Waitress

A revolving rooftop restaurant in downtown Baltimore introduced Leonora DiPietro to waitressing more than 45 years ago. The stations, where staff picked up drinks and entrees, rotated constantly, too, which was too much for the new employee. She had locked herself in a linen closet to cry in frustration when her manager found her and spent the rest of the evening schooling her in the trade that would become her career. Over the decades, she has served celebrities, politicians, sports figures and next-door neighbors, all of whom know her as Peachy, the nickname the parish priest gave a bubbly little girl with rosy cheeks.

Hallie Day, a 24-year-old waitress at the the Cheesecake Factory in Towson, made it into the semi-finals on "American Idol" and will compete in a live telecast Wednesday. Day, who lives in Nottingham, says she hasn't sung much professionally, and her appearance Wednesday  will be her first with an audience that size. "I performed with the Jazz Caravan, a jazz band, one time," she said. "And then, I led worship at Second Presbyterian Church in Towson. Other than that, I haven't really performed a lot. So, a lot of this is very new to me. " Day, who says her favorite genre is "soul" music, says she started singing in church at age 5. "I loved the little solos that I would get, and I think that's maybe when the diva started to come out," she said with a laugh.

Ethel A. Smith, a retired waitress and Highlandtown poet, died March 11 in her sleep at Bonnie Blink, the Maryland Masonic home in Hunt Valley. She was 101. Ethel Adel Swanner, the daughter of farmers, was born in Rutledge, Harford County. In 1918, she moved with her family to a rowhouse on Lombard Street in Highlandtown. She attended city public schools through the sixth grade, when she dropped out to help raise a brother after her mother became ill. In 1926, she married Robert Keller, a baker who later became a tavern owner.

Two days before her body was found next to a trash bin in Southeast Baltimore, Annie McCann drank a cappuccino with extra whipped cream at a Little Italy pastry shop. She asked to try a cannoli and got a free sample. A waitress at Vaccaro's recalled seeing the 16-year-old girl, describing her as "friendly and polite," a teenager who "seemed nice. " Annie was with an older woman, and the two sat at table No. 8 for about 40 minutes. This account comes from the notes of Davis W. Morton, a retired homicide detective who interviewed the waitress for two hours on behalf of Annie's parents and drew a sketch of the mysterious woman, hoping she could finally bring the answers the McCanns have sought.

Angela G. Thompson, who in 49 years of waitressing at Sabatino's in Little Italy memorized her orders and rarely used a pad, died of a heart attack Nov. 15 at Franklin Square Hospital Center. She was 76 and lived in Highlandtown. "She worked until the week before she died," said her son, Michael R. Thompson of Baltimore. "She wanted very much to make 50 years at the same job. " Born Angela Goth in Ansbach, Germany, she met and married a Virginia-born serviceman, Richard McCarty Thompson.

Nicole McAllister, a longtime Johns Hopkins Club waitress whose grit and determination to see that her daughter received a college education paid off earlier this year when she had the pleasure of seeing her daughter receive her bachelor's degree, died Dec. 16 of a stroke at Sinai Hospital. The Northwest Baltimore resident was 44. The daughter of a construction worker and a teacher's aide, Nicole McAllister was born in Baltimore and raised on Newton Avenue. After graduating from Walbrook High School in 1985, Ms. McAllister worked as a teller for almost a decade at the old Union Trust Co., later Signet Bank, until she was laid off from her job In 1994, she took a job as a waitress at the Johns Hopkins Club, which is on the university's Homewood campus, where she quickly built a loyal and dedicated following.

Hallie Day, a 24-year-old waitress at the the Cheesecake Factory in Towson, made it into the semi-finals on "American Idol" and will compete in a live telecast Wednesday. Day, who lives in Nottingham, says she hasn't sung much professionally, and her appearance Wednesday  will be her first with an audience that size. "I performed with the Jazz Caravan, a jazz band, one time," she said. "And then, I led worship at Second Presbyterian Church in Towson. Other than that, I haven't really performed a lot. So, a lot of this is very new to me. " Day, who says her favorite genre is "soul" music, says she started singing in church at age 5. "I loved the little solos that I would get, and I think that's maybe when the diva started to come out," she said with a laugh.

Graveside services for Loretha Dillon, a retired waitress at a Pikesville restaurant, will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow in the Woodlawn Memorial Park in Bluefield, W.Va.Mrs. Dillon, who was 71, died Wednesday of cancer at her home on Bedford Road in the Sudbrook Park area.She retired more than a year ago after nearly 20 years at the Steak and Egg Kitchen.The former Loretha Wells was a native of Corbin, Ky., and before moving to the Baltimore area, had worked as a clerk in a department store in Bluefield.

It's tough to figure what you'll be seeing Sunday night on the strike-challenged Golden Globes, what with all the reconstituting that's been going on. But one thing you definitely won't see is anyone from the cast and crew of Waitress winning anything. And so far, that's the greatest injustice of the 2007 awards season. Waitress, which the late Adrienne Shelly finished just before she was slain in her Greenwich Village apartment in November 2006, was one of the most delightful films of last year.

Lois E. Pannell, a longtime waitress and animal lover, died Monday of heart failure at Northwest Hospital Center. She was 71. Mrs. Pannell retired earlier this year from Sheraton Four Points at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, where she had worked for the last 15 years. Earlier, she had worked at the now-defunct Black Pearl in Harborplace, and Westview Lounge & Supper Club in Catonsville. Lois Ellen Schwartz was born in Baltimore and raised in Forest Park.

Nicole McAllister, a longtime Johns Hopkins Club waitress whose grit and determination to see that her daughter received a college education paid off earlier this year when she had the pleasure of seeing her daughter receive her bachelor's degree, died Dec. 16 of a stroke at Sinai Hospital. The Northwest Baltimore resident was 44. The daughter of a construction worker and a teacher's aide, Nicole McAllister was born in Baltimore and raised on Newton Avenue. After graduating from Walbrook High School in 1985, Ms. McAllister worked as a teller for almost a decade at the old Union Trust Co., later Signet Bank, until she was laid off from her job In 1994, she took a job as a waitress at the Johns Hopkins Club, which is on the university's Homewood campus, where she quickly built a loyal and dedicated following.

Dick Smith, who was there when the place opened 31 years ago, was back at his piano bar in Phillips Seafood Sunday afternoon, the last day of business at Harborplace for the last of the original tenants. Smith played "As Time Goes By," and longtime customers gathered on the high chairs around his piano to enjoy the song and a final crab cake. "I was here the day it opened and the piano has not moved from this spot," said Smith, who played and led sing-alongs in the restaurant in Harborplace's Light Street Pavilion.

Marcelline R. Quinter, a veteran waitress and bartender, died May 29 of coronary obstructive pulmonary disease at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. She was 78. Marcelline Regina Finnerty, the daughter of a maintenance worker and a candy maker, was born in Baltimore and raised on Lakewood Avenue. She attended Catholic High School and worked for years "downtown as a waitress and bartender," said her daughter, Deborah Goralski of Oakland. Mrs. Quinter retired in 1995 from the Midtown Yacht Club on Centre Street.

Nicole McAllister can't keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks. This shy, industrious woman sits next to her daughter at the Johns Hopkins Club, where Nicole McAllister has worked as a waitress for 17 years. And her boss, general manager Cem Baraz, has come to praise her on this special occasion. "Nicole is one of those folks you feel good about," he begins. "She brings such a work ethic, and it has been part of our joy to see her daughter come around. " The tears come faster now. McAllister's daughter, Kearra Carter, is dabbing her eyes as well.

A revolving rooftop restaurant in downtown Baltimore introduced Leonora DiPietro to waitressing more than 45 years ago. The stations, where staff picked up drinks and entrees, rotated constantly, too, which was too much for the new employee. She had locked herself in a linen closet to cry in frustration when her manager found her and spent the rest of the evening schooling her in the trade that would become her career. Over the decades, she has served celebrities, politicians, sports figures and next-door neighbors, all of whom know her as Peachy, the nickname the parish priest gave a bubbly little girl with rosy cheeks.

Angela G. Thompson, who in 49 years of waitressing at Sabatino's in Little Italy memorized her orders and rarely used a pad, died of a heart attack Nov. 15 at Franklin Square Hospital Center. She was 76 and lived in Highlandtown. "She worked until the week before she died," said her son, Michael R. Thompson of Baltimore. "She wanted very much to make 50 years at the same job. " Born Angela Goth in Ansbach, Germany, she met and married a Virginia-born serviceman, Richard McCarty Thompson.

SO I'M SITTING IN A CNN studio in Los Angeles. They have smeared makeup on my face so it will look naturally orange on television. A man named Mario has inserted an earpiece into my ear, which has me a little concerned because, not to brag, or anything, but I am the Mark McGwire of earwax production. I'm afraid that Mario will need a winch to get that thing back out of there. I'm also concerned about whether Mario cleans this earpiece between guests, and what other guests it was inserted into before me. Henry Kissinger, for example.

Welcome to my first restaurant review column, wherein I will describe an exquisite meal I enjoyed last Sunday evening. Unfortunately, I really can't tell you the names of any of the dishes I sampled. I can't expound on the origin of the recipes or the inventive things the chef did to change them up. I can say for sure, however, that some of the dishes were made with chicken, some were made with beef and some were made with the relentless, fiery tears of the scorned Goddess of Red Pepper Heaven.