We hadn’t seen each other for a month. My friend, Cindy, and I sat in the Olde Bryan Inn in Saratoga. We try to meet every week, but time had gotten away from us so we had some catching up to do. “Here’s to us,” she clinked her Sauvignon Blanc against my seltzer and orange juice. (I was driving.) The waiting waiter smiled and walked over. “I never interrupt a toast,” he explained. “Are we celebrating?” “No, just glad be together.” He then explained that people toast for almost any reason or occasion, but birthdays and business deals were the most common. He told us that the night before, he served a large party that toasted continually throughout the night. After toasting the food, each other, the dining room, the ride over, they finally toasted the waiter himself. Throughout history, toasting has been an integral part of special occasions in almost every country in the world.