Wayne Gretzky: It’s Payback Time

I was an aspiring rock musician and yet you’ve never heard my music on the radio, right? So you know what that means. it means I’ve had my share of basic survival jobs. In fact, I waited on a lot of banquets before the comedy writing thing took off. At one point my autobiography was going to be called “Trays for Days.”
Don’t laugh - it was a very entertaining stretch of living, believe me. I also met many a celebrity and many a politician in this line of work. I’ll throw some names at you: Mohammed Ali, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Michael Jordan, Bill Cosby, Billy Graham – A wide variety. None of them treated me badly but one time I distinctly remember saying to myself, “That is as nice as any big shot has ever been.” It was Wayne Gretzky. He was here for an exhibition game when he was with the L.A. Kings and I waited on him. He treated me like I was the celebrity, calling me “Sir”, etc…It didn’t appear to be an act, and I took it with me, often calling clerks or coffee people “sir” myself, from then on. It was just so respectful, and I took note of it for the book I will one day write.
To me, it seemed like he had been raised right and had his fame more than under control. He seemed humble.
This has not been the best stretch of time for Wayne Gretzky. It appears he’s got a gambling thing going on which I never did get myself. I’ve had my share of vices, but gambling? I never saw the point or felt the high.
Whatever. I told myself if anyone ever asked who was the nicest celebrity I’ve ever met it was Wayne Gretzky. Calling a waiter, “Sir”, and being sincere about it? That really works, and I’ll bet he could use a compliment this week.