Bourbon, ice, Sinatra

The week included travel to and from ATLANTA, lengthy sessions studying and touring at the CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION and two days of work at the newspaper thrown in for good measure.
I needed to relax last night, and that's where FRANK SINATRA entered the frame. Armed with BOURBON ON THE ROCKS, "THE ROUGH GUIDE TO FRANK SINATRA" and a 177-song Sinatra playlist, I delved into the world of "The Voice."
I skipped around the Sinatra catalog, snapping fingers to "RING-A-DING-DING," then backtracking to a few CAPITOL-era tunes, then luxuriating in some of the lush arrangements of the mid-COLUMBIA period in the singer's career.
Being able to lose myself in the swelling strings, massed brass sections and that distinctive singing style helped me shed a week's worth of stress -- more than a week's worth, actually, because all of the travel made this week seem more like a fortnight.
Just before bed, I dialed up "SEPTEMBER OF MY YEARS" and listened to the first eight songs, finishing with Ervin Drake's masterpiece, "IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR." It was a very good way to wind down from a very busy week.