* Stars in His Eyes: Gen. H....

* Stars in His Eyes: Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf’s four-star insignia is worth $4,200 to a businessman, who plunked down that amount for a piece of history at a Tacoma, Wash., Red Cross benefit. The stars were worn by Schwarzkopf while he commanded allied troops in the Persian Gulf war. Kimo Yoshikawa, who owns Balloon Specialities and gave the winning bid, said: “You can’t (have) an opportunity like this and not give it an honest shot.”

* Matter of Degree: A 17-year-old who will get a master’s degree in mathematics next month from Case Western Reserve University says he doesn’t care what other young people think about him. “Either they understand me, or eventually it won’t make any difference,” Eric Rains said in Richfield, Ohio. “I think of myself as a specimen--I realize I’m different and I want to know why.”

* Back Again: Prince Charles climbed back in the saddle over the weekend for the first time since he broke his right arm in two places in a polo match in June. After playing with friends in a preseason warm-up, Charles, 43, said he was “very happy” with his performance. The prince underwent months of physical therapy last year because the arm was slow to heal.

* Duck Walk: Dozens of youngsters costumed with wings, plumes and webbed feet paraded through the city’s Beacon Hill neighborhood Sunday, reprising a scene from Robert McCloskey’s children’s classic, “Make Way for Ducklings,” in which a Boston cop stopped traffic on Beacon Street to let a family of ducklings cross. McCloskey joined children in a park to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the book. “I don’t know whether I should say: ‘Ho, ho, ho,’ like Santa Claus, or whether I should quack,” he said.