Many years ago, Pizza Hut had a series of television commercials featuring famous people talking about the whole pizza experience. Rita Moreno did one, as did Herbie Hancock. Herbie’s was great. He talked about how was to get a pizza and share it. “Sure! Have a slice.” That part that has stayed with me until today, though, was where he talked about the last slice.
You see, he said, that last slice belongs to the one who bought the pizza. “That last slice is mine.” Every so often I have a pizza by myself, and therefore I don’t have to worry about snagging the last piece. But I do think about it and plan for it. You see, there’s almost always one piece of the pie that is better than its mates. One piece that has the best distribution of toppings and cheese.
You scout out that piece first thing, and then you locate the second best piece, which is usually a neighbor of the best. You eat the second best slice first, and then work your way around the pizza eating all the other pieces before arriving at the last one.
And you eat that last one crust first, of course, so that the last bite is arguably the best bite of the whole affair.