St. Bede’s Lobster Hot line is open for business!

Yep, woeful lobsters from all over the country are jamming the lines to discuss their boiling fears or how wifey won’t quit nagging about the capture dangers of crawling in open waters.

OK, not really, but that would be something, wouldn’t it? Although, I think it would be difficult to dial with only pinchers; a lobster might prefer a rotary phone.

Anyway, when humans dial (847) 690-7960, they really will be connected with the St. Bede’s Lobster Hot line where orders for their annual Lobster Sale are being taken now. The fresh, New England lobsters will be delivered Saturday, Sept. 27.

“Orders are starting to roll in and it’s always fun to talk with people who call because I get to hear all about the dinner parties that are being planned around the sale,” said St. Bede’s Episcopal Church parishioner Georgette “Lobster Lady” Schroeder. “One woman’s son loves lobsters, so they are ordering them for his 13th birthday party. That’s so fun!”

Lobsters are flown to O’Hare Saturday morning where St. Bede’s parishioners create a lobster caravan back to Bensenville.

“These lobsters are as fresh as can be,” Schroeder said. “If you like lobster, it really doesn’t get better than this. These are flown in straight from New England, we pick them up and sell them later that day. It’s the best, and freshest, way to enjoy lobster.”

Pick-up at the church, 5N047 Route 83, begins at 4 p.m. and is organized into half-hour waves until 5:30 p.m. Lobsters can go home either alive or precooked by St. Bede’s parishioners. Each lobster comes complete with cooking, reheating and freezing instructions.

These super-fresh, 1 1/3-pound lobsters are just $20 each. Proceeds benefit various projects at St. Bede’s and the Bensenville/Wood Dale Food Pantry.

Preorders are strongly encouraged and will be taken until Friday, Sept. 26. Walk-in purchases are welcome, but to ensure a lobster dinner, call that Lobster Hotline. Last year, 500 lobsters were sold.

This is the church’s eighth-annual Lobster Sale. It started when St. Bede’s former priest heard about a highly successful annual lobster sale held by another Episcopal church and suggested the event to the congregation.

“When you’re a member of a church, you just go with the flow,” Schroeder said. “I thought it was such a different idea that I just went with it and have been involved ever since. It’s not like candy bars or cookies, this is live food, but it’s worked really well and everyone looks forward to it every year. I love calling everyone back and taking their orders and we all have a great time together during the sale.”

For information or to place an order for the lobster sale, call (847) 690-7960.

“We have such an enjoyable time each year that we keep doing it,” Schroeder said. “We meet a lot of new people who come just for the Lobster Sale and everyone has always been so delightful. I can see us doing this for many more years.”

So, lobsters aren’t calling the Lobster Hotline looking for ministry, but during the Sept. 27 sale, parishioners will be parading on Route 83 in giant lobster claws and hats. I wonder how lobsters might feel about that, and I’m thinking they might wanna talk about it.

Border Bounding is a weekly column appearing on Thursdays. Ideas and items for the column can be e-mailed to hipychk73@yahoo.com.