What was going on when I was born?

LONDON IN Western Europe, if such a generalization can be attempted, the United States and the Reagan Administration are regarded at the moment as dangerous. Not so dangerous, of course, except to extreme leftists, as the Soviet Union, and certainly not malign in intent; but dangerous all the same. In Bonn, in Madrid, in Stockholm, in London, politicians and others feel as always that what Washington decides will have as much influence, or even more, on their economic and foreign policies as what they themselves decide. And they have had the feeling for almost two years that things are not under control in Washington. It is uncomfortable, one European foreign minister said, ''to sense that things are done with little regard for us and with great regard for a narrow ideology.''

MOSCOW ONE day last week, the Soviet press accused the Reagan Administration of blocking ''progressive'' resolutions in the United Nations, abetting Israel's teritorial designs in Lebanon, aiding ''murderers, saboteurs and bandits'' in Afghanistan, bribing Pakistan with F-16 fighter-bombers, fomenting fresh trouble in Poland and stalemating the nuclear arms talks in Geneva. By Moscow standards, it was a restrained day. For most of the Administration's two years, the official line has been that Washington was in the hands of a lunatic fringe. Soviet leaders accused President Reagan of launching the ''madness'' of a fresh arms race, attempting to strong-arm Western Europe into submissiveness, stirring ''counterrevolution'' in Poland and backing repressive regimes in South Africa, South Korea and Chile. The line is that all this will fail, crushed beneath ''the wheel of history.'' But how strongly it is believed by the shrewd men who advise the tough-minded new leader, Yuri V. Andropov, is questionable. Soviet advisers probably anticipated that Washington would emerge from doubt and selfreproach after Vietnam and Watergate to reassert its power, particularly to check Soviet advances.

Mario Matthew Cuomo, a Queens lawyer who first ran for public office only eight years ago, was inaugurated today at 1:30 P.M. as the 52d Governor of New York State, pledging that his administration would do more for people than simply balance budgets. The success of his administration in reaching that goal, Mr. Cuomo de- Transcript of address, page 22. clared as he took his oath of office and delivered his inaugural address, will influence government's role throughout the nation. ''This state has always led the way in demonstrating government's best uses,'' said Mr. Cuomo, who, with the defeat of Democrats in California, heads the largest Democratic state administration in the country. ''For more than 50 years without dramatic deviation, whatever party happened to be in power, New York has proven that government can be a positive source for good and it still can be.''

HARTFORD IT will be a new start on some old problems when the General Assembly convenes Wednesday to swear in its new and re-elected members and to witness the inauguration of Governor O'Neill at a joint session in the Hall of the House. Mr. O'Neill will be starting a four-year term, having been elected in his own right. About one-quarter of both the Senate and the House of Representatives will be taking office for the first time, and there will be a few new persons in the leadership posts in both houses. But as the opening-day pageantry fades into the grind of legislative business and the lawmakers settle into a session that will last until June 8, most legislators expect that an old familiar problem - money - will dominate events. What new or higher taxes will be sought to solve an expected budget deficit? Which programs will be pruned to hold down state spending? With a sluggish economy and a perennial budget problem, no one is proposing costly new programs. Like a lot of households, Connecticut's state government will be trying to stretch its resources to meet the obligations it already has.

There are probably many people who have stories to tell about the fun, and maybe even the romance, they found at Sundance Lodge, a privately owned recreation area on the banks of the Passaic River not far down Route 46 from the Willowbrook Mall in New Jersey. Elizabeth and Jacob Klein ran a small inn there during the 1930's, and over the years built two swimming pools, a picnic area, tennis courts, a volleyball court and other facilities on their 20 acres.

TOKYO PREMIER Yasuhiro Nakasone, who worries greatly about Japan's relations with the United States and favors a direct approach, is due in Washington this month for talks with President Reagan. At a time when Japan is under criticism in the United States for its defense and trade policies, Mr. Nakasone, in addition to establishing personal ties with the President, will be able to demonstrate some good will even it is short of the Administration's hopes.

THE trial of the sinking homes of Norwalk will resume tomorrow morning in Stamford Superior Court as the judge, six jurors, eight lawyers and a renewed stream of witnesses consider whether anyone is responsible for what has been called an American dream turned into a nightmare. The lawsuit involves 109 plaintiffs suing six individuals and corporate entities, including the City of Norwalk, over a 13-year-old residential development called the Bound Brook Estates, where many houses are sinking, causing structural faults in the buildings and despair among the owners. ''I felt that owning a home anywhere, be it in the City of Norwalk or anywhere else, is the American dream,'' testified Donnie Sellers, a 17-year veteran of the Norwalk Police Department, who paid $39,500 for a three-bedroom ranch house in the development in June 1973. Slowly, he said, the problems became visible. Windows shifted out of alignment and could not be moved, he said.The front stoop began to pull away from the house. A bathroom could not be used because the sewer line had become disconnected. Water was discovered in holes around pilings of the house at 59 Marlin Drive.

THE Reagan Administration, reaching midterm last week, has moved swiftly to put its stamp on foreign policy, from missiles and pipeline diplomacy - East-West and West-West - to breaking new ground in the Middle East, Central America, Africa and Asia.

International Moscow blamed the deadlocked talks on strategic arms reduction on American attempts to weaken the Soviet Union militarily. The Soviet views were expressed in a long editorial prepared for Pravda, the Communist Party newspaper. It was the fullest statement of Soviet policy on strategic arms issues since the Reagan Administration took office nearly two years ago. (Page 1, Column 1.)

SIX months ago, the owners of the National Football League's 28 t eams met in Phoenix to discuss, among other things, their complex r elationship with the N.F.L. Players Association and the possibility o f a strike. Citing major league baseball's 50-day strike in 1981 and its aftermath, the football owners were well aware of a potential fan backlash that could reduce attendance and television ratings if their season were interrupted by a strike. And it was. For 57 days, from Sept. 21 to Nov. 16, the industry was silent except for the sounds of negotiations. Eight weeks of games were canceled by the strike, although one week was rescheduled to create a nine-week regular season, the shortest in league history, and a one-time-only 16-team playoff tournament leading to the Super Bowl.

SINCE interest rates started dropping last autumn, the possibility o f mortgage refinancing has become a preoccupation with many h omeowners who bought at higher rates. For some, refinancing makes p erfect sense, but there are many variables that have to be weighed t o determine when is the most favorable time to do it. If you think interest rates will come down further, maybe you should wait. It may be that the fees for refinancing are so high that it makes no sense to act unless rates come down further.

JERUSALEM ONE of the few points of accord between Israelis and Arabs these days is their doubt that the United States has a coherent Middle East policy. The war in Lebanon, the Reagan plan, the continued high material support of Israel even in the midst of basic political disagreement - all have been blended into a cloudy picture of Washington's goals in the region. Prime Minister Menachem Begin's Government originally saw President Reagan's nice-guy approach to Israel, and his hawkish anti-Soviet posture, as something of a blank check for Israeli attacks on the Palestine Liberation Organization as a Soviet client. Despite repeated American pleas that Israel refrain from the longthreatened invasion of Lebanon against the P.L.O. (mostly for fear it could ignite a war with Syria), Jerusalem felt, once the invasion was launched, that Washington would share its basic objectives.