October 6 – October 13 (2014)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

Just to prove how well cared for my neighborhood squirrels are, here’s a shot of “Old Notch.” (Named for the notches in his ears) Notch has been coming around my house for nuts for years and as you can see by his ever-growing white hairs, he’s definitely the granddaddy of all the area squirrels! Squirrels in my ‘hood live longer than any other squirrels I’ve ever seen in my life! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a squirrel with gray hair!

While I was running all over Aberdeen, South Dakota last weekend for the Aberdeen Central High School Homecoming and Hall of Fame Event, I had this song running through my head. I’m not exactly sure why, but it was ever present in my gray matter! Kenny Rogers and the First Edition with the psychedelic “Conditions (Just Dropped In).” Yeah, man!

Monday the 6th – A “DYNAMITE” SIGHTING! – The first order of business was to get some last-minute signage printed for the upcoming trip to Aberdeen, South Dakota for my induction into my high school’s Hall of Fame. They wanted us to set up little memorabilia tables to display artifacts from our life. Once I got the prints I headed back home to hurriedly make the signs. I attached the prints to adhesive-backed foam core board. Then I cut them to size with an X-Acto knife and put little foam core supports on the back. My assistant Sara came over to help me pack the boxes of stuff that Fed Ex would be delivering to my hotel room in Aberdeen on Thursday, just in time to meet me there. I had a lot of action figures from characters I had voiced in one box. They are all delicate little things, so we packed them carefully. Then we packed another box with the heavier stuff. Then I headed off to Fed Ex to ship them. While there Jon Heder came in and asked if I was waiting to drop off. I told him I had some weighing and filling out of forms to complete, so I could be awhile. He stuffed his box into the Fed Ex drop box in the corner and took off. I think “Star Trek’s” Marina Sirtis was standing behind me waiting to send stuff, but I could be wrong. But it sure looked like her! I hit Taco Bell for lunch, and then went over to It’s a Wrap to shop around. Around 4 I went to Studiopolis’ Burbank studio to do some more voicework on a Marvel project. We finished up at 5, and then I came home to do some work on the computer. I took a dip in the Jacuzzi, grabbed a quick nap and then got up to do a bunch of auditions. When I finished I typed up Wally’s Week and then hit the hay to watch another episode of “Kojak” before bed.

Tuesday the 7th – BLOOD MOON! – I hit the freeway and headed over to Lotus Studios for a 2pm session. I provided some “thug” voices for an upcoming interactive theme park attraction that features super-heroes fighting bad guys. The way they described it was pretty cool. I hope I someday get to experience it in person. The drive back home took me an hour and a half in afternoon traffic. Not fun. I went over to Floyd’s and had my stylist touch up my color. I got home and met up with my pal Amanda. We drove over to Panera for a quick dinner with Roxy, then I came back to nap on the couch for a bit. I got up around midnight and did my auditions, and at 2am I grabbed a folding chair and headed outside to watch the “Blood Moon” overhead. Around 2:20am my time I could see it start to be eclipsed. By the time the moon was fully engulfed it was around 3:34 am. I had seen the Blood Moon several months ago and it was stunning. I just had to witness it again, considering it probably isn’t going to occur again in my lifetime. There was a stunning field of stars overhead and it was nice to just sit outside and relax while I watched the amazing show overhead. But after an hour and a half I went back inside to feed Roxy. Then I put my top down and drove to Denny’s to get some food. I watched the “Blood Moon” overhead while I drove. It was a magical sight. I came back home and watched another episode of “Kojak” and enjoyed my dinner before bed.

Wednesday the 8th – ROCKET? IS THAT YOU?! – One day before my trip, and I headed to my seamstress Karyn’s studio to get more Bat Caps. She does an amazing job of attaching the vintage-looking bat ears to the caps. When I got home I got my Gran Torino out and drove it around. I didn’t want it sitting around while I was away with the battery draining. Every week and a half I like to get it out and drive it around. I went over to Voice Trax West to do a brief session for US Airways. I noticed my tires were a little low so I went to the local tire store to get some air. They filled the tires but noticed a nail in my right rear tire! YIKES! They said that, due to the age of the tire, they couldn’t fix it. But I could go to a local Shell station and talk to Vic. He would pull the nail out and put a plug in. Well, Vic pulled the nail out but luckily it was a short one and it only pierced the tread, not the entire tire. WHEW! Lucky! I drove over to Mr. Vintage in Burbank to look around at some of their cool vintage things, and then I went to Creature Feature to pick up a couple books I had on order. When I got back home I worked on my speech for Friday morning. I’d be giving two one-hour speeches to the students at Aberdeen Central High. The first speech would be for the freshmen and sophomores, and the second one (a repeat of the first one, basically) would be to the juniors and seniors. It was 37 pages double-spaced, but I needed to time it out to make sure I had enough material to fill the time. I recorded it on my computer as I spoke it aloud. It was tough because I was still coughing through some parts. RATS! I feel better and am fully recovered from my pneumonia, but this nagging cough and tickle just won’t leave! It timed out to 52 minutes. Perfect! I rewrote some parts, reprinted it, then made some spaghetti and did auditions. I sat in the Jacuzzi for a while reflecting on the speech. When I got back inside I did some laundry and started to pack up. As I sat at the computer writing, I heard my gate hit the wall outside my house. It was about 3am so I wasn’t sure what was out there at that time of day. My cat Spooky was crouched low and staring out the screen door. I walked over carefully to the door and saw a HUGE raccoon eating some leftover nuts that the squirrels didn’t eat. This bruiser must’ve been 60 pounds at least! He was ENORMOUS! Roxy didn’t seem to care much. I opened the door just a little bit and the noise scared it off. I wasn’t much in the mood to get in a tussle with a big raccoon! When I took Roxy out for a walk her nose was in the air and she was sniffing excitedly. She could smell the raccoon for certain! I wanted to get a picture of it, but taking a shot through the screen door wouldn’t have looked very good. And as soon as I opened the door it ran off anyway. We took our late night stroll around the neighborhood and then I went inside to hit the hay.

Thursday the 9th – ALL GOES TO PLAN! – I got up at 9 and threw my bags into the car. Sara came over to start housesitting and I took off. I dropped my car at Park One at LAX and took their shuttle to the Delta gate. I walked by one of the terminals and saw actor Breckin Meyer about to board his plane. He played the “live action” Jon Arbuckle in the movie. I quietly said to myself, “Hey Jon Arbuckle. It’s me. Jon Arbuckle!” I grabbed a burger at LAX and then boarded the plane. I slept the entire 3 hour flight to Minneapolis. It was nice. When I went to grab my connection I saw Ralph Nader walking through the airport. I had a considerable layover before the flight for Aberdeen took off, so I hit the Dairy Queen in the airport. I noticed that they didn’t have a Banana Split on their menu. But I asked the girl behind the register if they could make one. She said yes. But I wasn’t convinced by the way she said it that she knew what I was talking about. I explained that it had 3 scoops of ice cream, with caramel, strawberry and pineapple topping and an entire banana split in two. She looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. I guess I was. I was speaking English. It was a foreign language to her, anyway. She took my money and then headed out of the store. Huh? She returned with a plastic bowl and started making the weirdest banana split I had ever seen in my life. She cut the banana into slices and put it in the bowl. Then she looked at me like, ‘Now what do I do?’ Strange. I coached her along and told her about the ice cream. She said they were out of pineapple topping so I asked her to put in extra strawberry topping. My question is…if she didn’t know what a banana split was when she took my order, what exactly did she charge me for in the first place? But it still tasted pretty good and I moved on to find my gate. I came in at the F terminal, but the little “puddle jumper” planes (like the ones that fly from Minneapolis to Aberdeen) fly out of the A terminal. So I had a LOOOONG way to go. But I had plenty of time. I found a Godfather’s Pizza and grabbed a small, personal pizza. I found my gate and ate my pizza. Lots of people in the area have coughs, so if that’s the case I’ll fit right in with mine. But still I was worried about making it through the two long speeches without hacking and coughing. I sat there waiting for my flight and I went over my speech one last time. While I was walking through the airport I tried a “rapid breathing” technique. It’s like a dog panting. I figured if taking lots of breaths while giving a speech loosened the phlegm in my lungs, then I would try and force the phlegm to loosen before I spoke. That way I can get it out of my system to mitigate any coughing during the speech. My friend Brittney’s flight got in at 8:45 and I had texted her to grab a ride from one of the guys driving the little electric carts. The flight to Aberdeen started boarding at 9:20 so time was tight. She made it to our gate just in time! All was going very well. We got to Aberdeen and it was a chilly 40 degrees! The room I originally had was 211 but it wasn’t working for some reason. So the guy at the desk gave me room 111. Lucky number! I got my Fed Ex boxes and unpacked everything I would need for the speeches the next day. I continued organizing things around the room and put all my clothes away. I spent a very restless night of only four hours of sleep. I had to get up at 6, get dressed and get to the high school at 7:30am to start preparing for the speeches! I wasn’t nervous about the speeches themselves. I could do those in my sleep. But this cough was ruining my life!

Friday the 10th – AN EN-CHANT-ED EVENING! – I was glad to hear the alarm go off at 6am. I wasn’t sleeping very well anyway and I was psyched up to give these speeches to the student body. I got cleaned up and Brittney and I met my folks (who had driven up to Aberdeen from Sioux Falls for the festivities) in the hotel lobby. It was still dark outside! We got to the school around 7:15 and got everything set up. I was amazed when I walked into the new Thomas F. Kelly Theater. Mr. Kelly was my drama teacher in high school and when he passed away in 2004 they named the new school’s theater after him. Nice! I put my special reading lamp on the podium, along with a bottle of water, my script and some lozenges. I took a teaspoonful of “Dr. Patt Juice,” a miraculous cough syrup he prescribes me when I need to NOT cough at all! Unlike the Codeine cough syrup that’s normally prescribed, that loosens the phlegm in the chest and helps you sleep, this amazing medicine totally shuts off the coughing, by telling the brain simply “don’t cough.” I prayed it would work for the next four hours! Gretchen Sharp, from the Alumni Association at Aberdeen Central, met us in the parking lot and walked us in. I met “Dr. U” the Principal and we chatted for a bit. The new school is amazing! Not at all like the old, vintage building I went to school in. It was time to give the first speech. Though it was 8:20am Central time (6:20am MY time) I was bouncing off the walls with exuberance. After all, it was early in the morning, the kids were probably tired too, and the last thing I wanted to do was bore them. Right off the bat I started in with the jokes, poking a little fun at the Principal “Dr. U” and referring to him as some weird James Bond villain. Then I started in with the impressions. The speech went very VERY well and I got a standing ovation when it was all over. And best of all? Not a SINGLE cough! Thanks Dr. Patt! As the freshmen and sophomores were being led out of the theater, some of the kids came up to get photos and autographs. Then it was time to do it all over again for the juniors and seniors. Though I had timed the speech out at home to 52 minutes, allowing for 15 minutes for a Q&A, I actually ran out of time and had to cut a bunch out! I guess I hadn’t allowed enough time for crowd reactions, improvisation with the audience and other last-minute ideas. But it went well. But for the second speech I knew exactly what parts to leave out. Even still, I had to do some more cutting because the juniors and seniors were a VERY engaged audience. They asked a lot of great questions. The students especially liked the part when I talked about the crush I had on my typing teacher Miss Weins. She is still teaching today (retiring this year though) but is now known as Mrs. Weins-Kersten. She was at the second speech and it was a great time having a little fun with her. She was a very good sport and the kids loved it! They blessed me with another standing ovation. After the speech she came up and gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, “I always knew you were talented but I had no idea you’d go this far.” That really made my day! I posed for more photos with the kids and signed some more autographs. The next event in the theater was Drama Club. The head of the club asked if I would stay around and play improv games with them. WOULD I?! You couldn’t keep me away! But my folks, who were at both speeches, were getting a bit hungry, as was Brittney. So I only had time for one game before we had to split. So many kids were still hanging around me, that the school felt it best if they have their campus Police Officer, (Officer Jeff) escort my party to my car. WOW! I had never had a police escort before, and Officer Jeff was a swell guy! It was homecoming weekend for the high school and the school spirit was everywhere. Lots of the kids were dressed in the school’s blue and gold colors. Some had blue and yellow make-up on their face. Even Dr. U was dressed wildly in the school colors to show his support! What a magical morning. During the speech I mentioned that one of the things I adored about growing up in Aberdeen was going to the Twist Cone, a local outdoor ice cream store. I used to get footlongs, barbecues, malts and chips there before my radio shifts. Twist Cone is about two blocks from the radio station so it was very handy! Figuring that they had already closed for the winter, I was elated to hear that this very weekend would be their last weekend of operation before closing down until March. WHAT?! Twist Cone still open?! I gathered up my folks and Brittney and headed over. When I got there some of the staff had remembered me from the last time I was there obsessing over their food. I love their soft serve vanilla ice cream twisted in with something called “Italian Ice,” a tangy, sherbet-esque soft serve treat. My favorite flavor of Italian Ice is Strawberry Butter. When Stewie on “Family Guy” says “I think I just had an orgasm in my mouth,” that would pretty much sum up the taste of Strawberry Butter Italian Ice! As luck would have it, the final flavor of Italian Ice for their closing weekend was…(drum roll)…STRAWBERRY BUTTER! Could this weekend be any better? (Yes! Read on!) As we sat at the picnic table eating our lunch, a guy walked up to us and said, “Hi Wally.” I recognized him immediately as my former neighbor Blake Bomesberger. My folks loved seeing him too, and we chatted for quite a while. Blake recalled the time we would take masking tape and tape out lines on his basement floor to denote where the transporter platform was when we played “Star Trek.” We would hustle home from school at 3, grab a snack, then put on our Star Trek clothes and watch the show on TV at 4. When it was over we’d go downstairs and re-enact what we had just seen (as best as we could) and then I’d head home for dinner at 5:30. Ahhhh the good old days. My folks were curious about seeing the old Aberdeen Central building, so we hopped in the car and drove over to the old school. Luckily there was somebody there to let us in to the Alumni Room, so they could see my old Elvis Presley costume on the mannequin. I had donated it to the school several years ago, since the costume was created for an act I did in the school’s talent show back in 1978. I had been on the school’s stage countless times in my two years at Central, but I had forgotten that my dad had been on that stage too when he was in college! So it was a kick to go into the theatre and walk the old boards again. I think my dad was enjoying the day as much as I was! But unlike my dad, I had never appeared on that stage wearing a grass skirt and coconut bra. As a lark in his old college days, he dressed up with a buddy as hula girls and sang “I Love You, a Bushel and a Peck.” Oh the history! I was getting a little tired so we went back to the hotel and I grabbed a nap before the big homecoming football game at 7 that night. I felt high. The speeches went well, I seemed to actually connect with the kids, and I didn’t cough once! We got to the football game, all bundled up, and sat in our designated area. The first half went by and the Hall of Fame inductees were ushered down to the field to be introduced to the crowed during the half-time break. As I walked up to the gate to get on the field, I heard the large group of “school spirit” kids in the center section start to chant “Wal-ly! Wal-ly! Wal-ly!” I turned and acknowledged the honor, waved and did a little dance, then took a bow. It was one of the coolest things I had ever heard and I’ll be darned but I didn’t get one frame of video of it! Oh well, it’ll always be lodged in my memory as one super cool moment. It really made my weekend. When the introductions were over I posed for a few more pics with the kids and signed some autographs. My brother-in-law Roger’s birthday was that day as well, so after the half-time ceremony we took off to a place called Maverick’s to get steaks. With a tummy full of delicious Midwestern meat I headed back to the hotel to get some much-deserved sleep. But I was still high from the day!

Saturday the 11th – A HUGE HONOR! – Sleeping all the way until noon felt REALLY good! I woke up feeling great. I met up with my old pal Steve “Hutch” Hatt (he was Hutch to my Starsky when we played Starsky & Hutch as kids) who had driven up from Sioux Falls for the Hall of Fame banquet. We had lunch at the Millstone and met up with my other sister Peggy and her new husband Jeff there. Brittney was totally digging on the Midwestern vibe…the people, the food, the scenery and smells. After lunch I headed back to the Twist Cone to get some dessert. While waiting in line I saw a guy with a cap that read “South Dakota Viet Nam Veteran.” I asked him if he was a real Viet Nam vet and he said he was. I shook his hand and thanked him for his service and told him I was sorry about the rotten and unfair reception those guys go when they returned home. I headed back to the hotel and it was VERY windy out! I showered up and got my stuff packed up for the banquet and induction ceremony. My sisters Peggy and Bonnie helped me set up the memorabilia table at the school, while Bonnie’s husband Roger set up the slide show on his computer and a monitor that the school provided. When we finished they went back to the hotel to change into their nice clothes, but I brought mine along and changed at the school. It was fun hanging out about a half hour before the banquet started. I was mostly by myself, though a few workers busied themselves amongst the tables and decorations. I knew it would be a very special evening. My family and friends arrived at 5:00 to start the banquet and we had a very enjoyable “social hour” meet and greet. A lady brought an elderly woman over to me and I turned to greet them. The elderly lady said, “I had you in fifth grade.” My mind reeled. I said, “You’re not Mrs. Kusler so…” It was then I looked into her eyes and instantly remembered. “Mrs. Davies!” She lit up and said “Yes!” I gave her a big hug and we chatted for quite a while. I will always remember that, when I was having trouble with math in fifth grade, she spent time after school to work with me on my multiplication tables. It was also in fifth grade that I got involved in my first play…”The Wizard of Oz.” It was great seeing her and it really added to the magical quality of the weekend! After the dinner it was time to go into the Thomas F. Kelly theatre and start the induction ceremony. There were 10 inductees, and since a few had already passed away, they had people speaking on their behalf. Mrs. Davies, at the age of 97, got up and gave a wonderful speech about a classmate of hers who was being inducted. Many of the speeches were touching and tear-inducing. Since I would be the last speaker of the evening, I was more determined than ever to end the evening on a high, humorous note. I was literally writing more jokes into my speech as I sat and listened to the other speeches. I got up and accepted my golden eagle award and took the podium. I thanked the Alumni Association, I thanked the Principal, I thanked my friends and family who had come to be there with me, and I thanked Mrs. Davies. I took the microphone off the stand and walked back to the table of inductees and gave Mrs. Davies a kiss on the cheek and thanked her for all she’s done. The theatre’s acoustics echoed with a collective “Awwwww!” She’s a great lady, and at the age of 97 I’m not sure if or when I’ll see her again. So there’s not time like the present, right? It was a wonderful evening with lots of fun, family and friends. Afterwards I headed back to Twist Cone for some quick dessert, then we went to a place some friends of ours owned called Retrocade. It’s an arcade that specializes in 80’s-era only videogames. They closed it down for a private party for us. Then we headed out to the roller rink, also owned by friends of ours, where my nieces got to skate and have some fun while we all chatted and got caught up. Our former Aberdeen neighbors the Coyle family have always been good family friends and it’s always great seeing them. One of their employees at the rink was still there and he walked up to me. They said he used to do radio with me back in the 70’s. I knew right away it was our morning man Dan Nikolas! Boy was it fun talking about the old radio days and catching up on stuff! But by the time we finished talking it was about 1am. It had been a very long day. So we braved the windy evening and headed back to the hotel. What a day! What a weekend! What an honor!

Sunday the 12th – It was back to Maverick’s for brunch with a bunch of family and friends. We were joined by Dan and Carmen Rux, who have owned the house our family lived in since we moved away in 1978. I had made contact with them two years ago when I was back in Aberdeen in 2012. They’re VERY nice folks! After lunch they were kind enough to let our family look through the house and reminisce. One of my favorite pictures from those days is a shot of my mom and I standing in the main bathroom, as she’s darkening my teen-age sideburns with mascara as I prepared to do my Andy Kaufman act at the school’s talent show. I decided we had to do a “then and now” shot and re-enact that shot. Especially considering that the wallpaper in the bathroom hadn’t been changed since the original photo was taken in 1977! After the tour of the house it was, you guessed it, back to Twist Cone. But this time my order was on the house! The TC management was so grateful that I had given them plugs in my speeches that they paid me off with frosty treats! While we were in the area, Brittney and I went out to the Storybook Land park to see the Land of Oz exhibit. It was VERY nice, and I don’t think I had ever seen how extensive it was. When I was there in 2012 I breezed through it quickly in my car because I was short on time, but Brittney and I actually walked through it. Fantastic! We drove back to the hotel to bid my family goodbye before they hit the road back to Sioux Falls. As soon as they left, it hit me. I was really exhausted! I walked through Walmart like a zombie getting some last-minute supplies before I packed up my clothes for the trip home. I had three boxes of stuff to ship home and I needed packing tape. I also picked up a really nice American flag as a gift for the Rux family. As we were bidding them farewell, Carmen mentioned that the flag that was flying overhead was getting torn. I can see why considering how windy it had been all weekend! So Brittney suggested it would be a nice gift to thank them for their hospitality. I packed up the three boxes and sealed them. One box had clothes and various things. The other box had the delicate action figures. And the third box was the award I had been given at the induction ceremony. They would all arrive in L.A. by Friday. Since this was Twist Cone’s final night of operation for the 2014 season, we got in the car for one final hurrah! When we got outside we saw that it had been raining. Not heavily, but a nice little shower. I played old 70’s tunes on my iPad as we cruised around my old hometown slowly. I was drinking in the beautiful sights of the moistened Midwestern town of my youth. We got to Twist Cone, got our food and sat in the car just eating and watching. We watched the people scurry up to the counter to order their final taste of Twist Cone goodness for 2014. I listened to the music, ate my food, and enjoyed watching the crowd. It was a real magical moment for me! I couldn’t stay until 10pm and watch them turn out the beautiful lighted Twist Cone sign once and for all, so I headed back to the hotel to get as much sleep as I could. But first we needed to gas up the rental car, and drop off the flag on the Rux’s doorstep. Then it was back to the room to clean up and get a few hours of sleep. The flight to Minneapolis would come VERY early the next morning!

Monday the 13th – AFTERGLOW! – I managed to wake up before my alarm went off at 4am. I got showered, threw my final items into my bag and we lugged the baggage to the car. We drove down the rainy street to the airport, returned the rental car, and went inside to check in and board our flight. While we waited to board a guy named Cal approached me and said how much he enjoyed my speeches at the school. He works at the school and told me how much the kids also enjoyed the speeches. That was music to my ears. I had actually said something that they were interested in! Whew! Mission accomplished! The flight to Minneapolis was nice and fast, but we had a few hours before the flight to L.A. took off. We found a great breakfast place in the airport and enjoyed a nice, leisurely breakfast. We board the flight at 8:30am and breezed back to L.A.! What a trip! Delta is my new favorite airline! And it was certainly nice to be back in warm weather. I got my car and drove home to get settled. Roxy and Spook were glad to see me. No sooner did I drop my bags than I had to get ready for a 2pm session for “Sailor Moon.” Luckily the studio was within walking distance, so I leashed up Roxy and took her with me! After the session I came back home, did a little work, and took a four hour nap on the couch! When I got up later I did some auditions and got back into the swing of things. I unpacked and decompressed. The trip was virtually perfect in every way. It far exceeded my dreams and expectations. I settled in to my own bed with a Tombstone pizza and another episode of “Kojak” on DVD.

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

This is very likely the weirdest Banana Split I’ve ever been served at a Dairy Queen! But it was tasty!

At the Aberdeen Central Alumni Room, the old Elvis costume is still hangin’ in!

In the Thomas F. Kelly Theatre (the new theatre named after my late Drama instructor) I tell the kids about the business of Voice-Over.

At the Central homecoming football game, the students chant their enthusiasm!

It was fun posing for photos with the students

At half-time, the 2014 Hall of Fame inductees are honored.

At the school, on their Wall of Fame!

My sister Bonnie and her husband Roger set up the memorabilia table

It’s all set and ready to go!

The banquet begins!

Here’s my typing teacher Sandy “Fine” Weins. I mentioned her in my speech as being one of the teachers who taught me a valuable skill I still use to this very day!