As a college student, Mark Simmons was nearing the completion of the teacher preparation coursework and planning to volunteer for the United States government program called VISTA. When he received an unexpected VISTA rejection, it initiated a dramatic change and guided him to his artistic dream to become a stand-up comedian. Follow his journey from a Los Angeles comedy club jokester to a successful Attendance Counselor aka Hooky Bookie, in the very large and often dangerous Los Angeles Unified School District. This comedic and heart-rending story tells the inspiring transformation of the comic/actor from a Hollywood entertainer to a compassionate advocate of public education for disenfranchised and historically underserved students.