By staff and wire reports
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, August 21, 2007

What do people remember when they look back at their first days of school? What do they wish they'd known? We posed that question to a variety of local celebrities, actors, writers, musicians and others.

Here's what they had to say:

Jack Wilson, Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop, whose son is starting kindergarten: "The advice I would give -- the advice I did give to my son --would be to have fun and enjoy learning. Any kid should have fun in school until junior high. In grade school, you paint, you do papier mache and all that other fun stuff. It doesn't get hard until you get to junior high."

Minka Kelly, in NBC's "Friday Night Lights," plays Lyla, the cheerleader who fell from grace: "I just wish I'd known that I wouldn't have to remember everything."

Taylor Kitsch, plays tough guy Tim Riggins on NBC's "Friday Night Lights": "I wish I had known how to tie my shoes. I wasn't very good at it."

Andrew Stockey, WTAE-TV morning anchor: "I wish I had known naptime was part of first grade. I would have been better prepared to handle it. I can't take a nap in the middle of the day. I think it's because I'm still mad about having to take a nap in first grade."

Joe Negri, also known as Handyman Joe of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood": "Look to see and see to remember. Be aware of all that is around you. Be as open as you can to everything, and remember that you are starting on a great journey."

Andy Samberg, comedian and star of "Saturday Night Live" and "Hot Rod": "I wish I had known that Drakkar Noir is better than Preferred Stock."

Jay Dantry, owner of Jay's Book Stall, Oakland: "Register for summer school, it saves on sunscreen. One of my teachers told me that years ago."

Bill Deasy, musician: "I wish I knew that girls were not alien life forms."

David Dalessandro, screenwriter of "Snakes on a Plane" and associate vice chancellor at the University of Pittsburgh: "First grade is all that stands between you and next summer."

David Silverman, director of "The Simpsons Movie": "I'd wish I'd known the food was going to be that bad. I'd have brought my lunch."

Dick Skrinjar, assistant director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Pittsburgh: "My advice to first-graders of all ages: I would avoid tattoos and body-piercings. Instead of apples (for the teacher), I would go for gift cards."

The Rev. Ronald Lengwin, spokesperson of the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese: "You will have the joy of making new friends. Some will be the same, some different, but all are special."

Robin Weigert, played Calamity Jane in "Deadwood" and a police lieutenant this fall in NBC's "Life": "I wish I hadn't worried about not fitting in."

David DeLuise, will play the dad in "Wizards of Waverly Place": "I wish I'd known that it's OK to talk to girls and just be myself. That would have saved me a lot of trouble later."

Marty Ashby, executive producer of MCG Jazz at the busy Manchester Craftsmen's Guild on the North Side: "Enjoy it, because if you do, learning can be fun."

Kathleen Nachazel, manager of athletic training and development for UPMC Sports Medicine on the South Side: "We went to the school prior to it and met the teacher and sat in his classroom. It really helped both of my kids."

Susan Dunhoff, owner of the Modern Matchmaker in Squirrel Hill: "I wish that I had computers when I was in the first grade. Perhaps then I would not need my consultant, programmer and IT team."

Ken Gargaro, Pittsburgh Musical Theater founding artistic director, offers advice for boys: "Remember to raise the toilet seat. Don't forget to flush."

Selena Gomez, teen actress, 15, who will star in the Disney Channel series "Wizards of Waverly Place": "I wish I had known how to stand in line."

Chris Fedak, writer who created "Chuck," a promising science-fiction show on NBC this fall: "I wish I had known I was color-blind. That was just awful for the first few years when the teachers just thought I didn't know anything."

Moon Bloodgood, co-star of last season's "Daybreak" on ABC and the upcoming "Journeyman" on NBC, with memories similar to Kitsch's: "I wish I had known how to tie my shoes. I had a hard time trying to tie them ... I didn't like kindergarten."

Al Jean, one of the principal writers of "Simpsons" movie and series: "I wish I would have known how my early history would feel so important to me later."

Adam Beach, grew up in Canada, in the Saulteaux Indian tribe; now a star of Emmy-nominated "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit": "I just remember thinking everything was so big when it was really so small."

Polly Walker, who starred in HBO's "Rome" as Atia; will co-star this fall in CBS' "Cane": "I always felt like everyone else was totally confident and I was the only one who wasn't. I wish I'd known that everyone else was just as afraid as I was."

Jim Parsons, plays a genius this fall in CBS comedy "The Big Bang Theory": "I wish I had known that when all is said and done, whether or not you followed directions diligently isn't that important."