Norman, Is That You?: Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf,...

Norman, Is That You?: Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, the head of the 650,000 allied troops in the Persian Gulf region, may be “Stormin’ Norman” to his troops and the media, but there’s another side to the burly commander. His wife, Brenda, says he loves ballet and opera, speaks French and German, and is interested in magic. “He used to . . . put on magic shows for children’s birthday parties, for the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts,” she said in a weekend interview.

Minority Report: The old joke in West Virginia is that there are so few Republicans legislators they could meet in a telephone booth. Well, order up a booth. The state senate now has only one Republican--Donna Boley, 55, of rural St. Marys--to challenge the rule of 33 Democrats. As minority leader, she has appointed herself to six legislative committees, including panels on finance, education, health and human services, and the key Rules Committee.

Things Are Tough All Over: Even former members of the Congress are feeling the current job crunch. Claudine Schneider, who gave up her Rhode Island congressional post in an unsuccessful bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Claiborne Pell, has accepted a part-time teaching post at the Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Mass. As far as full-time work goes, she told the Providence Journal she has “a couple of things in the works, but nothing firm.”

Minnesota on My Mind: A Los Angeles trucker must have thought he had encountered the dumbest bunch of cops in history when he stopped for directions in Duluth, Minn., Friday. His written delivery instructions told him how to traverse Boggs Avenue, Independent Boulevard and Meadowbrook Lane--streets “we never heard of,” said Dave Johnson, one of the officers at the scene. They suggested he get his invoice, which showed he was few miles off target. He was supposed to be in Duluth, Ga.