labor

There are no unions for waitresses. And every night when I saw the waitress who works at the cafe across from the Goose putting the chairs on the tables and mopping the floors after a long day of few customers, I felt terrible. (Disclosure: The woman in the picture is not the waitress but a friend who I asked to stand there—I felt too awful for the waitress to ask to photograph her in this depressing way.) The real waitress always seems cheerful, doesn't complain about the dearth of diners and so of tips. I think her mother is the cook. There are women all over this country trying to support their families on 50-cent tips and dollar-an-hour wages. Even if a higher minimum wage is enacted, it won't affect them. All I can do is overtip.