[By Merlin Lessler]<\/p>\n
I just finished a stressful computer glitch the other morning, and I needed some comfort food. I decided on a slice of toast. I ran the bread through two cycles to get it dark, but not quite charred. It reminds me of making toast over a fire in my camping days. It\u2019s a tricky task to get it just right. I put it on a plate in front of me, buttered it, and cut it in half. For some reason, unknown to me, I cut it on a slant. Something I rarely do. <\/span><\/p>\n I usually cut things in two on a line parallel to the sides. It\u2019s one of those things you do without thinking, like putting on shoes and socks. You usually put the same foot first, slip on the sock, and then either the shoe or the other sock. Some people slip on both socks first, then their shoes. It\u2019s the same sort of thing with pants and shirts: right leg first, right arm first, or the opposite. Whatever, you usually do the same thing every time when you get dressed. When you do think about it, you get confused. <\/span><\/p>\n So, there I was with a piece of toast that I\u2019d purposefully cut on a slant. Some people always do a slant cut; some always do a straight cut, converting a square into two rectangles. Other people don\u2019t cut toast or sandwiches at all. They eat them intact. I don\u2019t know what to say about people who cut off the crust; that\u2019s the best part. <\/span><\/p>\n When I was a soda jerk in high school at Soldo\u2019s Rexall Drug Store, I learned the quarter cut. That\u2019s how we made a BLT. We cut the finished product on a slant, twice, stuck a toothpick into each quarter, and set them on a plate with potato chips in the center. To me, it was a work of art. Every once in a while, I take a trip down memory lane to my high school days.<\/p>\n