It has been 20 years since the final episode of "Happy Days" aired, but Henry Winkler, the actor who played "The Fonz," remains cool.

Winkler holds a Master's degree from Yale University and has scores of acting, producing and directing credentials, yet he has struggled with dyslexia his entire life. His three children also have learning challenges.

Despite a busy schedule, the 48-year-old Winkler will fly from his home in L.A. to Milwaukee on June 17 to guest lecture about his learning challenges at the 2004 IndependenceFirst Power Lunch at the Midwest Airlines Center, 400 W. Wisconsin Ave.

Though Winkler's never lived in Milwaukee, many people still associate Brew City with "Happy Days." It's fitting, then, that Winkler is the subject of this latest edition of Milwaukee Talks.

Why? "Milwaukee's my honorary home in my heart," says Winkler.

OMC: What is the main message you are trying to convey about people with learning challenges?

Henry Winkler: My main message is that if you will it, it is not a dream. I didn't write that sentence, but have it hanging on my wall. I found it to be one of the most important thoughts in my life. It's one of those thoughts that is said in a different way by every great thinker no matter where they are in the world. If there are rules that this planet revolves on, that is definitely one of them.

OMC: Are you on tour now, or is your trip to Milwaukee an isolated event?

HW: I am not on tour right now. When I'm asked to go to a place to speak I decide if I want to go there, and if so, I get up really early and fly there.

OMC: Why did you want to come to Milwaukee?

HW: I gotta go to Milwaukee! Milwaukee is my honorary home in my heart. Every time that I've been to Milwaukee I'm treated with such warmth it's hard to say no.

OMC: You've co-written a series of young adult novels around a character named Hank Zipzer. How much of Hank is based on you?

HW: 90 percent, with 10 percent exaggeration. I receive letters from all over the country. Kids say, "I laughed so loud the teacher took the book away from me." This is music to my ears. This kid (Hank) is just a great kid, but he has trouble in school.

OMC: Is it true that you found out you had dyslexia as an adult, after you graduated from Yale?

HW: Yes. When my stepson was in third grade we had him tested (for dyslexia) and everything we learned made me think, "Oh my goodness, this is me."

OMC: How does dyslexia affect your life?

HW: I can't spell. If I give someone dollar bills I have to pray they are honest and give me back the correct change. I can't figure out how much money I have in my hand or how much I should get back.

OMC: I thought dyslexia was when you transpose letters?

HW: That's one form, but there are so many forms. One in five human beings have some sort of learning challenge - whether it's with spelling, numbers, auditory -- and that's why when I wrote these novels for children.

OMC: What was it like for you as a kid?

HW: I was told I was stupid, lazy and not living up to my full potential all my life, so that's what I thought. As I got older, I started to think, "I have good thoughts and I'm a good thinker so how could I be stupid?"