Chipped Beef and A Plague of Tics Summary and Analysis

Chipped Beef is a short vignette about David's desire to be wealthy and acting as such even though his family is middle class.

At one point, the Sedaris sisters are kidnapped, and the family decides to allow the kidnappers to keep the girls since it is beneath their character to negotiate with terrorists.

Mrs. Sedaris yells at David to stop dressing up the cat because the costume makes the feline look like a French whore. Their last cat had been hit by a car, but David's mother claims it was suicide. The cat couldn't stand David any more and decided to end it all.

Attending church is an event for the Sedaris family, although the family is so incredibly attractive that no one pays any attention to the reverend...