It’s a gamble using an overused pun in your blog post title. In this case we couldn’t resist.

If you have ever been to our office, you know that James, when he is in residence and not on the road, has a desk downstairs. The ceilings are high, but it’s still kept to a comfortable temperature. That’s why we were surprised to see James wearing a wintry vest to keep warm as if it was a little chilly in the office. Yes, it’s cold in Havre de Grace in November, but we thought it a little extreme, especially compared to James’ bosom buddy Matt, who usually wears a short-sleeved plaid shirt as a winter jacket. To be fair to James, you should know that Matt hails from Massachusetts and professes an eternal love for Tom Brady, so forgive us if we think he’s a little off.

But, James being James, he took an extra step to make sure he could ward off the chill. The gear James hauled into the office on Friday included a slow cooker, enabling him to keep an eye on a pot of chili he mixed up, presumably to share with the whole office. In the photo, you see James lovingly tending to his culinary masterpiece during a break from his normal line of business. And here’s the kicker – it was a pot of chili made with venison, which is the euphemistic word sometimes used to distract more sensitive souls from the fact that a deer (John or Jane Doe?) was involved. Chili con Bambi anyone?

The saddest part of the story is that at about 10 am when the photo was taken, your humble author had greedy visions of partaking of the scrumptiousness about 90 minutes later. You can probably guess that these hopes were dashed because other office vultures descended on the pot and licked it virtually clean long before I could get there. Therefore, I offer no critique of the quality of the chili, and hope that the vultures spent Friday night paying for their sins.

The lesson, however, is clear. The next time you find it a little chilly in the office, the solution is, of course, a little chili in the office. Unless you’re not a vulture.

Tell James to bring me some of that on my next project