Getting Toasted, and the Fountain of Youth



Our New T-shirt.



"Would you like that toasted?"  Believe it or not these words never echoed through Los Bagels until the late 1990's when Dennis, Peter and John finally broke down and bought a toaster.  As any purist will tell you, a bagel should not be toasted, it should be eaten fresh out of the oven in all its' chewy glory. 

Luckily, heaps of people like their bagels toasted.  It does have some benefits, such as, crispy edges, melted cream cheese, and the seeds which adorn the exterior of the bagel, reaching their flavor peak.  I count myself among the toasted bagel population and I am not ashamed of this fact, even at the expense of a wee bit of my "bagel street cred"...which is extensive.

This week, Los Bagels did it again, bringing in toasters to the Humboldt State Depot where no toaster has gone before.  HSU Students can now share in the magical phrase, "Would you like that toasted?"

Speaking of students, life here at Los Bagels and I'm sure many other college towns, revolves around the yearly influx and inevitable retreat of college students.  Spending time on campus indoctrinating the newbies into the ways of our multicultural cafe gave me great joy this year.  Seeing the 18 years olds, fresh from Southern California, staring at the redwood trees and trying to look "cool." Their proud parents sharing stories, and wondering why it is so cold here in August.   I enjoyed the energy of transformation as "move in day" got rolling in the early dawn hours.  Talking to the students and parents, giving unsolicited advice on where you have the best chance to see Bigfoot. Mud splattered cars packed to the gills with all the stuff a college freshman needs, kids on skateboards blowing through stop signs without an apparent care in the world. 

I took a moment to realize that in fact these students and their parents embody the cycle of life.  We are so blessed to share in this cycle, I may never be 18 again, but in about 17 years, I will hopefully be at some college sharing in my sons' dreams of the future.  My grandfather said that existence was about "life everlasting"...and I'm starting to understand what he meant.