16 The Calendar D16 Not-so-vital statistics on Moyni- han D16 Changing the rules for running the House D16 General Neighbors and companies rebuild a burned Christmas Village A1 Around the Nation A16 Colleges paying more to profes- sors in technical fields A16 New park near New Orleans fighting a tide of sewage A16 Lutherans' Missouri Synod heal- ing from 70's turmoil A20 M.T.A. might face penalty, even if it forgoes Canadian loan B4 Hanukkah is marked in a cele- bration of Jewish life B8 Soviet emigre reunited with family after long struggle B14 PARKING REGULATIONS Because of the snow, alternate-side parking is suspended in New York City today. All other rules remain in effect. SportsMonday Baseball: Seaver returning in late innings of career C1 Moffett enters a new battle- ground C6 Basketball: Problems seem over for Knicks' Sly Williams C9 Celtics rally to top Nuggets, 126- 112 C9 Georgetown players grew up in loss to Virginia C8 Columns: Dave Anderson on Jets' reward to loyal fans C4 George Vecsey on Jefferson versus Loyola C8 Features: Sports World Specials C2 Football: Jets beat Buccaneers, 32-17 for 5th straight victory C1 Bucs refuse to blame weather for poor showing against Jets C4 Patriots defeat Dolphins, 3-0, in snow C3 Bills frustrate Steelers, 13-0 C3 Hockey: Rangers shut out Devils, 4-0, at Garden C1 Arts/Entertainment How a Royal Shakespearean be- came Gandhi C13 ''Remarkable Relations'' by Bar- bara Strachey reviewed C22 ''The Green Table,'' antiwar bal- let, on TV C22 ''Two Weeks in Winter,'' drama- tization about Poland, on TV C22 Government/Politics After years of quarrels, tranquil- lity in Hartford's City Hall B2 New York State Democratic Party getting new chairman B2 States could benefit by paving with new mixture B15 A governor calls Reagan's ''new federalism'' dead B17 News Analysis Leonard Silk examines global economic challenge A1 John Burns assesses the situation at the Kremlin A8 David Margolick examines de- fense tactics in Brink's case B2 B12 Features/Notes New York Day by Day B3 Going Out Guide C17 Style Relationships B16 Tennis: A game for the disabled, too B16 For Christmas, 700 dolls for the needy B16 Editorials/Letters/Op-Ed Editorials A22 A legal insult to the poor Playing red light The lions' share Karl E. Meyer: Caves Letters A22 Anthony Lewis: Namibia - no dead end A23 William Safire: The Recession speaks A23 George A. Keyworth 2d: 'Dense Pack' works A23 Herbert Scoville Jr.: The MX in- vites attack A23

Brazil's biggest bank was rescued from default by the intervention of several New York banks after it was unable to meet more than $175 million in foreign-exchange commitments last week, banking sources said. (Page A1.) The Treasury is accumulating currencies and stepping up its trading in foreign-exchange markets. Analysts say the Treasury's increased intervention in these markets runs counter to President Reagan's previous strictures against such involvement. (D1.)

Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, a ranking member of the Republican majority, complained today that President Reagan had failed to consult with his main allies in the Senate or with those he appointed to the commission on reforming Social Security. Mr. Dole, a member of the commission, suggested that the President had not recognized that losses in last month's elections had shifted what he called the political ''center of gravity'' to a point ''maybe a little closer to Capitol Hill than the White House.'' Mr. Dole has become increasingly outspoken in expressing his dissatisfaction with relations between the White House and the Senate leadership. A 'Sit-Down' Session Needed ''Some of us wonder if he knows who his friends are,'' Mr. Dole, the chairman of the Finance Committee, said to reporters Friday. ''We really should sit down with the President, which we have never done, and talk to him about some of our problems.''

With winter still officially nine days off, the first major snowstorm of the season dusted city streets and suburban woodlands yesterday, slowing weekend traffic and leaving accumulations of two to three inches in New York City and about six inches on eastern Long Island. While blustery winds hurled the flakes over the area, the police reported few major traffic accidents or delays. Though major highways in Westchester, Connecticut and New Jersey were reported to be mostly clear, traveling yesterday was slow and treacherous as cars buffeted by winds of up to 35 miles an hour moved over icy patches. The Sanitation Department put snowplows and salt spreaders on major New York City streets, calling in 3,000 workers on overtime - at a cost estimated at $700,000 - beginning at midnight Saturday. The city declared a limited snow emergency early yesterday, but called it off in the afternoon. Alternate-side parking is suspended today, though all other rules remain in effect.

Public acceptance of the use of cocaine has become so widespread in the New York metropolitan area that some prosecutors and police officials say support for vigorous prosecution has been sharply eroded. The Bronx District Attorney, Mario Merola, said that cocaine had become so irresistible to the middle class that he predicted its use would no longer be thought of as against the law. ''That's what happened with marijuana,'' said Mr. Merola. ''And it may happen with cocaine in the next decade, in spite of the fact that medical testimony shows cocaine to be extremely dangerous. What happens with drugs is that when we cannot deal with them, we attempt to legalize them. It's wrong.''

''Citizens, the martial law Council of National Salvation is of the opinion that conditions have arisen for suspending martial law.'' - Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, Poland's martial law chief, in a speech yesterday. (A9:3.)

Last of six articles that have appeared periodically on current world economic problems After three decades of the greatest growth in history, the world economy has been caught for the last three years in what a committee of international economists assembled by the United Nations calls ''a vicious spiral of contraction.'' The key economic issue facing all nations today is how to break that spiral and get back on a path of steady growth. But there are sharp disagreements among governments on how to proceed. High unemployment in the industrial world, the most severe since the Depression of the 1930's, is increasing pressure on governments to pursue ''beggar my neighbor'' policies, excluding foreign goods or devaluing currencies to save jobs at home, whatever the consequences for other nations. Suffering and Instability Disputes between industrialized countries and developing countries have grown worse as the developing nations see the prices of their commodities fall and the incomes of many of their people depressed to - or below -the subsistence level.

That stumpy guy from another planet, E.T., the Extra Terrestrial, has done pretty well for himself. Retailers say he's a toy store superstar this Christmas season, and that the hundreds of licensed products in his image - from knickknacks to night lights - will end up under a lot of Christmas trees. But he won't be alone. Two veterans of the toy business, Mattel's Barbie and Hasbro's G.I. Joe - who re-emerged in 1981, in a much reduced size, as the leader of an anti-terrorist squad - have made strong sales comebacks this Christmas, after years of relatively little consumer interest. And, the retailers say, sales of home video game systems and game cartridges are also up - double in some stores - from last year's pre-Christmas levels.

Brazil's biggest bank, the Government-owned Banco do Brasil, was unable to meet more than $175 million in foreign exchange commitments last week and was rescued from default only by the intervention of several major New York banks, banking sources said last night. The bank, which is majority owned by the Brazilian Government and is Brazil's primary institution for financing the country's international trade, had essentially run out of dollars to meet prior commitments, the sources said. It was said to have been saved from defaulting on these commitments when the American banks stepped in and provided the bank's New York agency with the funds that it needed. Among those participating in the credit, put together at a special meeting at the New York Federal Reserve Bank, were Morgan Guaranty, Chase Manhattan, Citibank, Banker's Trust and Manufacturers Hanover, the sources said. Terms or duration of the bailout package were not immediately available.

About 1,500 New York City children, displaced with their families to temporary housing in hotels or shelters, have not been going to school, according to the Board of Education. To help the families work out the problems that have been keeping the children out of school, some for a year or more, the board began a special project in September. In the project, teams of guidance counselors, attendance teachers and health aides go directly to a family's temporary quarters. Rooms Provided by City The program has aided nearly 1,000 children and their families in handling social, personal and educational problems, according to one project official. About 600 youngsters have been receiving intensive follow-up services after returning to school.

In a rush of jostling, posturing and redesigning, banks and savings institutions are concocting their plans for tomorrow's debut of the new money market fund accounts. The financial marketers have taken the guidelines - no interest rate ceiling on a minimum deposit of $2,500 and only six preauthorized withdrawals - and dressed them up to compete for the estimated $100 billion at stake. Some are offering interest rates on the savings accounts above 11 percent, while others are trying cash bonuses. In the midst of their planning last week, bankers and thrift institution executives received word that, on Jan. 5, they would also be permitted to offer a checking account with unrestricted interest rates and a $2,500 minimum deposit.