Well that’s a mouthful, but so is the title of Dave Egger’s annual anthology of Best American Nonrequired Reading. We’re only attempting to say nonrequired notable three times real fast because we want to congratulate John Griswold whose Brevity essay “Three Graces” was listed among the notable nonrequired works of 2009.
Heck, we actually think it should be required, but we’re happy for John and happy to see Brevity getting the notice all the same.
Here’s the opening to “Three Graces” and a link to the rest.
Three Graces
By John Griswold
In the Sunflower Café the waitresses sat down in booths with elderly customers and watched them shuffle photos of grandkids like decks of cards, as if looking for a good hand. Some early retirees—robust, tanned, and laughing — described the waitresses to me as “booze hags.”
The women’s hands shook as they poured coffee. They moved round each other in a practiced dance, hollered obscene jokes over the din, ministered with buttered toast. Three of them said they’d drop by to see my dad on their way out to the bars. They’d be off at two but were going to someone’s house to shower and change first.
Three Graces was one of my favorites. Booze hags is just a great name.