My father was a man of love. He always loved me to death. He worked hard in the fields but my father never hit me. Never. I don't ever remember a really cross unkind word from my father.

It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure on the world.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations all pride all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death leaving only what is truly important.

I decided to devote my life to telling the story because I felt that having survived I owe something to the dead. and anyone who does not remember betrays them again.

What I remember most about junior homecoming was my date getting sick afterwards. That kinda sucked. Then senior year someone got gum in her hair when we were dancing. She had to get one of the chaperones to take her to the office and cut up her hair. I felt really bad for her but it worked out fine.

All my band members were old enough to be my dad. It was like this family vibe.

A mustache really defines your face. My dad had a mustache when I was growing up and I can still remember when he shaved it he looked like a completely different person.

I remember my dad who coached football would buy some of his players football shoes when they couldn't afford it.

I wasn't aware of my dad being an actor when I was young. I remember there was an Australian children's entertainer on television called Ralph Harris and when I'd say my father was an actor kids would say you know 'oh is he Ralph Harris?' And I had to say no and then they would lose interest.

Dad was a chemistry professor at Saint Olaf College in Minnesota then Oxford College in Minnesota and a very active member of the American Chemical Society education committee where he sat on the committee with Linus Pauling who had authored a very phenomenally important textbook of chemistry.