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He agreed with Francis Bacon: Old friends to trust, old wood to burn, old authors to read.
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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In mid-morning, Qwilleran set out from the barn carrying a baker's box tied with red plaid ribbon. He said goodbye to the cats, told them where he was going, and estimated when he would return. The more you talk to cats, he believed, the smarter they become. Koko was disturbingly smart. Qwilleran called him a fine fellow and had a great deal of respect for him. Yum Yum was a dainty little female with winning ways and a fondness for laps, th..
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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Never before had he met anyone who knew, or cared, that it was Chesterfield who said: Let blockheads read what blockheads wrote.
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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The sky was Alice blue (one
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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Howard and I now operate a halfway house for wayward or unwanted cats, as well as a boarding school for the truly gifted and a placement bureau for upwardly mobile felines (Fluppies). The Fluppie Phenomenon should not be taken lightly. The time may come when all household appliances, particularly computers, are required to be catproof. Today's catly mischief could be tomorrow's CATastrophe.
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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How do you describe your style?" he asked as they drove back to the rocky beach. "Descriptive but not realistic. Makes viewers use a little imagination. That's good for 'em. Imagination's a muscle; needs exercise."
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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A cat without a tail is better than a politician without a head. Theres a destiny that leads a hungry cat to the right doorstep. Home is where the sardines are. No matter how humble, a free meal is not to be sniffed at. Where theres a will, a cat will find a way. Soft cushions are for catsall others use them at their own risk. What goes down must come up, if its a pill.
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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Thirty-five is a very attractive age. London is full of women of the highest society who have remained thirty-five for years.
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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You
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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cool koko also says Dumb animals know more about humans than dumb humans know about animals.
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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I only know that a wise man once said three hundred years ago that money is like muck; it doesn't do any good unless you spread it around.
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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spread the rumor and, before anyone knows, it's a fact
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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You know what they say: All Welshmen sing. All Scots are thrifty. All Englishmen have stiff upper lips. And all Irishmen write plays.
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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What a touching domestic scene! I suppose the demographers have you classified as an untraditional family: one man, two cats." "One man, two animal companions," he corrected her."
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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What lofty subject are you addressing in Tuesday's column?" she asked. "Pencils! I've just discovered a source for the fat yellow pencils with thick soft leads that were standard equipment on my first newspaper job. I've ordered a gross. More and more I draft my copy longhand while sitting with my feet up." "Don't I remember old movies in which reporters loafed around the office with their hats on and their feet on the desk?" "They weren't ..
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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The Siamese had finished their three-hour morning nap and had not yet settled down for their four-hour afternoon siesta. It was their Mischief Hour. Yum Yum was batting a pencil she had stolen from the writing table, and Koko was parading around with a sweat sock that Qwilleran used for biking.
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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Qwilleran worked hard and fast at the office that day, while the clerk in the Feature Department intercepted all phone calls and uninvited visitors with the simple explanation that permits no appeal, no argument, no exceptions. "Sorry, he's on deadline."
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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We call this building the Architects' Revenge. The balconies are designed to be too sunny, too windy, and too dirty. The cinders that hurtle through my living room are capable of putting out an eyeball. But it's a good address. Some of the best people live in this building, several of them blind in one eye.
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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Qwilleran, never an early riser by choice, now found himself routed out of bed at dawn when the birds convened for their morning singsong and the Siamese wanted to join them. Koko and Yum Yum would station themselves outside his bedroom door, the one yowling in an operatic baritone and the other uttering soprano shrieks until he got up and transported them to the gazebo. Yum Yum simply wanted to bat insects on the screens, but Koko was fasc..
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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There was a game they played at dinner. The word "delicious" was out of bounds. On this occasion the eggs were robust, the grilled salmon was succulent, the salad had verve, Polly's blackberry cobbler had zest, and Qwilleran's seven-layer chocolate cake had a certain nobility."
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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Apple barn's better'n a pig barn," they chortled over coffee mugs in the cafes. After four years they had become accustomed to the sight of Mr. Q's oversize moustache with its melancholy droop. They no longer questioned the unorthodox W in the spelling of Qwilleran. And most of them now accepted the fact that the middle-aged divorced bachelor chose to live alone--with two cats!"
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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office
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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We designed the house to go with her looks.
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Lilian Jackson Braun |
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She gazed into space, afflicted by sudden deafness, a common disorder in felines.
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Lilian Jackson Braun |