RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
This is a great shot of two friends…who will be friends for a very long time!
Our study of great story songs continues with Vicki Lawrence (yes, THAT Vicki Lawrence!) and the haunting “The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia.” LOVED this as a kid!
Wednesday the 5th – POST HOLIDAY HUBBUB! – It was back to work after a long holiday weekend, and the first order of business was to do a Voice Over session at Voicecasters in Burbank for a talking toy. I can’t say much about it now, but when the toy is released in January I’ll give you the full details. After the session I went over to Round Table pizza and enjoyed their lunchtime buffet; something I hadn’t treated myself to for a very long time. Then I drove over to Plastic Depot to see my friend Kyle. He made a slight adjustment to the base of my Kermit the Frog 1:1 Muppet replica so the cover fits on it perfectly. I stopped by my mailbox to get a few packages, got an ice cream cone at McDonalds, and then went home to do some work. My pal Brittney Powell came over to pick up a check for work she did the previous week in Planet Wallywood, and then I fed the pets and took a short nap. I got up later for my nightly auditions, typed out Wally’s Week, reconciled my business receipts and bank account information, and then fed the pets their nightly dinner. I took Roxy out for our late night stroll through the neighborhood and enjoyed a nice cigar. It was a Palm Springs kind of night; absolutely perfect! I came in and made some lasagna and watched another episode of “The Outer Limits” on DVD before bed.
Thursday the 6th – THE NOSE KNOWS! – When I got up at 1:30 I checked my e-mails and saw a last-minute audition. I recorded it quickly and sent it to my agent. I dropped Roxy off at the groomers (she was in need of a bath BAD!) and then I drove over to see my sinus surgeon Dr. Jill for another follow-up. It had been 7 weeks since my sinus surgery and everything was looking good. While she had the camera in my left nostril looking around, she showed me a white string that was attached to some tissue. She said it was the suture that still hadn’t dissolved yet. It was fascinating to see! She gave me a prescription for an ointment that I need to start putting in my nasal rinses once a day. I drove over to Del Taco to get a hamburger and fries (the best fast food hamburger and fries in L.A. is at a taco place…weird, I know!), and then I stopped by Metropolis bikes to pick up my bicycle. It got a much-needed tune-up and is all ready to rock! I put the top down in my Mustang, threw the bike in the back (carefully!) and headed home. I dropped off the bike and then went over to the hardware store to get some bolts and nuts to repair a chair that got broken during the 4th of July party. It was an easy fix, but I just needed the right bolt. I went over to pick up Roxy and then head home where it was cool. It was a hot day and getting hotter! Summer in L.A. is like that. I fixed the broken chair by replacing a bent peg with a new shouldered bolt and cap nut. I installed a new power strip in the Tranquility Zone, did my nightly auditions, and then my trainer Natalie Duran from “American Ninja Warriors” came over for a workout. I grabbed a nap, and then got up later to do work around the house. I fed and walked Roxy and despite the hot day, it was a really nice night. I came back inside, made some of my famous Buffalo Mac and watched another “Outer Limits” episode.
Friday the 7th – THE ACID TEST! – My day started with a phone call to my mom Barb in South Dakota wishing her a happy birthday. She turned 77 on 7/7/2017. Wild! I drove over to Jerry’s Famous Deli to have lunch with my pal Kevin Castro who is the creator and producer of my webseries “Wacky Wally’s Vintage Toys.” We’ve both been very busy and haven’t had a chance to post any new episodes in a while, but he said another one is edited and finished and should be up soon! Fingers crossed! I stopped at the pharmacy and picked up the prescription from Dr. Jill, and then headed back home. My assistant Sara came over to do some work, and then I grabbed a nap until 10pm. It was still really hot at 10:30pm, so I kept the A/C on all night; which is very rare for me. I sat down on the computer and went through all of my personal log entries from 2016 and labeled the files accordingly. Then I decided to go out and get some groceries at midnight. It would be a lot easier than trying to get them on a Saturday afternoon. As I was driving through the complex something told me to take the Torino. So I stashed the Mustang and got the Torino out. It was cool enough out so the drive was pleasant, but I certainly wouldn’t want to drive it during the heat of the day! As I was loading the groceries into the trunk of the Torino I noticed that it was wet in the trunk. What was leaking? When I pulled my car cover aside I found out what was causing the moisture. The battery that I had removed from the Torino a few weeks ago was LEAKING! The clear liquid was battery acid! Immediately I felt tingling on my arms (I was wearing a sleeveless hoodie) and ran over to the store’s front door to get the moist towelettes they offer to wipe off the handlebar of the grocery carts. I ran them all over my arms up and down. Then I ran back to the trunk of my car and removed all of the groceries. I threw away all of the grocery bags in case they had been in contact with the acid. I wiped down the inside of the trunk as best as I could. I got a bottle of water and soaked my arms again. I got the situation under control as best as I could, and then headed home. I removed all the groceries from my trunk, and took the items that needed refrigeration upstairs right away. I ran them all under water first before putting them away. I washed my arms off again with Tide and water. Then I drove to Denny’s to pick up my to-go order. When I got back I took the remaining grocery items and, one by one, I washed them off under the outside faucet. I noticed that the plastic container containing the roasted chicken I bought for Roxy’s dinner was deteriorating. Apparently some of the acid had gotten on the container and it fell apart in my hands. Not taking any chances, especially with Roxy, I threw the chicken in the trash. It’s a good thing I listened to my “little voice” and took the Torino. Had I not, it could have been another week before I took the car out and the acid could have done some real damage! Whew! That was close! I went back inside, took a thorough shower and at my Denny’s food while watching “Outer Limits” before bed.
Saturday the 8th – S“HOT”URDAY! – My pal Pete Tassler (producer on “Hawaii Five O”) was going to bring his co-producer Larry over for a tour of Planet Wallywood, but Larry had something come up last minute so he wasn’t able to make it. But I told Pete to come over and we’d go get something to eat. Pete’s the one who helped me acquire the Jack Lord facial sculpt that I have on my Jack Lord mannequin. He was quite impressed with how it turned out. We got subs at Jersey Mike’s and then I headed back home to prep for movie night. I took a short nap on the couch, and then Sara arrived to clean up for the evening. We watched the 1976 movie “Car Wash” which I loved as a kid. It wasn’t until later that I realized how important that movie was for its time. It was released by a major studio (Universal) and I think it’s one of the first ever major motion pictures with a majority black cast. The “Blaxploitation” films of the 70’s were smaller releases from smaller studios, but “Car Wash” was major! It only had about 5 white characters in it! It was a real groundbreaker. And it was a commercial success too that spawned two charting hit songs, “Car Wash,” and “I Wanna Get Next To You,” both by Rose Royce. When my guests left I got a short nap on the couch, and then got up to do some work. It was still very warm out so I kept the A/C on all night again. I walked Roxy on our late night stroll through the neighborhood, made my traditional Saturday night Super Salad and watched “Hee Haw.” When I was finished with my salad, there were some remnants in the bottom of the bowl. Roxy started devouring the remainder of my salad! I had never seen her eat lettuce, tomatoes and carrots before!
Sunday the 9th – SUNDAY TOUR AND TREATS! – Though Sunday is usually my comatose “sleep in” day, I had to be up early to do an interview for a podcast at 1. Shortly after that my pal Brittney brought a few friends over for a tour of Planet Wallywood. Alex and Graham had a great time, and when the tour was over we all went to Ernie’s Taco House for a later lunch/early dinner. It was too hot to walk Roxy to church so I just drove the Torino over to church. Since I had just eaten I ran my “adopted grandma” Shirley by Subway so she could get a sandwich to go, and then I dropped her at home. I came home and grabbed a short nap, and got up to do my nightly auditions. One of them was a singing audition and those are always fun! Then I got inspired to do some work on the Tranquility Zone on one of the shelving units. I covered the interior of the compartment with reflective laser mylar so the lighted clock would create a light cubby. I had to build up a little wedge to put under the back of the clock so its face would be in my direct eyeline when I woke up to see what time it was. But I worked on it way too long and I only ended up getting about 3 hours of sleep before I had to be up for an audition at Nickeloden Monday morning for an animated pilot. I chomped down a quick dinner and hit the hay!
And how was YOUR week??!!
