August 18, 2005

Holland Cotter reviews exhibition of artworks from kingdom of Siam, from 1350 to 1800, at Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass; photos (M)

Glenn Fletcher hopped down from the driver's seat of his green Lincoln Navigator with a question rarely heard this summer. ''Why is this gas so cheap?'' he asked. Mr. Fletcher was genuinely pleased to be paying almost $56 to fill his tank Wednesday afternoon because he recognized that the prices on the pumps on the Garden State Parkway were unusually low. He had caught on to an anomaly that many drivers never notice: The price of gas on New Jersey's two main toll roads changes only on Fridays, usually just before the morning rush.

WHEN Gillian Osborne and Katharine Jose decided to share an apartment in New York last year, Ms. Osborne's boyfriend, Garland English, was not part of the deal. But by the time the women were ready to move, in May, Mr. English and Ms. Osborne had been dating for a year and felt their relationship was strong enough to sustain living together. Ms. Jose accepted the new situation -- which ultimately involved the three sharing a shower in the living room of a cramped apartment in SoHo, for a combined rent of $2,000 -- with equanimity. At least Mr. English's contribution to the rent, she reasoned, would allow them to afford a decent address.

The addict, maybe more than anybody else, understands the hard nature of certain truths. A habit is a habit, after all, and sometimes only dope can scratch the itch. ''Your desperate seeker that's sick and needs a fix don't care,'' said a man called Bane, who says he has been on and off heroin for almost 20 years. ''They want the high, and in an act of desperation, they'll disregard things.'' Even, he said, if they see someone overdosing.

Northwest Airlines and Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association are bracing for fight over wage and benefit cuts that many in battered industry thought would have come long before now; Northwest could face strike at 12:01 am Aug 20, barring settlement; Northwest is demanding $176 million in cuts from union, it share of $1.1 billion in concessions airline says it needs to avoid Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; union argues Northwest's demand would wipe out more than half of its members' jobs; Wall Street is rooting for walkout; carrier's shares rise 35 cents, or 7.5 percent, to $5, after Morgan Stanley raises its rating on stock; says airline could weather walkout without significant disruptions; graphs; photos (M)