Chapter 21 - Tomatoes On Toast

Although Pops Waffle Stop had a well stocked menu with all of the American diner favorites, there was a short list of items not on the menu that Mike Z. was more than happy to prepare upon request.
Among his favorites was a sandwich unequaled in the world of sandwiches. The T.O.T. or Tomatoes On Toast. Most important in the preparation of the T.O.T was a sharp knife, a juicy red tomato, two slices of fresh bread and mayonnaise. Mike Z. could make himself salivate at the simple thought of slicing the tomato or placing the bread in the toaster. If a diner were to order a T.O.T., Mike Z. made a new friend.
The preparation was simple enough, two pieces of toast with mayo on either side, a healthy serving of sliced tomatoes, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and voila, a T.O.T.
One day a trucker had stopped at Pops Waffle Stop for a bite to eat and had heard of the famous T.O.T. He ordered one as an appetizer before his steak dinner. After taking the first crisp and juicy bite he declared, “Mike, put this damn sandwich on the menu!” The trucker finished his meal and then spent an hour in the men’s room doing who knows what with the heated-air hand dryer. When he was finished he noticed that someone had scratched the initials SPQR above the stall. He wondered who in the hell had a four-name name and what the fuck did the Q stand for. Little did he know that the initials stood for a Latin phrase used during the time of the Roman Empire and later by Mussolini. It stood for the Latin phrase “Senatus Populus Que Romanus” which basically translated to “The Senate and People of Rome.”
This kind of nonsense disturbed the trucker and he vowed to find this SPQR and help bring him to justice of some kind. Vandalism had to be a misdemeanor or his name wasn’t Joeseph T. Riley. But his vigilantism would have to wait until he got back from driving out his next haul. But right now, he had to thank Mike again for that awesome T.O.T. sandwich.
Mike Z. considered himself to be Italian. Although it was his Grandfather’s great-grandparents that immigrated to America, he knew that the SPQR flowed through his veins. He was proud that the manhole covers in present day Rome reflected this sentiment regardless of who was responsible for stamping it in the metal.
His lineage was a connection to the past and it gave Mike Z. great pleasure in knowing that his actions in his everyday life, no matter how insignificant, were a direct result of the actions of his ancestors. Furthermore, he relished the thought that his actions today would influence the future and possibly bring about a time of peace and tranquility among nations. His sandwich would please mouths not even born into existence yet. His sandwich would live forever, because it tasted very good and could stand on its own merit. This sandwich would save the world.