Dante and Nesterenko

My initial reactions were pleasant when discovering that Dolores Dante actually enjoyed being a waitress. I liked how she told her story in an optimistic tone and the reader could tell the narrator genuinely liked her job. The part that I found most interesting was when she described why she wants to be a  waitress, "I have to be a waitress. How else can I learn about people? I can't go to everyone. So they have to come to me. Everyone wants to eat, everyone has hunger. And I serve them. If they've had a bad day, I nurse them, cajole them. Maybe with coffee I give them a little philosophy. They have cocktails, I give them political science". She is able to view the benefits of her career choice and I never considered how people would come to her. I like how she sees it as learning about people and connecting to them through serving them. I see a definite connection to the American Dream and how people come to this country to work hard and do something they love. Dolores is living out her dream. Even though she may not be a millionaire, she still has a career that she loves and would not trade. Even though others may look down upon her job she feels confident, "I don't feel lowly at all. I myself feel sure. I don't want to change the job. I love it". She is confident because she enjoys being a waitress and is not ashamed of it. I admire how she is satisfied with her career because many people ultimately don't enjoy what they do. Dante represents the ideal dream because she is happy with her life. The story raises questions of happiness and being content with ones career. Maybe salary does not really matter and it all depends on whether you enjoy your job.

Eric Nesterenko also shared the same passion for his career, playing professional ice hockey. From the beginning of his childhood, he recalls favorite moments on the ice and how much he loved it. This led him to then play for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Black Hawks. He describes the feeling, "It can't be just a job. It's not worth playing just for money. It's a way of life. When we were kids there was the release in playing, the sweetness in being able to move and control your body. This is what play is. Beating somebody is secondary. When I was a kid, to really move was my delight. I felt released because I could move around anybody. I was free". I liked reading how he explained the emotion behind skating and what he took from it. I can sort of relate it to the sports I play. I never considered the job of a professional athlete and how draining it is but also how much the players truly love the game. They dedicate so much of themselves to it. It's easy to pick up on his sense of happiness while telling the story, especially at the end. Eric explains, "I still like to skate. One day last year on a cold, clear, crisp afternoon, I saw this huge sheet of ice in the street. Goddamn, if I didn't drive out there and put on my skates. I took off my camel-hair coat. I was just in a sort of jacket, on my skates. And I flew. Nobody was there. I was free as a bird. I was really happy. That goes back to when I was a kid. I'll do that until I die, I hope. Oh, I was free!". This quote best represents the story because it highlights how important it is to do whatever you love since that is what makes you truly happy. This connects to how Dolores also loves what she does and is okay with doing it for the rest of her life. The main point of the American Dream is joy and pleasure from life, which Eric and Dolores have accomplished.