David Sedaris' "Naked": Chipped Beef

"Chipped Beef" is divided neatly between Sedaris' dreams of wealth and familial fame and the harsh reality of his North Carolina existence. I've always been a huge fan of Sedaris, mainly because his stories are so real. The little heartbreaking details - "the toilet was always filled with diapers" - help to make the story come alive in all its gritty glory. This piece is so remniscent of Augusten Burrough's "Vanderbilt" piece that I was forced to wonder who stole it from who; regardless, both are masterpieces of middle-American wallow.

I particularly enjoy the bantering dialogue between the members of the family, like when David's mother tells him he drove the cat to suicide by always talking about having ribs with the Kennedys. It is believable that Sedaris' family possessed such wit. The apple hardly falls far from the tree.