RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

Back in 1980, when I was making Muppets as fast as I could, I started on a Zoot. But I only got as far as the head. Looking at this picture brings back good memories!

 Now that my voice has fully returned (see past Wally’s Weeks to find out why it went missing for a while) I’m enjoying singing all my favorites. And this past week, I’ve been singing songs from “Phantom of the Opera!” Like “Music of the Night!”

Monday the 7th – EXIT OR EXTEND? – The birthday weekend I spent in Palm Springs with friends was amazing. So much so that I had fully intended to extend my stay another day and come back on Tuesday instead of Monday. But when I woke up at noon something in my head told me to pack up and go. And I did. I hit the road by 2pm and was back in L.A. by 3:30! Amazing! When I got home I realized why I felt the urge to get home. My sixth sense had gone off (or as Magnum used to call it, “his little voice”). It felt very warm in my house. I went upstairs and I heard the air conditioner on the roof humming away, but no cold air was coming out the vents. Something was wrong. Come to find out, my house-sitter had been running the A/C all weekend to keep the pets cool, but she doesn’t know exactly how the system works. So she ran it on high all weekend at 65 degrees. I called my pal Pete from Speedy Heating and Air and he was out within two hours. Amazing. He went on the roof and said that it was completely frozen over! So from now on, nobody is allowed to touch the A/C when I’m gone! By 7pm it was working again, oddly enough, just in time for it to cool off outside. I grabbed a nap, and got up later to unpack and recalibrate. I did some auditions, fed Roxy and then we took our late night stroll through the neighborhood. I did some work around the house and then hit the hay. It was good to be home, but it still would have been nice to have stayed another day.

Tuesday the 8th – CATCHING UP! – There was a lot to do now that I was back in town, so when I got up at noon I did an audition, and then headed out to do some errands. I went to my mailbox to get my mail, went to the post office to mail some stuff, stopped by the cleaners to get my comforter, and then went to Plastic Depot to get my new Plexiglas cabinet for my Mahna Mahna puppet. Kyle is a master craftsman who gets it right every time! Amazing! I got some lunch at Wendy’s but the chicken sandwich was tough and “chewy.” So I threw it away and went to Krispy Kreme for desert. I got some ink for my printer at Staples, and then headed home. But I had forgotten to stop by the hardware store and pick up a new air filter for the vent in my house! Since it was close to my house, I just walked over and picked up a few new filters. When Pete had come for the service call on Monday he checked the filter and it was filthy. I have to keep a closer eye on that! I got home and fed the pets, and then grabbed a nap from 7pm to 1. I was beat! I was thinking about the upcoming oral surgery I was scheduled for on Thursday and I’ll be really glad when everything is completely over. I got up later and typed out Wally’s Week, fed and walked Roxy, made a Tombstone pizza and watched the second-to-the-last episode of “Barnaby Jones.” Hard to believe I’ve seen all 8 seasons!

Wednesday the 9th – THE WHOLE TOOTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TOOTH! – I spent the day relaxing and prepping for my tooth extraction surgery on Thursday. I knew that the #14 had to go, but I was hoping against hope that they could save the #15. After all, it was the last “real” molar I had left in my head. All the others are crowns. After checking e-mails, I headed over to the bank to make a deposit. Then I hit the craft store to pick up a few items for a small, fun little project I dreamed up while in Palm Springs. Then I hit the hardware store again for a few supplies. I grabbed a nap, and got up later to feed the pets. I had my final meal at 1am (beef stew), since I’m not supposed to eat anything six hours before my surgery. I did some work on my photo album, and then went back to bed. I won’t lie when I say I was a bit depressed about it. I haven’t been “toothless” since I was a kid, and I’m not looking forward to the long, drawn-out process of having a replacement implant installed. The sinus surgery last year was one thing; it was going to clear me out and get rid of a lot of pain. And while the tooth extraction would certainly alleviate a lot of pain I’d been having, a part of me that I used on a regular basis would be gone.

Thursday the 10th – HOLE-Y SINUS! – The alarm was set for 7:30am, but I woke up on my own a bit early. My pal Brittney Powell picked me up at 8 and we headed over to Dr. Mizin’s office in Burbank. By 8:45 I was taken into the O.R. and seated. They started hooking me up to all the IVs and monitors. We were all just casually talking about super-hero movies and BOOM – they were all done! I don’t even recall going under or coming back out at all! It was seamless! Brittney took me downstairs to the pharmacy to get my prescriptions, and then she took me home so I could compile my list of post-op care. Pain meds every 6 hours, antibiotics every 6 hours, a rinse twice a day (with NO swishing), soft foods over the weekend, only lukewarm food and beverages (nothing hot), and moist gauze pads on the surgery area until they turn pink (they said it would take about a day), cold packs to reduce swelling, and no rigorous activities. They also advised against lifting weights and using my Neti pot until Monday. They said they observed puncture holes in my sinus! The roots of my teeth (yes, they took both the 14 and 15) and punctured the bone under the sinus and had put holes in my sinus! So THAT was the “root” cause of all the pain and suffering from last year’s extended sinus infection! The root canal in my #14 had gone bad, became infected inside, punctured my sinus, and injected the infection into my sinus cavity. It all made sense now. Hopefully now the problem is over. Though I stayed up for a while, I finally did lay down on the couch for a nap. I got up later to change my gauze pad. I fell asleep with it in my mouth and had a dream I was eating popcorn. When I awoke I was chewing on my gauze pad. Ugh. I took another round of antibiotic and pain meds. I had some lukewarm chicken soup and answered some e-mails. One of my agents contacted me with some urgent tags for one of my ongoing clients. So I took the gauze pad out, and recorded them. Luckily they were very short! But they sounded alright! I even squeezed in an audition! I went back on the couch and napped until 6am. It was a gorgeous, misty morning. I enjoyed strolling through the neighborhood with Roxy. Then I did some light work around the house. The bleeding had finally started to subside. I ate some soft food and watched the final episode of “Barnaby Jones.” Sadly, it was really awful. It was a horrible way to end a great series.

Friday the 11th – “INFAMOUS” LAST WORDS! – My oral surgeon’s office called to let me know they still had my insurance card. They forgot to take it out of the copier and give it back to me when I left after the surgery. So around 4:30, just before they closed, I went back to retrieve it. It was then I learned my final words before I went under the anesthesia. Last year when I had my sinus surgery, the last thing I did before going under was to sing a line from my pal Elliot Lurie’s song “Brandy.” “My life, my lover my lady, is the sea…zzzzzzz.” I told Elliot if I would have died on the table, his song would have been my final words in life. But after discussing it with the surgical staff at my oral surgeon’s office, I think this year’s “last words” tops last year’s last words! For comfort, I wore my fleece Iron Man pajama pants into surgery. When the doctor came into the room he mentioned that Batman and Superman were super-heroes for kids, but Iron Man and Wolverine were super-heroes for adults. I told that’s because Wolverine is the only super-hero who says “f**k.” One of the nurses said, “Really?” I told her the greatest cameo in cinematic history was from “XMen; First Class,” when Hugh Jackman improvised a line after two guys came into ask for his help. His only line in the movie is “Go f**k yourself.” And then…BOOM! I’m out! No matter how many times in my life I have to undergo anesthesia, I doubt I’ll be able to top those “last words.” The nurses understood that I was quoting a movie line, and not actually saying it to them. We all had a good laugh about it. They explained to me what the next step will be. After this heals, I’ll have to have a “sinus lift.” Because my sinus hangs low, and the roots of my teeth were long, they had a conflict which caused a lot of problems. So when they put the implant post in, they’ll need to “raise” my sinus so the same problem doesn’t happen again. They do this by spackling in a compound underneath my sinus, and “lifting” the area where the implant post will go. That way there won’t ever be a conflict in that area again. I need to get some more info about it from my ENT before I consent to having it done. If it could change the tone of my voice at all, it’s a non-starter for me. After I retrieved my card I stopped by my box to get my mail. I mailed off a few things, and then stopped by my seamstresses’ house to pick up a few shirts she had been working on. Then I went home to feed the pets, and headed out to Jerry’s Famous Deli to have dinner with my pals Edi and Elliot Lurie. After dinner I came home to rest for a bit. I got up later to do some work, take more pills, do a rinse, and then get some sleep in my bed.

Saturday the 12th – “TAKE IT EASY!” – Since I wasn’t sure how I’d be feeling two days after my oral surgery, I canceled movie night. But I did go out to lunch with my old pal Joe Garner. We talked about a lot of great projects we have in the offing. I just know that one is going to catch fire and we’ll be off and running! After the almost-three-hour-meeting I got some groceries and headed home. In the evening I took a pain pill and an antibiotic, showered, and went to bed. I had my windows open, as there was a nice, cool evening breeze blowing in that lulled me to sleep. But at the movie studio behind my house, there was some sort of event going on. I could hear the band very easily, as the breeze carried the music right into my room. After listening closely, I determined it to be an Eagles cover band! But the pain pill had made me groggy, so I was going in and out of sleep. Here’s how it went down…I’d nod off for a bit, and then the band would start another song. I’d wake up long enough to listen to the song, identify which Eagles song it was, and then nod off again. This same thing kept recurring all evening. “ZZZZZZZ….huh? Oh, ‘Life in the Fast Lane.’ ZZZZZZZ…huh? Oh, ‘New Kid in Town.’ ZZZZZZ…huh? Wow, they’re doing ‘Rocky Mountain Way’ by Joe Walsh. Cool…ZZZZZZZ. HUH?! Awesome! ‘The Long Run!’ ZZZZZ…” And so it continued all evening. It was a bit surreal. But due to neighborhood noise statutes, by 11pm they had wrapped up. I got up later and made some spaghetti and watched an episode of “SNL” from the second season DVD set. My traditional Saturday Night Super Salad won’t be possible for another few weeks yet. Too crunchy!

Sunday the 13th – THE SUNDAY SLEEPIES! – After sleeping most of the afternoon, I did get up in time for evening church. I had missed the past two weeks and wanted to get back to see everyone. My “adopted grandma” Shirley is still down with shingles, so she wasn’t there. So after church Roxy and I came back home and I rested. And rested. And rested. And rested. I got up later to feed Roxy and take her on a short walk, but then I came back inside and plopped back down on the couch with Spook on my chest, and slept some more. That’s the best way to heal.

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

Pete from Speedy took these pics of my frozen air conditioner. BRRR!

Here’s the nifty new Plexiglas cabinet for Mahna Mahna, courtesy of Kyle at the Plastic Depot in Burbank!

This past Mother’s Day, I posted this pic of my mom and I back in 1977. She’s helping to darken my sideburns for my Andy Kaufman act at our high school talent show. This is probably my favorite pic of my mom and I!