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.
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.
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.
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!
Ha! that's a great memory. I remember us throwing the giant bags of shredded lettuce to each other like it was a ball and cracking up. And thanks for the kind words, Madeline and for reading.
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.
Oh, that's a perfect and hilarious image, Johnny. And yes, the splatter. My arms and hands used to get burned under the fry heat lamps too, not pleasant.
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.
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!
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
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
A belated thanks for this note Kwa. And assisting other students at least seems a little less caloric!
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
Hi Bill, Sorry for the belated thank you for these kind words! Hope you had a good holiday and I really appreciated this note. Susanna
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”
Hahaha! That's excellent. And horrifying.
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
Ha! that's a great memory. I remember us throwing the giant bags of shredded lettuce to each other like it was a ball and cracking up. And thanks for the kind words, Madeline and for reading.
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.
Oh, that's a perfect and hilarious image, Johnny. And yes, the splatter. My arms and hands used to get burned under the fry heat lamps too, not pleasant.
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.)
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.
Oh, Linda, I'm so grateful for these kind words. Thank you for sharing your thoughts so generously. It means a lot. Susanna
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!
Ha! Yes, could have been any of the fast food genres, or a dancing outfit. ha. Thanks for the xeriscape photo!