I get tired of social workers and teachers complaining that

they are horribly underpaid.

They are paid what they are worth which is what the market will bear. If they don't like it they can do something else. You can't have your cake and eat it, too.

They have choices just like everyone else. They can do something else.

The ones I like to hear moan and bellyache are the ones with student loans. They simply chose poorly. They took out a loan for an education that qualifies them for a poorly paying job. That's just plain stupid and I guess you can't fix it.

None of this is my problem and it shouldn't be anyone's problem but theirs. They had the same choices everyone else did. They simply chose poorly.

Then again, there's Flo.

She's a waitress in her mid 50s that lost her husband in an accident when she was in her thirties, buried him and never looked back.

She doesn't wait tables so much as she holds court. She's quite a character and has a huge following of truckers from all over the country.

She's a bleached blonde and carefully cultivated. Her hair and makeup are carefully tended to and her amply bosom is accentuated. She keeps her weight down and her aura she competently walks the thin line between classy and trashy. It's a carefully planned out picture she puts out to the public.

The truckers love her. Her appearance catches their eye and instantly lets them know she's sharp minded, confident and competent.  They also know she has a pretty good sense of humor.

It's instantly obvious that this women likes men and being around them. Men instinctively like and trust her. More important, they look out for her.

A lot of women don't like her very much which is to be expected because they think she's cheap but they're wrong. She's not. They also say she's one of the guys. Here they are clearly wrong. She is a capable woman navigating in a man's world and does so with a special style. She's too damned smart to fall into the become one of the guys game. It never works out.

Many woman will say she's a waitress and it is here that they are clearly wrong. While she pours coffee and slings hash all day that's a small part of her. She's actually a highly skilled entertainer that draws quite a crowd. 

People don't go there for the food. It's OK but nothing worth going out of the way for. They go there for the show and Flo sure puts one on.

I decided to throw her a curve and watch her field it. I knew she would easily but a laugh at my expense never costs me a dime.

I give her the "Marry me and I will take you away from all of this" line loud enough for it to be heard. I want to enter this fray!

She looks at me and laughs and turns her head. "Jimmy! You have some competition over here! This guy wants to marry me, too!"

People chuckle.

Then she turns to the guy sitting on my left and in a stage whisper says to him "I wouldn't let either of those two take me to a dog fight much less marry them!"

Coffee comes squirting out of the nose of the guy on my right. Everyone within earshot cracks up. I am delighted and laugh my ass off. It means I got her attention.

Someone pipes up, "Speaking of dog fights, Tommy Henshaw has a pit bull he wants to fight next week. I got a hundred bucks Tommy's pit bull wins."

There's no pit bull, or any dog fight coming up. It's just some of Joe Brewster's imaginary BS. It rates up there with my marriage proposal.

"I'll take twenty of that," snaps Flo. More chuckles.

I pay attention and watch a couple of people leave and notice that she's tipped exceptionally well. I also hear from the guy on my right, a regular, that she's generous and has picked up the tab for a few guys here and there that had been facing hard times. 

I've been around the block and I know how that one works. She casts her bread on the water. Most people, especially women do not understand this. Apparently Flo does and I know damned good and well that if you cast your bread on the water you generally get back poached eggs on toast.

That guy that she gave an $8 meatloaf special to when he was having hard times will be back. He will order another $8 meat loaf special and leave a  20 or even a $50 bill under his plate when he leaves.

Of course this doesn't happen every single time, but if you know how to count you understand that casting your bread on the water like that almost always leaves you ahead of the game. Many men and most women do not understand this. The fact that they are simply cheapskates keeps them from getting ahead.

I'm quite certain that Flo makes damned good money there. I also believe that she doesn't depend on the diner for her success as owner depends on her for his success. People like that can go anywhere and get a job and do well.

Of course her antics would not go well in an upscale place where a lot of people think that the big money in waiting and waitress-ing is made.  Still, I'm sure she does better than most of those people do.  She does a much bigger volume and the truckers are fairly generous. Besides there are a lot more diners than big upscale restaurants. It's probably a lot easier for her to get another job. I daresay she probably gets offers from other places on a regular basis.

Besides they're not tipping her for basic truck stop food service. They're tipping her for the entertainment she provides the men that do a long, boring job and relish the break and entertainment she provides.

I chuckle at her detractors. Mostly they are woman that have not done very well. These are generally the college educated set that got meaningless degrees and wound up as social workers and the like. It also galls the living hell out of them to see a politically incorrect woman with no degree make twice or three times of what they do.























To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY