What was going on when I was born?

Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger said today that, despite the steady expansion of Soviet military power, ''I think we have begun to catch up.'' ''We've improved our readiness and we have laid the foundation, although it takes longer than I would like, to regain our strategic modernization and strength,'' Mr. Weinberger said at a news conference. In seeking to justify the Reagan Administration's proposals for a large military budget, Mr. Weinberger added that ''it's absolutely necessary that we continue because it will take us a good five years to regain the strategic and conventional strength and readiness that I think we need to be able to assure the American people that we still have a very credible and effective deterrent.'' A New Pentagon Report As the Defense Secretary spoke, the Pentagon made public a new, 107-page version of a booklet entitled ''Soviet Military Power'' that outlined advances in Soviet forces over the last 18 months. It was also intended to justify the Administration's military budget.

Cecil Andrews called the local television station four times last Friday threatening to set himself on fire in the town square to protest unemployment in America. At 11:18 P.M., he did it. Apparently drunk, the 37-year-old unemployed roofer stood near the edge of the square and fumbled with a matchbook. The first match went out. Mr. Andrews staggered to a container of charcoal lighter fluid on the ground and liberally doused his worn blue jeans and cowboy boots again. Cupping his hands over a second match, he held it to his knee. A small flame sprang up.

Foreign debts of the less developed countries - both oil-producing and not - now total more than $550 billion, and they clearly carry the potential to disrupt the world financial system. Plainly, if some significant portion of this huge indebtedness goes into default - because of recession, disinflation, lower oil prices or any other reason - some of the largest American banks could easily be in trouble. Should government, in the United States or elsewhere, foot part or all of the bill for cleaning up the mess in international credit markets? Yes, say some influential investment bankers and economists. They maintain that government intervention is essential, including the creation of new agencies to assume some of the credit risk and impose new controls. One way or another the public will inevitably be involved, they say, noting the general interest in the functioning of major multinational banks.

The House of Representatives gave final approval tonight to a rescue plan designed to restore the Social Security System to financial stability, in part by gradually raising the retirement age in the next century, first to 66 by 2009 and then to 67 by 2027. The bill now goes to the Senate. The plan, approved with heavy bipartisan support by a 282-to-148 vote, was closely patterned after the recommendations made in January by the National Commission on Social Security Reform. It would provide $165.3 billion in additional revenue, mainly through expanded payroll taxes to the system through the end of the decade. The Social Security rescue plan, which moved through committee and to the House floor with unusual speed and rare bipartisan support, would increase payroll taxes, take all new Federal employees into the system, postpone cost-of-living increases in benefits for six months and make some benefits received by higher-income retirees subject to Federal income tax for the first time.

Terence Cardinal Cooke, appealing for a resolution of tensions surrounding the choice of a supporter of the I.R.A. as grand marshal of the St. Patrick's Day Parade, has assumed the role of a pastor trying to bring harmony to a divided flock. The Cardinal yesterday not only repeated his condemnation of ''indiscriminate violence'' in Northern Ireland, a position he took in a statement on Feb. 24, but also linked the Provisional Irish Republican Army to such destruction, calling it ''futile and immoral.'' Church officials read this as strong disapproval of the parade committee's choice of Michael Flannery as the parade's grand marshal. But they also saw the Cardinal's statement as leaving the door open to compromise when it urged the parade committee and the ''Irish-American community'' to seek ''reconciliation.'' Officials said it was in the hope that a settlement could be reached that the Cardinal had refrained from announcing whether he would take part in the parade.

President Reagan accepted the resignation of Anne McGill Burford as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency today and said he would turn over all documents sought by a House subcommittee investigating the agency. The President made his sudden announcements amid a political crisis arising from his refusal to make documents about the toxic waste program available to Congress and accusations that his Administration was covering up. The President said that Mrs. Burford's resignation ''is an occasion of sorrow for us all'' and that he accepted it with ''deep regret.'' He named John W. Hernandez, the agency's deputy director, as Acting Administrator. The President met with Mrs. Burford at the White House this afternoon until 5:45 P.M. and his announcement of her resignation came an hour later. The meeting was attended by three others: the President's counselor, Edwin Meese 3d, Interior Secretary James G. Watt, and Mrs. Burford's husband, Robert.

THE dressing rooms of Broadway's stars are a lot like the shows that open on the Great White Way each year. Some make big splashes. Others are quiet and tasteful. A great many are just so-so. And then there are the turkeys - threadbare and badly in need of a little color. Two rules seem to hold true: * No matter how shabby the dressing rooms, the stars try to personalize them by adding things from home such as pillows, posters, photographs and plants. * The star in a long-running show is the most likely to have a drop-dead dressing room. Sometimes the dressing room is done by the show's set designer, as is the case with Raul Julia's spacious, opulent quarters at the 46th Street Theater, where he stars in ''Nine.'' It was decorated by the designer, Laurence Miller, so Mr. Julia probably has the best dressing room on Broadway.

Markets Stock prices started climbing again, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 12.86 points, to 1,132.64. On Tuesday, the Dow fell almost 22 points. Most of the gain came as speculation spread that OPEC was near a price-cutting accord. The two other major indexes also rose. On the Big Board, advances outnumbered declines by 1,011 to 610, while turnover expanded to 84.3 million shares. (Page D1.) Interest rates were little changed in quiet trading. (D7.) In early April, Alabama plans to sell more than $460 million of new bonds, using the proceeds to re-fund before maturity $360 million of bonds sold last April when interest rates were higher. (D7.)

Terence Cardinal Cooke said yesterday that the St. Patrick's Day Parade should not be an expression of support for the Provisional Irish Republican Army. In his second statement on the parade since the selection of an I.R.A. supporter, Michael Flannery, as grand marshal stirred divisions in the Roman Catholic community, the Cardinal wrote: ''This year, a new danger has been presented to the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Fifth Avenue. A parade -which is intended to be a sign of honor to the patron saint of Ireland and of New York and a celebration of the Irish heritage and contributions to America - is once again being made something which it should not be. ''There has been a claim that the march up Fifth Avenue will be a 'pro-I.R.A. parade.' This is being interpreted as a sign of support for the Provisional Irish Republican Army and its campaign to achieve political and social effects through indiscriminate violence.''

Karl Lagerfeld and the Fendi clan proved they were one of the most brilliant teams in contemporary fashion this morning. In a powerful presentation that may not be equaled here or in any fashion center for a long time to come, all the pieces came together. The models seemed to be enjoying themselves - sables do that. The operatic music was easy to listen to, and an air of authority was apparent from the beginning. The pacing was varied, the accessories carefully assembled, and the theatrics worked. But in a fashion show, even the most dramatic presentation cannot take the place of the clothes. They happen to be sensational. The Fendis are fur specialists, but this was not just a fur show. Of the 270 pieces shown - a mammoth number -a good percentage were in fabrics or leather. It was a case where the medium didn't matter. Almost all were memorable. Evening dresses were decorated with bits of fur. Furs were combined with leather: curly Mongolian lamb with the exotic markings of python, for example. Furs were even combined with each other: summer ermine with golden sable, mink with Persian lamb, Mongolian lamb with squirrel.

''It is now clear that my resignation is essential to termination of the controversy and confusion generated by the outstanding dispute over Congressional access to certain E.P.A. documentary materials.'' - Anne McGill Burford. (B12:1.)

Stock prices resumed their upward trend yesterday after Tuesday's sharp selloff. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 12.86 points, to finish at 1,132.64. Most of yesterday's advance occurred in the last two hours of trading as speculation intensified that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was near an accord on lowering oil prices. At 2 P.M., the Dow average was ahead only 1.34 points.