8:30 A.M. Cafeteria Lady

By Stacy Perman

With the scent of bacon still in the air, Nancy Giessmann, 62, has just cleared the last remnants of breakfast when it is time to get ready for lunch. Any anthropologist studying the tribes of a U.S. high school would envy the observation post Giessmann has manned for the past 19 years behind the cafeteria steam table. She has watched students' tastes shift from meat loaf to pizza and from nice skirts to shorts with panties hanging out--"If they even wore panties," Giessmann sniffs. She knows that most students these days earn spending money at part-time jobs, but she also knows to call the school detective "when I see kids with their wallets full of $50 and $100 bills to pay for a 70[cent] breakfast. It's usually drug money."

--By Stacy Perman