I don’t even know where to start with this guy, but in high school he was the last guy to leave a party and still getting 100% on tests. It didn’t make sense. I mean, one minute you are having a couple of drinks with him, and the next minute he is resolving conflict with a couple of pretzels, a puzzle piece, and a bottle cap.
That is the beauty of hanging out with Toph…you never know where the night will take you. One time we ended up on someones lawn at 2am just eating Old Dutch Salt & Vinegar chips. Another time we are out in Toronto getting our picture taken with Wayne Gretzky, just to steal his leftover beer after he left. It was like drinking out of the Stanley Cup and we both got Wayne’s cold as a result.
He is smooth on the ice, as well as the dance floor. I remember just before he moved away we had all gone out Scandals and we were cutting some tiles to the Hip (likely a request we had made for Paul Ratte’s birthday). A couple of birds came over and started dancing beside us and I remember Toph swooshing them away with hands like dust and telling them “I’m dancing with buddy, leave us alone”. Those moments meant something to Toph and it made me realize how important those friendships were to him.
Happy 50th Birthday my friend. Wish I was there to cut some tiles with you tonight and celebrate.