For a small town, Manhattan, Kansas has some big surprises. And one of them is the Holiday Inn Hotel, with rooms built around a swimming pool and a friendly family atmosphere.
The Holiday Inn is where Manhattan people often go for a special party, or a night out. A lot of them choose to eat in the brightly lit restaurant near the pool. And many of them will be served by Ellen Logan, who has worked as a waitress here for more than two years .
Ellen, like most of the waitresses, is also a student. She comes from Nebraska, but she’s planning one day to be a veterinary surgeon, and to care for small animals. But in order to support herself at college, she works twenty hours a week at the Holiday Inn.
Ellen soon learned what every waitress finds out. Your best friend has a good pair of shoes. She paid forty - five dollars for hers, much more than she would usually spend. She’s discovered something else too. You don’t have to know much about food to be a good waitress, but you do have to know a lot about people.
“A lot of business people always stay here when they come to Manhattan, ” she explains. “They like you to recognize them and remember their favorite dishes. But some couples come for a night out together. They just want to be left alone. Then there are people who can’t make up their minds. They look down the menu and say‘What do you suggest?’So I ask them how hungry they are. If they say, ‘Not very’, I suggest the salad bar, with soup, salad, bread, and a fruit plate. But if they say the’re very hungry, I suggest a Kansas Strip Steak, with potatoes or rice. You get salad and bread as well. It’s very nice. Real good value.”
Ellen may get tired feet sometimes, but at least she’s learning too much about people . She’ll probably make a good animal doctor, but if she find she doesn’t like it after all, she can always become a psychiatrist（instead.”
