June 26, 1991

In this city of hyperbole and illusion, myths grow like Jack's beanstalk. One of the capital's most beloved myths is the one about indispensability. Important officials begin to believe they are irreplaceable and invulnerable. The doppelganger effect sets in, as staff workers confuse themselves with their bosses, the elected officials, and that is where the trouble begins.

On a brisk summer morning in this tiny town, there is nothing finer than to buckeye with some old kimmies over a horn of zeese and listen to them harp Boontling. And if one is attentive and polite, a stranger might even be allowed to do just that: Relax with some old men over a cup of coffee and listen to them speak Boontling, a lingo unique to this area of northern California.

THE ECONOMY Virtually everyone agrees that the Resolution Trust's program to provide low-cost housing has fallen short of its goals, though how far short is in dispute. [ Page A1. ] The Wall Street market for high-risk corporate bonds, which fueled the corporate takeovers of the 1980's only to collapse after a a series of defaults and bankruptcies, is showing signs of life. [ A1. ]

If any company illustrates the rewards available to Hollywood by tapping into the rapid growth in foreign markets for American films, it is Carolco Pictures Inc. And if any movie typifies the risks of Carolco's innovative and free-spending strategy for exploiting those markets, it is "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," which opens next week. The Hollywood establishment has long seen Carolco as a reckless upstart, a company that bought its way into the business by paying exorbitant sums for stars, directors and scripts. "Terminator 2" does nothing to counter that notion. One of the most expensive movies ever made, at more than $90 million, the science-fiction thriller stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a menacing cyborg from the future. It is a strong candidate to be the big movie of the summer.

For Kimberly Edwards and the family-planning clinic she works for here, the choice offered by the United States Supreme Court was painful but clear: abandon abortion counseling or forgo $600,000 in Federal funds. Two weeks after the Court's ruling, Ms. Edwards's organization, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, announced that it would give up the money, about 10 percent of its budget, rather than abide by the Federal regulations governing Title X family-planning funds.