Bad Cold by Shel Silverstein

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  This cold is too much for my shortsleeve. Go get me a Kleenex--and fast. I sniffle and wheeze And I'm ready to sneeze And I don't know how long I can last.... Atchoo--it's to wet for a kleenex, So bring me handkerchief, quick. It's--atchoo--no joke, Now the handkerchief's soaked. Hey, a dish towel just might do the trick. Atchoo--it's too much for bath towel. There never has been such a cold. I'll be better off With that big tablecloth, No--bring me the flag off the pole. Atchoo--bring the clothes from the closet, Atchaa--get the sheets from the bed, The drapes off the window, The rugs off the floor To soak up this cold in my head. Atchoo-- hurry down to the circus And ask if they'll lend you the tent. You say they said yes? Here it comes--Lord be blessed-- Here it is--Ah-kachoooo--there it went.

A Few Collected Statements on Reading and The Rational Mind

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  • Some read just enough to keep themselves misinformed. (Amish proverb)
  • The man is sure to go wrong in his thinking whose aim is to get for himself. (possibly H.L. Mencken)
  • Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid. (G.K. Chesterton)
  • There is no worse error than to seek intellectual remedy for moral grief. (Gaston Frommel)
  • Beat not out thy brains to fathom the un-revealed. (Harold Will)
  • It is not honking your horn that keeps you out of trouble as much as steering wisely. (Headline in the "Butter, Cheese & Egg Journal" July 12, 1922)
  • Knowledge is power under three conditions: if it is knowledge of things worth knowing; if it is known by a person worthy of using it; if it be used. (anon)
  • A brain is as strong as its weakest think. (Thomas Masson)
  • Hell hath no fury like a zealot trying to prove a theory. (anon)
  • True wisdom is seldom gained without suffering. (Sir Arthur Helps)

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