Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

I’m not a breakfast person, but once a year I get up at 7 AM and go to the Sodus Fire Department’s annual pancake affair.

It’s one of those events where the whole community – infants, teens, families, seniors – turns out to pay ten dollars and be served by local volunteer firefighters in their natural habitat: the firehouse. The engines and trucks are moved outside to be replaced by rows of folding tables and chairs from the local church. The Miss Blossomtime beauty pageant is usually the week before this event, and the winners act as servers along with the firefighters.

Guests choose any combination of the following three items — eggs, pancakes, sausage – which enables vegetarians to dine too. Veterans eat free.

The food arrives on the best economical paper plates and is accompanied by a variety of juices, coffees, and noise. Unlike some breakfast establishments that want to turn tables, we linger and run into people we haven’t seen all winter.

It’s quite a production. Volunteers solicit donations from other businesses to defray costs. Others prepare condiments while still others sign on as cooks. And then there’s the clean-up crew.

For someone who rarely eats breakfast, I always enjoy the whole thing and appreciate what goes into creating a slice of Americana.