The Flaming Garlic Toast Toss

Does your family have a history of accidental circus acts or magic tricks?

Mine does.

In the water department, there's the story of the disappearing water. I had inadvertently poured water directly into my breadmaker instead of the pan with very poor mechanical results. My cousin Ken brought the flaming taco event to our list of flame juggling acts. Oh, and I mustn't forget my entertaining exploding stove top element cover act from several years ago. Last night my parents added a new act to our list - the flaming garlic toast toss.

Earlier, they had left a voicemail message for Daniel to call them so they could wish him a happy birthday and happy Valentine's Day. Yet, when he did, the phonecall was quite odd. As I listened to the very one-sided conversation, it didn't sound like they were able to get any words in edgewise. When Daniel suddenly hung up the phone without passing it along to me I was puzzled. "Didn't they want to talk to me, Daniel?" He replied "No, they'll call back in half an hour."

How odd. They'll call back in half an hour?

When Dad called back later, after the usual discourse, he explained that they had been speaking to Daniel in the last frantic minute or two of dinner preparation. Apparently, as Daniel rambled on about his wonderful day, they had forgotten some garlic bread in the oven. Yikes! Well, what with garlic bread's combustible nature and all, it had burst into flames! With Daniel still on the phone, they frantically tried to blow out the flames - no success. Desperate to extinguish the flames, the garlic bread had been unceremoniously thrown into the sink for a good dousing, after which there was absolutely no hope of having garlic bread with their dinner. Picture the scene: charred bread slowly sogging into oblivion, the stench of smoke filling the house, unused fire extinguisher laying on the counter top, oven door left flung open after retrieval of the fiery bread, and my parents still trying to continue their conversation with Daniel so as not to douse his birthday/Valentine's enthusiasm! Oh my!

So, after getting off the phone, closing the oven door and (I'm sure) cursing at the burnt bread, Dad said that they had enjoyed a lovely steak and lobster dinner. Sure, uh-huh, right. I'm not certain that I would have been able to enjoy a meal after all that chaos.