I was sitting on the porch, reading the paper. I heard a commotion on the sidewalk, to my back, which is unusual because most folks walking their dogs or getting their morning constitutional are a pretty quiet lot. I heard what sounded like a crack of rock against metal, and someone grunting disapproval. It was two homeless guys from the hotel for homeless men that sits around the corner. The other guy responded to the disapproving grunt with, "They're rich people's cars. You think I care about rich people's cars?" He strolled a ways and stopped in front of a shiny black beemer and said, "There, that's a good car to take a pee on."
I reread Nickle and Dimed (thanks WDK!) and it reminded me of the scene in Maine, where the only acts of resistance or resentment among the maids comes in the form of careening at speed through quiet neighborhoods, blaring a rap song the bulk of which is devoted to repeated, "Fuck yous."
One thing I wanted to ask John about, if he wouldn't mind. I seem to recall you'd said something about how Ehrenreich made the people in the book look bad. Out of curiosity, which incidents did you think Ehrenreich's co-workers were made to look foolish?
Also, I'd missed this part on my first read. Apparently, she does tell select co-workers when she leaves. And I can see why it's not just in her interest to withhold information. I can easily see how, if the workers knew, they might get in trouble if mgmt found out they knew later.
"You know how it is, come for the animal porn, stay for the cultural analysis." -- Michael Berube
Bitch | Lab http://blog.pulpculture.org (NSFW)