winterbadger | Entries tagged with literary references

Never let it be said that government employees are not literate.

In the course of one afternoon, one colleague invoked Tennessee Williams in explaining the timing of a joint report we manage ("As Blanche DuBois would say, we depend on the kindness of strangers"),

And another quoted Faulkner's line, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." Then, when I mentioned the previous reference, he said, "Well, it's the government--Southern Gothic is, well, kind of appropriate."

I enjoy my colleagues.

Current Mood: entertained

...as my father used to say.

I like my office mates; they are a good group of folks, by and large.

But we were talking about a co-worker just now, who goes by his middle name instead of his given name (as my father used to do). One person, who didn't know this, said, "So even though his name is Ernest, he goes by Jack?"

What a perfect opportunity! I said,
( (using unoriginal wit) )