Fran Lebowitz

It never would have occurred to me.

And how old were you before you were able, felt able to do that?

When I left home.

Yeah.

And that's one of the reasons that people came to New York.

That's one of the reasons people went to cities.

The difference, say, between San Francisco and New York, I used to say this when I was young in my early 20s.

In San Francisco, being gay is enough, but not New York.

You've got to have something else.

So in San Francisco, being gay, in the 70s especially, you're being gay, and you can be a waiter, and just a waiter.

In New York, if you're gay and you're a waiter, you're really a playwright.

You know, I'm a waiter, yes, I'm a waiter, but also, you know, I'm a composer, you know.

But in San Francisco, that was unnecessary, okay?

So, and that wasn't the case.

What was the offense?

I don't, you know, I don't, the headmaster sent a letter.

I happened to be not in school the day I got expelled because I had the flu, the actual flu, not a pretend flu, which I often had, but the real flu or the real cold.

I was sick and the letter came to the house and I remember the letter just saying, um,

She has a bad influence on the other girls.

And she's usurping my power.