Hey, everyone.  It's been awhile.  Feels like we haven't touched base since last year (I never get tired of that one).

I know we have a lot of catching up to do.  I promise to dish on all comings and goings in short order.  Today, though, I just wanted to say hi and I'm back.

While you're waiting…Over on Facebook, this "25 Random Things About Me" list thing is all the rage.  I got suckered into it, too.  It was kinda fun, and I thought I would share my list here as well.  Enjoy…

1. I had both a pet squirrel named Frosty and a pet crow named Sidney when I was growing up.

2. I grew up on an 80-acre farm nearly three miles from the nearest tar
road and about 13 miles from the nearest town. Most people don't
believe me when I tell them this. They think I grew up in some suburb.

3. I have eaten field mouse fricassee, courtesy of my wildlife management college roommate, Pat.

4. I am a convicted thief. It's a long story.

5. My first name is not William–it's Wilmont. And to the best of my
knowledge, my grandfather, my dad, and I are the only people in the
world who have or had this as our first name. (update! my friend Brett informed me that there is an NFL player with the first name Wilmont.  I am NOT ALONE!)

6. I spent the better part of the first day I met my wife, Robbye,
avoiding her at the harvest party we were both attending because I
thought she was too young for me.

7. I lived in my car for a month when I was 19 because I wanted to experience what it felt like.

8. When Robbye and I got married, I changed my middle name to Austin,
after my great-grandfather that came to the US from Ireland.

9. Although I went through most of my life as "Wilmont James True III",
my birth name was really "Wilmont James True Jr.", the same as my dad.
My dad didn't want me named after him, so my mom named me after my
grandfather when my dad was away at work. As a result, the Social
Security Administration thought my dad and I were the same person for
many years. They still think my grandparents are my parents.

10. I turned down an offer to perform off-Broadway when I was 20 in the
Tim Rice rock opera, BLONDEL. I'd been the title character in the US
premiere, and Tim liked my work. I moved to LA instead to pursue an
offer to attend the screenwriting program at USC, which I never ended
up actually attending.

11. I was a 7th level letterman in choir in high school (my only
letter), and I think I am still in second place for highest number of
letter points achieved in the history of my school (the highest number,
10 more than me, was achieved by my friend Deb Berndt the same year).

12. I was a store manager for Radio Shack in the late 1980s. At the
time, in fact, I was the only part-time salesperson every promoted
directly to store manager. I attribute this distinction more to the
fact that no one wanted to manage the store as opposed to my mad sales
skills.

13. I have been general manager for two small retail chains: one for pet supplies and the other for Black Hills Gold jewelry.

14. My two high school jobs were working on the City of Isanti
maintenance crew (where I painted all the fire hydrants one summer and
managed the city sewage plant the next) and playing drums in my
parents’ country & western band.

15. I am allergic to horseradish.

16. I begged Robbye to take me to see THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING
PANTS 2. And, hell yes, I cried…just like I did over the first one.
(“Why did Bailey have to die?!?”)

17. I am red-green colorblind. But it’s a rather insidious disorder,
because I can see certain shades of red and green but not others. I
have oft bought a piece of clothing I thought was grey only to find out
later that it’s the crappiest shade of green. No wonder why it was 70%
off.

18. I don’t like the sound of my own voice.

19. Amy Jo Johnson (the Pink Power Ranger, who was briefly considered
for the role of Carly in RUNAWAY) was afraid to meet me in person after
she read the script for RUNAWAY. When we finally did meet, she couldn’t
stop laughing because it turns out I was “just a suburban soccer-dad
type.” She is, btw, the only celebrity I’ve met that truly excited my
kids.

20. I unexpectedly aced the ACT (35 out of 36), getting a perfect score
on (of all things) the math section. The Physics and Math departments
at my college both offered me scholarships to study in their fields.
But I was a theatre major.

21. I finished the Twin Cities Marathon in 4 hours and 10 seconds. I
would have made my goal to finish in less than 4 hours, but in a moment
of K-2 proportions, I ran 50 yards back to retrieve my running partner,
who had stopped running.

22. I am known for coming up with horrible titles for my own works
(e.g., RUNAWAY was MICHAEL’S LETTERS, INCARNATION was THE ANGEL ON THE
HORSE).

23. The only fan letter I have ever written was to Elvis Costello (via his website). And I was thrilled when he answered it!

24. I only recently realized I love sauerkraut, thanks to my wife, and that my favorite sandwich is a Rueben.

25. I almost died at age 17 from chickenpox, as they threatened to grow
on my central nervous system. I missed nearly six weeks of school
because of it and had to finish my junior year at the same time as I
was starting my senior year of high school.