MY DISH TOWEL FLIES AT HALF-MAST

What's behind the giveaway title? More cracked picture window views of suburbia, straining toward Bombeck but shorter on wit and style. Edison, New Jersey, where the Kuczkirs decamped after leaving Manhattan, is yet another stop on the Little League/laundry/Twinkle circuit; dog parties feature liverwurst gumdrops, Mary herself flirts cutely with total womanhood while her mother champions The Hite Report. She has a husband who groans on cue about bills, five kids who occasionally come through, and a few friends with barely memorable idiosyncrasies. Also, a list of what the cleaning woman won't do, routine attempts at physical fitness and other reforms, and a history of neighbors' efforts to obtain Arthur Treacher's fish batter recipe. Evanescent.