1) Overheard at the office: “If you close your eyes while typing a budget, you can almost see yourself on the beach.”
2) A colleague sent out an email offering the last sprigs of basil of the season, which prompted some bad poetry from me, to be sung to the tune of “The Last Rose of Summer”:
‘’Tis the last sprigs of basil, left blooming alone.
All their herbal companions have faded and gone.
No seas’ning of her kindred, no pleasant buds are nigh
To reflect back her fragrance and give sigh for sigh.”
2a) Of course the best version of this I could find is the incomparable Grace Moore in One Night of Love:
2b) Watch out for a quick shot of my beloved Jessie Ralph.
3) Some people have been extremely kind to check in on me after hearing about the gas explosions in Lawrence and Andover. Those towns are far removed from me, but the situation is terrifying to contemplate. My prayers are with the residents of those towns, and with all in the path of Florence.