I remember following former child star Wil Wheaton years ago when he was one of the first minor celebrities blogging. He was always very gracious and honest about his family life and his career. He also has a kind of infectious joy about technology. Wil is a proud geek and a genuinely nice guy. The star of Stand By Me and Star Trek: The Next Generation quietly sent a woman a very nice letter last year, an apology for not responding to her application to join his fan club 21 years ago! This news is just getting out now for some reason, probably because Wil didn’t say anything about it online:

In 1988, aged just 8 but already a fan of the teen actor due to Stand By Me, Star Trek: The Next Generation and his ‘awesome smile’, an excited Teresa Juniso saved up the $12.00 membership fee and applied to join ‘WilPower’, then-15-year-old Wil Wheaton’s official fan club. She then waited. And waited some more. And then gave up waiting altogether. The membership kit never materialised, and before long the initial disappointment was forgotten.

In 2009, Teresa Juniso, now a 29 year-old writer, received – along with a package containing the very items she had waited patiently for 21 years previous – the following letter; an incredibly endearing apology and belated welcome to Wheaton’s now defunct fan club, written by Wil Wheaton himself after being alerted to her story.

Said Teresa:
He gets a big thank you from Twenty-Nine Year Old Me. Don’t get me wrong. Eight Year Old Me is very, very pleased. But Twenty-Nine Year Old Me better knows the importance of a kind gesture, and hopes that her gratitude carries more weight.

Transcript follows.

Transcript
Dear 8 year-old Teresa,

I wanted to apologize to you for making you wait so long to get your official WilPower fanclub membership kit. You see, 15 year-old me is very busy with work and school, and the people who were responsible for getting your membership kit mailed back to you must have made a mistake.

It’s been a long time since the fan club did anything, but I’ve enclosed a membership card for you, as well as a wallet photo, and a picture that shows you how much I love Batman (HINT: It’s a lot.)

WilPower members got updates about me and my work a few times a year, but the fan club stopped sending those out a long time ago. My latest update, though, goes like this: I got married, I have two boys who I love more than anything in the world, and I’m a writer now, just like you!

And now, 8 year-old Teresa, I want to tell you something very important before I sign off, so listen closely: When you grow up, you’re going to be a great writer. I can’t tell you how I know, but I hope you’ll trust me; I just do. So stay in school, always do your best, and treat people the way you want to be treated.

Thank you for being part of my fan club,

(Signed, ‘Wil Wheaton’)

Wil Wheaton

[From Letters of Note via ONTD]

That’s really kind and heartwarming! It makes me want to send more letters to people from my past, and reminds us that it’s never too late to make amends for even minor wrongs.

Now that Twitter is so popular and other celebrities are abusing it to promote themselves and post paid advertisements, Wil is still doing what he does best – chatting with his friends and sharing his interests. I checked his Twitter account and website to see what he was up to, and he recently posted a pretty funny spoof of that series of hoax photos where the hot chick quit her job on Wall St. (Again, those were a hoax, it figures.) Wil is involved some kind of geek music fest (their words!) called Wootfest, which is described as “3 hours of geeks and music.” He used his iPad as a dry erase board and his Wootfest buddies held up signs responding to him. They were involved in some kind of faux argument over spilling beer on a card game. Boys.

I also learned through Wil’s site how to disable Facebook places, which you may want to learn about if you’re concerned about your online privacy. (I’ve heard of this of course but haven’t followed up on it until now.) He points us a website that explains why it’s so dangerous to overshare on Facebook and Twitter, PleaseRobMe.com, which explains in simple terms that if you’re telling everyone where you are at any given time, you’re opening yourself up to crime.

Wil, 38, lives in California with his wife of 11 years and his two stepsons. He’s a great example of a former child star who’s done well for himself outside of Hollywood.