my first speech in speech class

There is something magical about toast.

It's easy to understand how it is made. A slice of bread is inserted into a slot in a squarish appliance, where it is surrounded by coils of wire that become hot when a current of electrons passes through them. The wires warm the air around the bread until the outside surface of the bread is dry and golden. That's what turns the bread into toast. Then the toast pops back out of the slot, ready to be enjoyed.

The aspect of toast that is so magical and mysterious is not the process, but the end result. Toast is completely different than bread, although it is made up of the same fundamental elements in roughly the same configuration. A standard or even sub-standard piece of bread can be turned into a delightful piece of toast. Like I said, it's magical.

Think about it this way. If you were a glob of raspberry jam, or whatever your favorite flavor is, wouldn't you feel honored to be spread on a piece of toast? Wouldn't it feel good to be so close to so much warmth and stability?

Toast has been called "bread transfigured," a "super-conducting breakfast," and a "slice of calmness." Every day in this nation, more than 75 million people eat toast. Twelve million toasters are sold every year. People sing about toast, make up jokes about toast, and write cookbooks about toast.

In days of old, spiced toast was used to flavor wine. And since drinking wine to the health of an honorable individual also added to the wine-drinking experience, the word toast gained a second meaning.

So I propose a toast to toast. In honor of the best way to enhance bread without adding calories, here's to toast!