"It's me trying to figure out the meaning of my life. It seems odd at this point in my life, but I almost died about three years ago... and everything that has happened to me since then has been a bonus. And like a lot of people who get a second chance, I'm really interested to know how to get the most juice out of everything -- out of all the time that's ahead of me. Part of that is trying to figure out what would make it seem really meaningful to me. It's a weird world. It's a crazy quest, and I can tell you right now that there's no end to it. The book is kind of funny and kind of heartfelt at the same time."

"I was eight years old, and when the dog died, my father thought it would be a good idea to take it out and we'd bury it together. So I was sobbing after a few shovels-full, and he didn't know what to do -- he was stuck. He said, 'Well, maybe we should have it stuffed and that way, you'll always keep it.'

"I play his uncle and live in the woods in Missouri. He comes down from Chicago to try and put me in a home because I'm getting old and losing my memory, and I'm fighting that. But meanwhile, he's been a bar fight and has been hit in the head and can't remember anything either. It's very sweet."