Working Stiff: Fired As A Busboy From Dante's Sea Catch, Pier 39

I moved to San Francisco on November 4, 1979. I remember the date because the first day I did stand up for real was November 4, 1974, and the day I married my first wife was November 4, 1981. Just a coincidence. But an odd one.

When I left Milwaukee, I was working on stage maybe six times per month. All the showcases in the city had pretty much dried up and every time I drove down to Chicago, they put the Wisconsin kid on either first or last. Cannon fodder for the crowds. Understandable. They were going to give the prime spots to the locals and I hadn't shown much to make them question that philosophy.

But the first week I was in San Francisco, I got on stage eight times. It was comedy Valhalla.