Never play cards with a man named Doc, and never eat at a place called Mom's.

So who's perfect? ... Washington had false teeth. Franklin was nearsighted. Mussolini had syphilis. Unpleasant things have been said about Walt Whitman and Oscar Wilde. Tchaikovsky had his problems, too. And Lincoln was constipated.

They say great themes make great novels. but what these young writers don't understand is that there is no greater theme than men and women.

Illinois is a state of suspended animation and the people live in hibernation from Oct. to whenever it ever gets warmer.

Much as I like owning a Rolls-Royce, I could do without it. What I could not do without is a typewriter, a supply of yellow second sheets and the time to put them to good use.

Becoming the reader is the essence of becoming a writer.

Never play cards with a man named Doc, and never eat at a place called Mom's.