The Flip Flop Toaster

Many years ago, probably before I was born, my aunt Vi had a flip flop toaster. For those of you who have never seen one, it has two sides that can be opened and close to monitor the darkness of the toast. My aunt’s toast was the best. She never used anything but Italian twist bread, heavily coated in sesame seeds, to make her toast. The bread toasted golden on the outside and stayed soft on the inside and the butter would melt into it. Everyone who had it loved it. 

When we went to visit my aunt Mary and cousin Maria over Christmas holidays, we all reminisced about my aunt Vi’s toaster and her delicious toast. It’s funny what you remember from your childhood. My aunt Vi died 30 years ago, but we all remember the toaster and how the sides squeaked each time she opened and shut them to check on the toast. My brother recalled how My aunt Vi used to make 2 slices of toast for my mother every day and wrapped it up in tin foil for him to take up to my mother every morning.

After that visit, we came home and my brother went online to find one of those toasters to buy for my cousin Maria. In no time he emailed me a picture and asked what I thought. It was almost exactly like the one my aunt had all those years ago. He ordered it and it sat in my house until yesterday. Yesterday we went out to visit my aunt Mary in the hospital. Before we went to the hospital, we stopped at Maria’s house with the toaster and the fresh Italian twist bread I bought for her. I can’t tell you how thrilled my cousin was when she opened the box and saw that toaster inside. She went on and on about it. Then I handed her the loaf of bread. She wanted to start making toast right away, but we wanted to see my aunt and not put her through any trouble, so she saved her toaster and bread for later so she could enjoy it. 

We walked over to the hospital across the street together. My aunt Mary, in her 80’s, has been suffering from pneumonia and now a sepsis infection. Last weekend my cousin Maria thought her mother wasn’t going to be able to fight it; this past weekend my aunt was sitting up in bed joking. We stayed about an hour and then my aunt wanted to sleep. We walked back to our car. Maria invited us in for toast, but I told her we would have it on our next visit, if it came the way she remembered it and I would bring more bread. We said good bye and planned to get together for Easter.

A couple of hours later my brother’s phone rings. At the other end he hears a crunching noise. It’s our cousin Maria, munching on some nice Italian bread toast, telling him how good it is and how much she is enjoying it. He was happy to be able to give her the toaster and revive some precious old memories.

I hope we can all get together for Easter. I don’t know what will be on the menu, but I know one thing for sure…we are all going to have some of my aunt Vi’s toast.