16 Comments

Hi Susanna,

Not a problem. I enjoyed reading "How to wear brown polyester without crying," and wanted to you to know it was one of your best of late.

Our boys are "working like a jerk." I anticipate seeing them by the end of this year. Joe, our first-born works for a London-based law firm. Joe's younger brother Aidan manages a restaurant kitchen.

I've not seen anything from you lately. I hope you and yours are well.

Bill

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I was a student before there was fast food. Our need for additional funds was met in different ways, in my case by assisting younger students in their studies.

Kwa Tjong-Liem

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Susanna, you knocked it out of the park. Very funny piece. Your pace and cadence are enviable. We both know writing consistently is difficult. At least I know how to fix my problem.

MUSH YOU HUSKY

Bill

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Same here 1978-1981. Still engraved in my brain…“Got time to lean you got time to clean”. “CAYG- clean as you go.” “QSC- Quality-Service-Cleanliness”

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I worked at The Red Steer in Boise my senior year of high school. Our polyester was red (natch). I had some really fun jobs back then, but this might’ve been the best - without a doubt, I laughed harder and more often than at any other…so hard sometimes that I couldn’t get on the speaker to take an order. My managers and coworkers were all women or girls my age and we had a blast. Such great memories!

I love your column! Thank you, Madeline

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As someone who always says thank you to the ATM when it dispenses cash or gets inordinately upset when a family member speaks harshly to Alexa, I can't help but feel protective of the adorably named Flippy or the siblings Sippy and Chippy. Although Flippy doesn't need the brown uniform (after all, by its very nature, it is already uniform), I'd like to imagine Flippy with a large, protective polka dot bow tie and large googly eyes. From my experience, I know how much hot oil splatter can hurt.

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I had thought maybe the brown polyester was going to refer to some kind of a non-classy dress outfit! (Well, I guess it was.)

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This is a beautifully written riff on a memory of brown polyester. I can't help but wonder how much the McDonald's experience shaped the young Susanna's sensibilities, helping to form her into the humane, observant writer she became. She took a lemon, in a way, and made lemon pie.

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Not having any work-at-McDonald's familiarity, I had no idea what your brown polyester column would be about! Who knew, it would segue into "Flippy"! ... Glad you could use the xeriscape comments!

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