(Wartime image of Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, Comte de Saint Exupéry, in front of his P-38 Lightning fighter. Born in Lyons, France, in 1900, he learned to fly when he was twelve and became an adventurer in the French colonial empire and an aviation pioneer. He was awarded the Prix Femina for his book “Night Flight (1931),” followed by “Wind, Sand and Stars” in 1939. He is also the author and illustrator of the enduring and best-selling classic, The Little Prince (1943). In July of 1944, Saint-Exupéry disappeared on a flight from Corsica to France and is thought to have been shot down by a German reconnaissance plane. He is the namesake for the bistro that took the silver second place trophy in the 2015 Burger Bash in Rosslyn, VA).

As you know, sometimes your humble scribe gets lazy. Sometimes.

This morning I have some things to do, and I am pointedly not going to worry about all the craziness going around. Only the perpetually gridlocked Beltway traffic is prolonging my departure for the speedy accomplishment of my appointed rounds. So presently I will be off. I saw this from Heather at Willow yesterday morning, and deferred what I should have done yesterday, really, but isn’t that how life unfolds?

It was hot again, like Sunday, and maybe that was part of the general lassitude. I wanted to be at Willow Monday night to get the back story on the big victory. Heather dished the scoop while Frankie held down the bar. I was wearing my Burger Bash T-shirt, basking in the triumph of Team Willow.

There were some sour grapes, of course. The other teams had worked hard to put out top-quality entries in the field. I should not fail to honor Saint-Ex, the mischievous neighborhood restaurant and bar in the popular 14th Street Corridor of NW Washington, DC. They have been serving up great beer and French-inspired bistro cuisine using fresh, seasonal, and local ingredients since 2003. Given the Golden Age aviation theme, it is obvious that they are named for Antoine de Saint Exupéry, whose flying skills were as legendary as his talents with the pen.

The one that grabbed me when I was a kid was his amazing novel “Wind, Sand and Stars.” I think it was his best. In it was a Lyrical account of an airmail pilot attempting to fly against headwinds over the Atlas mountains. The winds were so strong that his airplane could only make agonizingly slow progress, and at time s he was suspended in space abov e the rugged ground. I am not sure I have ever been the same since I read the account . Anyway, Saint-EX took the silver trophy for second place. There were some sour grapes, I understand, but I am not going to mention any names. Everyone worked hard, all sixteen competitors, and Willow won it fair and square.

Heather sent this out in a blast to the “Friends of Willow” list, and this was such an extraordinary offer- $2 for a slider and a house-made cheddar Tater Tot. Fifty cents of it goes to the DC Central Kitchen to help feed the homeless, so having a little snack on an award-winning slider is actually a public service.

I sent it to Senior Executive Jerry, since he asked if it was going to be on the regular menu. He is a busy guy, since he is still working, and let him know that in order to celebrate the triumph they were going to have that going all week. We only get to see one another to catch up about once a quarter, but I was not surpised to see him walk in the door at Willow last night and order two.

I had one. All things in moderation, right? Here is the ad for the week, in case you happen to be in the area. That is copyright Willow. The rest of it is Vic’s.

Bon appetite!