Waitresses, however, recognized the skills of judgment and memory involved in waitressing and the dignity that attends a basic human service provided in an expert manner. Drawing on the positive aspects of female socialization and women's culture, they defined service as important and skilled work. As one explained: “it's a good experience to serve; I think everybody should have to serve sometime in their life. Serving is giving, as corny as it sounds.” Another waitress of twenty-three years considered her work to be “an art.” “When I put the plate down, you don't hear a sound. When I pick up a glass, I want it to be just right. When someone says, ‘How come you're just a waitress?’ I say ‘Don't you think you deserve being served by me?’” A former farm girl who became a waitress in Memphis told Works Progress Administration interviewers of her thrill in learning the trade. “I was just tickled to death with myself when I got expert. Ten different orders in my head without getting coffee crossed with Coca-Cola was going some for a country girl.”67