“Hot dogs! Get your Chicago-style hot dogs with that beer—no string attached—just for seven tickets! Step right up, no line, no wait!”
I hate being up front in the Taste of Chicago tent where I work. We all have to scream to get the attention of people walking by. The guys who work up front yell for people buy a hot dog, but they also come up with perverted hot dog jokes which catch the attention of people walking by.
Most of the customers are nice, but some of them can be picky with the condiments on their hot dogs. After standing up for eight hours, tired, and the temperature at 89 degrees outside, I just say that it’s all or nothing.
The back is where it’s at. There are no picky customers, no sore throats from the yelling, and everyone jokes around while we work. That's the best part. The easiest job in the tent is the hot dog-wrapping job. Everyone makes fun of the people who take forever to wrap a hot dog. This kind of camaraderie has led to hot dog-wrapping races as well as hot dog-making races.
On days like July 3, when it gets really busy at the Taste, we have to be really fast to get the hot dogs out and by the end of the day, my legs are so sore. Sometimes we run out of hot dogs and people get impatient from waiting for us to make more.
Cleaning up at the end of the day simply sucks especially when everyone is tired, but we have to do it. At the end of the night on the Independence Day weekend, we watch the fireworks after while we clean. While it is really fun to work at the Taste, sometimes I'm thankful that it only lasts ten days.
Zobia Chunara, Northside
