Displayed above is a picture of a pizza place in some unspecified Italian setting. No, I didn’t buy it at a gallery or from a street artist. I cut it out of a pizza box top, from Il Panino Cafe & Grill in my Boston neighborhood of Jamaica Plain. It’s my favorite Italian/pizza delivery place. The food is a solid cut above the usual delivery fare, and the service is great. I’m a steady customer; in fact, I order from them often enough to know that the pizza box art, done by CM Design, isn’t even their normal box.

I realize that I’ve just betrayed one of my culture blocks: I’m just not that big into art. In fact, my lowest grade in college by far was a D+ in . . . drumroll . . . Art Appreciation. And in my own perma-adolescent sort of way, I’m kinda proud of it. That said, I’ve taken steps to alleviate my block, including taking an art history course at a local adult education center, which I enjoyed.

Anyway, having cut out the picture, I don’t know what I’m going to do with it. It’s not exactly suitable for framing — if you had it in front of you, you’d see a small grease stain. (It was a working pizza box, after all, not some stuffy show box.) But it captures for me the idea of good food in a relaxed, informal setting, with the water in the background — what I imagine a nice place in Italy would be like, which someday I hope to visit. And given how I’ve been feeling about work and my schedule lately, that makes for an appealing daydream.

Well, I’ve just gone rhapsodic over a pizza box with some commercial art on it. I’ve taken up too much of your time already. But especially in the event I’ve inspired you to order a pizza, bon appétit. I happen to have some leftover slices in the fridge; I may have to heat them up now.