Holy Toast, 14 April 2013

Toast has been one of my staple foods for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I would come home from school and eat at least two pieces but usually four. Typically with margarine, then cinnamon and sugar or Tang powder (sounds disgusting but was REALLY delicious, plus fends off scurvy). My mom did not believe in butter.

When I was in college, my BFF Bethni (who also loves toast but doesn't really believe in putting things on it) was living in the big city - St Paul. On one of those big city radio stations, she heard a song by someone who loved toast as much as we did. When I visited, we kept the radio on all the time just in case it came on. (This was waaaay before you could just look it up on the internet.) And then we heard it. My life was deeply enriched. To this day, it ranks up there as one of my all time favorite songs of all time, Heywood Banks: Toast! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7NqSu1Wk0Y)

Here in Australia, I began with the halcyon days of fruit toast every morning at Uni College. Since then I've been on a bit of a toast hiatus. Buying a loaf of bread never ends well when I live alone. Plus, I didn't have a toaster and I was trying to decide whether or not I needed one. My kitchen is pretty small, so I engage in the internal need/want conversation anytime I'm considering adding an appliance. After 3 months in my house, I decided I wanted toast. I want a quick piece of peanut butter toast before running off to kettlebells or vb training or a bike ride. I want toast with my scrambled eggs. So I made a Sunday plan that involved church at Joel's place and then a trip to Kmart just down the street to purchase a toaster.

I'm sitting in the pew at Joel's church, surrounded by respectable Catholic folks (alas, no super heroes this week). The Gospel reading for the second Sunday after Easter in the Catholic lectionary was John 21:1-19. In it, Jesus appears to the disciples when they are fishing after his resurrection. As soon as the tall, serious priest started reading the passage, I almost laughed out loud, but I'm sure I at least snorted. Here's what this passage reminds me of every time I hear it: Back when I was at Luther Seminary, Mary Anderson, another toast lover, was reading this very gospel and shouted, "Listen to this: 'When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.' Bread on the fire means toast! Jesus made toast! It's in the Bible!" I was grinning like an idiot through the entire reading of the gospel. Having that gospel on the day of my toaster buying expedition practically made it a holy mandate.

I did get a lovely, white, wide slot toaster, good for 6,000 slices - or so it said on the box. I thought about getting a red one, but I decided I didn't need a toaster that looked like a race car. I also got 2 kinds of bread - white and fruit toast. (It has sultanas in it.) I've had 4 pieces of toast so far today, and will have more before practice tonight.

Yeah, Toast! Holy Toast!