I Propose a Toast!

King Arthur was always a warrior, and an admirable one at that, in the face of danger. But with chaos reining in the kingdom, he was faced with his toughest decision in all of his time as ruler of Camelot. Excalibur came easy, the swift draw of the sword out of the stone. This proved that unachievable tasks to some, were without strain for Arthur.

"What shall we do m'Lord?" Sir Kay asked from across the circular, wooden table that served as both a banquet table and a war table.

The dragon was attacking, on the west side, just adjacent to the great lake. The Picts and Saxons were marching on both sides of the city, probably ready to fight each other for the remains of Camelot, after claiming it in victory. The knights of Camelot were very short handed as months ago they had deployed brave men to return with the holy grail.

"M'Lord?" Kay repeated. Arthur was lost in thought.

"Merlin is no more, and how we could use him in a time like this. Recall Gawain and Galahad from the quest for the grail. Send a messenger and tell him to make haste! Sir Kay and Sir Palamedes, you two will go and lead battle against the Picts. Tristan, you and I will lead the battle against the Saxons. Leave the dragon for now. When we return, we will worry about him. Now, I propose a toast! To Life and Death, but surrender, no!"

Death. We lost. But how the hell were we supposed to know there was a traitor among us? And in our defense (obviously not literally), there was no way we could do all of that AND fight the black dragon. Not the way the story is supposed to go? My bad. Just know we gave our best effort to do things right. Unfortunately we came up short.

Board game nights at our house are the best. We get the roommates together, sit at our round (oval) table, and play. We play with vigor, because no board game is going to get the best of us. Lately we have been playing Shadows Over Camelot. Everybody vs. the game, sans one scum bag traitor. This time around it happened to be Daniel Carter. He screwed us over.

The game is made up of accomplishing certain quests. But failed quests lead to a losing game, and the traitor makes it his mission to sabotage quests without being found out.

I'm pretty sure my favorite part of the game, regardless of the outcome, is when a knight accomplishes something great. Someone will shout from the Oval Table, "I PROPOSE A TOAST!" and follow it with something along the lines of "To Sir Galahad! For recovering Lancelots Armor!!!" Everyone makes about as many manly noises as they can during the toast, and our neighbors probably assume everyone in our house is drunk. One time we broke out in song, "Proud to be an American," not sure how that fits in with anything, but it was fun.

Through our time in Camelot I have realized that toasting is an absolutely beautiful part of life. Everyone, comes together for something in common. It is a moment of pure community. Better yet, it is for a common cause, everyone tapping their drink in agreement. There is a moment of physical connection, with the clinking sound of a glass. Shout it out, shout with joy, proclaim, and celebrate. Together.

I don't care if it is for a sports game, a board game, a wedding, or just good time with friends over a beer. You can toast milk, grape juice, beer, wine, champagne, or even oatmeal (it has happened). People coming together, for anything, with anything, is irreplaceable. And having the space and creativity to celebrate any word, phrase, or thing is freedom.

My friend Lance told me that in Africa, they made sure that he knew the proper way to toast. It is a common act for people to stare at the collection of glasses while they toast. However, the magic is in looking everyone in the eyes. Regardless of habits, this changes everything. Try it.

Toast! Be joyful! Celebrate! I propose a toast, to toasting! Cheers mate! Make it a regular event, because i promise it builds meaning with frequency, never becoming a stale tradition.