Lobster sandwich, anyone?

Last Friday was the annual Lobster Box Lunch fundraiser, sponsored by Alpha Delta Kappa, Maine Beta Chapter.

A∆K is an organization for teachers and retired teachers; our main purpose, other than being supportive of our fellow teachers, is to help various groups through altruistic programs. We give scholarships to aspiring teachers, donate to the Red Cross, pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, donate money to our local food bank, etc.

I'm the designated "Lobster-getter" for the Lobster Box Lunch, so last Thursday I drove to Portland, turned onto Portland Pier, and drove to the end. I'd contacted New Meadows Lobster days earlier to place our order.

As you can see, it was a stunningly beautiful day to be on the Portland waterfront.

In the distance here you can see DiMillo's Floating Restaurant. The restaurant was once a ferry in Norfolk, VA. It's been a restaurant in Portland for at least twenty-five or thirty years now. Ken and I have had many fine seafood dinners at DiMillo's.








And here's New Meadows Lobster. I phone the company several days in advance to place my order. This year I ordered 76 pounds of fresh lobster meat, knuckles and claws only.

The two-pound packages, packed in styrofoam coolers and surrounded by lots of ice, are sealed and ready for me when I arrive. I'm nervous driving back home, because I'm carrying around $2400 worth of lobster meat in the trunk of my car. There it sits, safe and sound, until 6:00 the next morning.

...at which time I deliver the meat to our box -lunch-preparation headquarters. There, many of my fellow A∆K members and I (about fifteen of us), madly assemble the sandwiches.

Each of us has a specific duty:

1. Unpack the meat, open the two-pound bags, add a little mayonnaise, or
2. Assemble and wrap the sandwiches, or
3. Pack each box with a sandwich, a homemade brownie, and a bag of potato chips, or
4. Check the order forms and  place the correct number of pre-ordered lunches into boxes and bags for delivery.

Here's one of our lobster sandwiches. As you can see, we don't skimp when we fill the buns.

So we work non-stop from 6:00 to 7:30 a.m., not even taking time for a cup of coffee. By 7:30 we're done and doing clean-up detail.

We're a well-oiled machine. This year we packed 380 lunches.

The best part, for our customers, is that these lunches cost only $10.