After I graduated from Rutgers, I got a job waiting tables at Friday’s , while I lived at my parents’ house and saved up for the big move to San Francisco.
1. Yes, I had to wear flair in the form of buttons on my red suspenders. The minimum number allowed was 7, but I definitely had way more than that because I was ridiculously into my flair. Oh, yes.
Flair also meant having to wear a hat, but not a baseball cap. I had a tiara, a Peter Pan-style elf cap, a pioneer lady’s bonnet, a clown hat, and a wool flat cap.
2. I had a big crush on one of the bartenders. A bunch of the staff went to a flair competition in which he was competing. (In this case, flair refers to the practice of throwing and flipping bottles around.) At this competition, I wore my foxy blue velvet plunging neckline shirt and made my (successful) play for bartender boy. The shirt became known as the “nookie shirt” among the waitresses and was passed around to share in times of need.
3. If I wasn’t having enough fun doing the clapping-chanting-cheers for someone’s birthday, I’d address all of my tables with an Irish accent and tell them I was an au pair from Galway.
margaret edith 