The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1938-01-07

TITLED steps ran down to meet the
swing doors of Leavitt's basement
lunchroom-an day long and
Through sw mGSt Of the neen n.g mt TIE ne
them out again. There was a sheltered
yellow globe and a sign that said,
'Never Closed" and the coffee was
better there than anywhere else-even
the big hotels. The long counter showed
an endless replacement of hunched
backs and the simple row of booths
and the open tables were nearly always
occupied by patrons who took their
brown stew, or corned beef hash and
apple pie seriously.
The frosted yellow lamps showed
dimly for "a hours and the air was
leather and stale tobacco with other
smells that couldn't be identified but
were always there. Every time the door
opened there was a gust of raw, icy
air or fog that ballooned in from the
bay to make canyons and caves of mar
row streets and a spreading area of
Soggy floor at the entrance that trailed
II a long, slippery path to the kitchen.
1t vas the 10Th Of December and rain
ing in Frisco.
Elsie was the little blonde with the
stiff apron strings. She was the n
that sailed like a top, moving so fast
that her colors blurred into a prism
Of yellow hair, blue uniform, white
apron-eXactly like a bright painted
top. She would come spinning down
the long aisle balancing enormous trays
and never spilling a drop of soup. The
coffee she delivered was always smok-
ing hot and smooth as a pond.
But that day was different. Her feet
hurt. Funny about your feet-you never
think of them until they begin to hurt
and then you think of nothing else.
That day Elsie didn't move like herself
because her feet were blobs of pain.
Hey, you take a look where you're
goin,'" Missed the boss as they met and
the tray spiraled high enough TO miss
his bald crown. Wat you dom? Winda
shoppin'? You could easy spill that
sou down somebody's back"
Fair play permits a waitress n
comeback. even to the boss, but Elsie
let her chance go. She was too tired.
Her lips frightened and her arm flexed
on her way slowed only a little in her
even spinning. Other mattresses lifted
plucked eyebrows and murmured what
they would have said or done with
such an opportunity.
Elsie had never minded the smells
or the rush until today. She had been
glad to have the job. Leavitts wasn't
so bad.
1t was just that today Elsie was sick
of being a waitress. She knew old wait
resses, ven some with gray hair that
they dyed desperately. What did the
old mattresses do about their worn out
feet? They got the worst stations near
the kitchen, their tips were small and
scarce, they went back to a dreary
room and soaked their poor feet in a
pail of warm water until it wasn't worth
while any longer. When they stumbled
too often you didn't see them any more:
Elsie had never definitely intended
to be a waitress, Her idea had been to
be a motion picture actress. She knew
now how crazy the idea had been.
Other girls had told her. They told her
to skip Hollywood where girls were
thick as flies. At first she didn't be-
lieve them but as she learned o
about the world she knew that they
told the truth and she was glad to
have her job at Leavitt's. She saw
plenty Of life there and was as well
off as a good many motion picture
actresses, the girls said.
What does a girl do when she's sick
of her job? She goes out with some