Except many of those I’ve worked with are gone. Some left the city, defeated, beaten down by the pressure of making it. Others took “real” jobs, ones with health insurance, paid vacations, and all the benefits taken for granted when you’re not slinging hash in a restaurant. They left disillusioned with an industry that has historically been brutal to its workers. Left because of the stress of constantly having to be “on” every single night. Left because of the abusive customers, the long hours, never having holidays off. They left because they didn’t want to keep standing for hours on end with
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