Bachelor Home Companion

n the inimitable style that has made him one of America’s most popular humorists, P.J. O’Rourke explains that with the disintegration of the traditional family — divorce, two-career households, and old people forced by their progeny to live in the confines of golden-age communities — we are all strangers in a home we never made. Here then are his useful tips on cleaning (or rather, how to avoid it and trick others into doing it for you) and on cooking, entertaining, home decorating, yard care, and miscellaneous hints and advice. To wit: Don’t waste time and effort dusting furniture just to impress a hot date. Just squirt Pledge in the air to make it smell like you’ve dusted. Smart, huh?