Reuters public finance editor Bases says goodbye

Daniel Bases, the U.S. public finance editor at Reuters who was laid off, sent out the following email to his colleagues:

Folks,

Before this email goes silent, I wanted to say thank you for the camaraderie and support over the last 21+ years. It has been a privilege to work in the trenches with you.

Rather than fill this message with tales of old, I’d rather just see you in person sometime to break bread and raise a glass together to talk about good times, tough times, perseverance and the future. I’m not going to explain here how I am the only living Reuters man or woman to make the Queen of England laugh and smile. Nor will I now labor to explain how I ended up traveling through Europe with a very large suitcase full of Lebanese wine direct from the Beqaa Valley.

I’ll save the details of how a bright orange ski jacket, clipboard and a confident wave can get you past almost any police cordon for that time we toast each other in person. I’ve witnessed some of humanity’s most grotesque tragedies as well as some stunning triumphs of human will.

Reuters first, only, and definitely the last expert on the sport of fencing is stepping off this piste.

Be well. Take care of yourselves and each other. If The Baron is paying, make it a quadruple.

Dan