NOTE FROM WALLY: I took a hiatus from writing Wally’s Week because I’ve been busy traveling over the past month. It’s been QUITE the June! But fear not, I took copious notes during my travels and homogenized them all into entries for your perusal. It’s a long read, but worth it. Enjoy!
RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
When I saw these on-line I began drooling. I HAD these as a kid! Of course I stuck them everywhere, and no longer have them. But the artwork on these are beautiful! Good memories!
When “Life Of Illusion” by Joe Walsh came up on my device, I realized that, yeah…I was living a life of illusion. The amazing month that I was having couldn’t possibly be real!
Monday the 8th – SOME GOOD…SOME BAD! – One of my reps scheduled me for a private signing for a company in Arizona. They brought in a few hundred Renji Funko Pops and met me at his house in Chatsworth so I could sign them. It turned into being quite a long afternoon, as some of the quotes they wanted me to write on the boxes were quite long. And each thing I wrote had to be in different colors…one color for the quote, one color for the character name, and another color for the signature. But, that’s how the fans like it, so that’s what I did. However, it was quite fun. I drove over to Alex In Wonderland to drop off some fabric I had recently purchased for a sash I wanted to wear at the upcoming Sons of the Desert convention in San Diego. I stopped at the post office to drop off some packages that had to be sent out that day, and then I hurried over to my own mailbox place to see the notary to get some documents notarized. I beat feet to get there before he left at 6, but when I got there he had already left…and it was only 5:40pm. Apparently he had to leave early because of an emergency. I hope everyone’s all right! I did pick up a few packages though, and then headed back home. I had to meet with the Board of Directors at our homeowner’s association about a situation that happened a few weeks ago. They wanted to get my testimony about the incident before they made a decision about what action to take. I just told them the truth, even though one of the Board members kept trying to put words in my mouth (which I absolutely despise), and went on my merry way. I had lots of stuff to do, so I couldn’t waste much time. During Monsterpalooza weekend I met a former artist for “Invader Zim,” and we had a great time chatting. I invited him and his wife over for a tour of Planet Wallywood. Since they’re moving to Arizona soon, and I’m leaving town this Wednesday for South Dakota, I decided tonight would be perfect. Aaron and Amy loved touring my house and it was great getting to know them better. During the production of “Invader Zim” the Voice Actors and the artists who did all of the work on the animation rarely got to meet. So this was a real treat! I relaxed for a bit, and then recorded some auditions. I typed out Wally’s Week, and did some work around the house. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to do my nightly WOG because there was too much to do!
Tuesday the 9th – PACKED, PACKED, PACKED, AND PACKED! – Because I ran out of time to do everything I wanted to get accomplished yesterday, today was the day I had to tend to those errands. I went to the bank and dropped off some deposits, finally had my documents notarized and mailed off, and did a few more things. Since I’m leaving for our children’s cancer charity Voices Against Cancer early tomorrow morning, I packed, and packed and packed some more. I slipped my “travel Kermit” in as well, so I could have some puppet fun at the convention. It’s going to be a great week in South Dakota. Plus my pal Sheriff John is flying in from Florida and meeting me in South Dakota to hang out too!
Wednesday the 10th – SIOUX FALLS…HERE I COME! – At 6:45am my eyes sprang awake, I cleaned up, packed some last-minute items, and headed to the airport. I checked in and, as is my usual tradition, I had breakfast at one of the airport eateries. $40 for a ham and egg sandwich, a banana and an orange juice is excessive…but hey…I could have easily stopped at McDonald’s on the way. We left L.A. at 9:08 am, right on time, and made it to Denver early. Which is good because we arrived at the far end of the A concourse, and my connecting flight was at the far end of the B concourse. And the Denver airport is HUGE! Luckily they have a pretty speedy little train that takes you there, so I found my gate and all was good. But the plane we got on was really, really tiny, so it was quite uncomfortable. To make matters worse, we had to sit on the tarmac for about 45 minutes to “burn off some fuel,” and the air conditioning wasn’t working that well. I tried to meditate and even nap to make it better. We landed in Sioux Falls at 4:39pm, a bit later than we should have (but at least we made it safely) and I went downstairs to get my rental car and my luggage. They gave me a brand new Nissan Rogue. In the past I’ve really loved having a Rogue, but this recent model had been re-designed considerably. And not in a good way. I ended up hating that car by the end of the week. The weather in Sioux Falls was absolutely gorgeous, and quite a bit cooler than it should have been for June. And thankfully, it wasn’t humid at all! I checked in to my usual hotel by the lake, and though I reserved a balcony room (overlooking the lake) they only gave me a “lake view” room. It was just a room with a window facing the lake. I told them of the error and they promised to correct it first thing the next morning. I always love having a balcony room so I can open the balcony door, close the screen, and let some of that fresh South Dakota air into my room each night. I headed over to the Fry’n Pan for dinner, one of my family’s favorite local eateries. I joined my dad, my two sisters and their husbands. Two of my nieces even showed up. It was so much fun! When we finished it was time for me to head back to the airport to pick up Sheriff John, as his flight was getting in at 8. I loaded his stuff into my Rogue, and we headed off to get him checked into the hotel – the same hotel I was at. We got some supplies at the local Wal-Mart, and then I took him over to the Fry’n Pan for dinner – as he was very anxious to try out some of the local cuisine! For me though, it was dinner part 2. I just had a salad and some soup. But since the food in Sioux Falls is really REALLY good, I had no problem enjoying an encore meal. We headed back to the hotel, went to our rooms, and crashed out. I think I slept 12 hours!
Thursday the 11th – TOURIST TIME! – When I woke up I noticed that it had rained. Which is nice, because any humidity that was lingering in the air is now at a minimum. I got the call from the front desk that I could move rooms, so I packed everything up quickly, loaded them onto a cart, and went to my new room. Nice! But while it was one of those balcony rooms that I love, there wasn’t a screen on the balcony door. So anytime I opened the door to get some fresh air into the room, a thousand different kinds of bugs felt that they were welcome to join me…and flew in. So much for that idea. I showered up and met Sheriff John in the lobby so we could go pick up my dad for lunch. We headed to Arby’s (one of my dad’s favorite places) and Sheriff really enjoyed hearing all about my dad’s Army stories. If there’s one thing my dad loves, it’s telling tales about the two years he was in the Army back in the mid 50’s. I thought I had heard all of the stories, but as he was talking to Sheriff I discovered a few new ones I hadn’t heard yet. Precious times! I drove dad and Sheriff around Sioux Falls, pointing out several items of interest. The radio station where I worked, the places I used to hang out at, and I even introduced him to my high school girlfriend Sondee. She and her husband own a store called Resale Living, and since she works there 7 days a week, I always know I can find her there. We had fun chatting and reminiscing. Then I took them to the famous Sioux Falls and got some photos. Later we met some of my Sioux Falls friends at Ruby Tuesday’s for dinner. My dad likes the soup there because it’s PIPING hot. My dad ALWAYS wants his soup piping hot, and I can’t really blame him. We returned to the hotel and headed to my balcony for our first round of “Smokes ‘n’ Cokes.” Though I had stopped all sugar several months ago, I kinda fell off the wagon when my grandkids were in town the previous week. So, I figured since I was on vacation, a little more wouldn’t hurt. But I swear, the minute I’m back home…it’s no sugar again! Sheriff and I had fun enjoying our cigars and some ice cold Cokes in glass bottles! And the evening weather was GORGEOUS!
Friday the 12th – VOICES AGAINST CANCER: DAY 1! – Sheriff and I went to pick up my dad again, and we headed to the famous B&G Milky Way for lunch. Sheriff was aching to try some of those amazing sloppy joes I always talk about when I’m there. We sat at a table outside and enjoyed a fantastic lunch. And we topped off our meal with giant strawberry/vanilla twist cones! YUM! We got back to the hotel and I dove into my room to get ready for that evening’s Voices Against Cancer celebrity soiree at the home of my partner-in-the-charity Dr. Lou George. I drove to the Hotel On Phillips, the HQ for VAC, and saw the gang again. I brought Kermit out and we all had fun taking photos and videos. I saw my old Voice Actor pals Steve Downes and Michael Bell. It was great catching up! My daughter Lacey arrived and we headed to my car so we could follow the bus out to Dr. George’s castle. As usual, the party was totally amazing. Kermit was a big hit, and I was approached by one of our celebrity guests. Carly King had been at Monsterpalooza the week before and she told me about this amazing Muppet display in the museum. She showed me the pictures of it on her phone! I told her that was my exhibit and she couldn’t believe it! She has a real interest in puppetry, as well as building – so I told her when we’re back in L.A. to drop me a line and I’ll give her a tour. I also got to see my old pal Dammika there, along with his wife Dr. Heather. What a great time it was! When the party was over Lacey and I drove back to the hotel, I dropped her at her car, and I headed back to the hotel. Sheriff had been at a movie, and he was telling me about this film he saw called “Obsession” that he really liked. Then it was up to my room for another round of “Smokes ‘n’ Cokes!” Tomorrow the 605 Pop Culture Con starts!
Saturday the 13th – VOICES AGAINST CANCER: DAY 2! – Sheriff and I got to the convention at noon and it was in full swing. I saw a lot of old friends and everyone seemed to enjoy seeing Kermit. In fact, I saw a guy I know wearing a wonderful button-down shirt which featured a painting of Kermit playing his banjo. I had never seen one like that before, so I offered to buy it right off his back! He said he found it years ago at a thrift store in Sioux City, and paid 25 bucks for it. I told him I would double his money right then and there. But he had to think about it for a while, which I totally understood. He said the shirt was actually too small for him and he couldn’t button it in the front. He had a t-shirt on underneath. Later on in the afternoon he caught up with me and said he was going to just gift it to me. But I told him a deal was a deal…so I paid him 50 bucks. He said he was going to immediately spend the money on more autographs! Good man! I caught up with my grandkids, Lacey and Andy – and we walked around the convention. Since this was their second year at the con, my grandkids were now “old pros,” and they knew exactly what they wanted to do and see. The previous week, my 15 year old grandson Elliot spent all of the money he had saved up for the trip on the first day in L.A.! At Monsterpalooza, he found a vendor who had a really nice 3D printed Master Chief helmet from the “Halo” games. When I tell people the story about Elliot spending all of his vacation money on the helmet during his first day in L.A., my friends all say, “I totally get it, man. I totally get it.” Though Elliot was having a teensy weensy bit of buyer’s remorse at the time, realizing that he had NO money left to spend on anything else during their vacation, I brightened him up by telling him that the voice of Master Chief (Steve Downes) was coming to Sioux Falls for Voices Against Cancer! And that not only was Steve a friend of mine, but that he’d sign the helmet too! So when Elliot finally got up through the long line to Steve’s table, I yelled over to Steve, “THAT’S MY GRANDSON ELLIOT!” Steve immediately took him to the side and started whispering stuff into his ear. Then he signed his helmet, and even suggested that they take a “table selfie” together. Because of the long line, table selfies weren’t being allowed. But the kind Mr. Downes made an exception for Elliot. When I asked Elliot later what Steve whispered to him, Elliot replied, “He was doing lines from the game for me.” TOO COOL! Sheriff, who has always been a fan of the rock group KISS, was shocked when I told him that Michael Bell dubbed the voice of Peter Criss in the TV movie “KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park.” Michael was telling us some fun stories about it too! We left the convention around 5pm and it was a wonderful day! My grandkids had a blast, Sheriff had lots of fun, and I had a brand new Kermit shirt! On the last day my grandkids were in L.A. last week, I went to their hotel to see them off before they took off for home. I gave each grandchild a card with a personal note and dollar bill of a sizable amount. At the end of the afternoon, my 8 year old granddaughter was very proud to tell me that she donated the money I gave her to the cat rescue that had a booth at the convention. She put it toward the cat’s adoption fee, as an incentive to some potential adopter of that cat in hopes to seal the deal, and get that kitty a good home. Sweet! I headed back to the hotel room to clean up and change, and we all met at Godfather’s pizza for dinner. EVERYBODY was there, and it was wonderful! Even my old Sioux Falls pal Dave Baumeister showed up to join us! When Sheriff and I got back to the hotel, we sat around the fire pit downstairs by the lake and visited with my pals Smith & Maguire. Once again, Sheriff and I enjoyed another round of “Smokes ‘n’ Cokes.” I’ve had more sugar this past week than I’ve had the entire past four months! And I’ve had more cigars this past week than I’ve had in the past year! But hey! Good friends! Good times!
Sunday the 14th – VOICES AGAINST CANCER: DAY 3 – THE FINAL DAY! – When I awoke I had a text from Sheriff stating that he was pretty burnt out and he was going to lay low. He also said he was developing a cough that he thought might be a cold. (I suspected it might have been the past three nights of cigars – as neither he nor I are used to that!). As I got ready in my room to head to the convention, I got a call from Dr. George. He asked me if I brought any pictures to sign. I told him I hadn’t, but I had a flash drive with me that contained all the images of the photos I usually take to conventions. We figured out a strategy to get some photos printed on-site and I headed to the convention. I told him since I’m at the convention every year, nobody is going to be that interested in having me sign. He said, “You’d be surprised!” I hadn’t signed at VAC since year one back in 2022. Since I go every year as V.P. of the organization, and not a Voice Actor who’s signing, I didn’t think anyone would be that interested in my autograph. But five years is a good amount of time between signings, so I said I’d be glad to sign again. Plus, the new Renji Funko Pop was out, so I figured people might want to get those signed! Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as we got a small quantity of pictures printed…we’d run out. My runner would go get more printed…and we’d run out again! In fact, my line never ended…and it made me happy beyond belief! It was SO much fun! I had lunch, and then said my goodbyes to the gang. I stayed around until the show closed and then headed back to the hotel to rest. Later we all met at the Fry’n Pan for dinner, and once again it was a great group! Dad, grandkids, Sheriff, friends, Smith & Maguire…EVERYBODY. My daughter Lacey said, “What do you want for Father’s Day?” I spread my arms out and smiled, “I’m getting it right now!” It was quite an evening! Since I was taking off early the next morning, this was our last chance to chat. We took a group shot out in front of the restaurant, and then we went outside to say our goodbyes. But suddenly I realized in horror…I HAD FORGOTTEN TO PAY THE CHECK! I ran back in and paid up. Whew! Sheriff and I went back to the hotel to pack up. Sheriff’s flight the next morning was really REALLY early, so he hit the sack. I spent a few hours packing up some stuff to get ready to take off Monday afternoon.
And now…onto the NEXT week’s adventures!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
My pal Dammika, fellow Voice Actor Dee Bradley Baker, and Dammika’s wife Dr. Heather at the Voices Against Cancer “castle soiree” on Friday night!
VAC photographer Jon couldn’t resist getting a pic with the frog!
Dad and I at Fry’n Pan, getting ready for lunch!
While we were four stories up, having a beautiful view of the downtown Sioux Falls area, a ladybug landed on my dad’s shoulder. I wasn’t aware that ladybugs could fly that high! (NOTE: Ladybugs can fly as high as 3,600 feet!) I told him my mom might have sent it as a message that she was with us!
At the convention, it was a blast seeing all the folks!
And Kermit had a fun time too!
Steve Downs poses with my grandson Elliot after signing his “Halo” helmet!
Mission accomplished!
A happy man!
More puppet fun at the convention! Natalie has her “Puppet Up” puppet that she’s named Ruby, and my grandson Devin takes control of the frog. They’re both EXCELLENT puppeteers! And my son-in-law Andy even gets in on the fun!
And it was great running into my old pal Tom Simmons and his family!
On Sunday it was sign, sign, sign! Happy to help make a bunch of money for VAC!
One of the kitties in the cat rescue was “conventioned out!” Time for a nap.
Natalie, Ruby and my dad enjoying some after-dinner conversation.
Andy, Ruby, Natalie and Lacey frolic at our table!
The gang’s all here! Andy, Lacey, Ruby, me, Elliot, Devin, dad, Natalie, Patti and Scott Maguire, and Sheriff John. What a time! (But don’t forget to pay the check!!)
Another gorgeous South Dakota sunset! See you soon, South Dakota!
