My wife sent me to the store to pick up ingredients for a potluck dish.
One was fresh basil. I saw a vast array of fresh herbs in plastic boxes
in the chilled section, but no basil. I also noticed clumps of flat and
curly parsley, as well as cilantro, but no basil. I tracked down an
employee and asked.

"Oh, it's over there," pointing at the shallots. Sure enough, there were
plastic boxes filled with shriveled, blackening basil between the garlic
and the shallots.

My next stop was Trader Joe's. Same deal -- far from the other herbs;
next to the potatoes, not chilled. This basil looked worth buying, however.

Why is this one fresh herb treated so poorly, when all the other herbs
are at least chilled, if not actually spritzed with water periodically?