RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
I had never seen this picture of Patrick McGoohan as the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh before! It’s in the daylight so you can see all the details of that amazing mask! What a great film!
Even though Joe Jackson’s first hit was “Is She Really Going Out With Him” was more of a ‘new wave” tune, he later went into doing full orchestral music. “Steppin’ Out” was a terrific tune, but I really loved “You Can’t Get What You Want.” I’ve been humming it all week!
WALLY’S WEEKS Pt. One
Monday the 5th – A PERFECT GUY! – Though I only got a couple hours’ worth of sleep, I decided to get up and start the day. It was the beginning of the end of our heat wave, and though it was 100 degrees out I met my assistant Emily for lunch on the patio at Paty’s. Actually, since we’re back to the standard dry heat of L.A., it was quite pleasant. A few weeks ago the heat was accompanied by humidity because of the hurricane that was looming off the west coast and it was miserable. But this was actually enjoyable. I’ll miss summer when it finally goes away for good. I came home to balance my corporate books, and then headed to Alex In Wonderland to pick up some work they did for me. Alex fixed the mouth of my Guy Smiley replica Muppet, and he looks absolutely perfect! I can’t wait to get this “guy” finished, as he’s going to be a winner! Her husband Mike also cut a few wire rods for me for his arms, and he also refurbished an old Radio Shack microphone with a wire rod that Guy can use as a microphone. The wires in his fingers will wrap around the microphone, and since the cord of the microphone is a wire, I’ll be able to manipulate his arm with that. Mike also filled some plastic Christmas ornaments that I bought at Hobby Lobby with resin to fortify them, and then he sanded off the seams. Those will be the eyes I’ll use for the Yip Yip Martian Muppet replicas I’m also making. I came back home to relax, took my WOG (walk/jog) later, and then spent some time in the anti-gravity chair outside. I came inside to write Wally’s Week, made a “Paladin saladin” and watched a few episodes of “Have Gun – Will Travel.”
Tuesday the 6th – “WATER” YOU TALKING ABOUT?! – When I was done watching “Have Gun – Will Travel,” I was ready to turn in and get some sleep. As I was taking my food tray down to the kitchen I heard a ruckus outside my kitchen window. I opened the blinds and saw a virtual river of rushing water flowing down our newly paved and renovated driveways! This did NOT look good. I threw on my track suit and headed down to see what was going on. I always wanted riverfront property, but this was ridiculous! I took one step into my garage and “SQUISH!” My feet hit standing water. The rushing water had intruded into my garage! And it was getting worse by the second! I opened my garage door and found the fire department, our property manager, and our maintenance guys frantically trying to pump water from a nearby unit. But the water was rushing into my garage at an unmanageable pace! They didn’t have enough sandbags handy to stop it. All I could do was stand there and wade through the deepening lake that once was my garage. I estimated it to be about 4 inches deep at its worst point. I immediately drove my car out of the garage and parked it in a nearby guest parking spot. Come to find out a city-owned water main had ruptured down the street. This was a water main that served fire hydrants, so the line was very high pressure. Apparently when this happens the escaping water rushes down the pipe’s pathway until it finds the path of least resistance. In this case, it was a point directly in the middle of our common driveway. Until the technicians could find the leak and shut the water off, the water was going to continue flowing into my garage. My neighbors were frantically trying to perform water abatement procedures, but since my house sits just a little lower than theirs, I received the majority of the water intrusion. Just as soon as I bailed the water out, more would come rushing in. I felt like I was in a Laurel & Hardy movie. The maintenance crew brought a golf cartful of sandbags, but by then the major damage had been done. My garage was now a lake. While doing a quick mental assessment of things that I probably lost, I couldn’t think of anything super valuable at first. When my water heater sprung a leak several years ago I had the idea of putting everything of value that was on my garage floor in plastic bins. So I knew my tax documents, legal papers, etc. were all protected pretty well. But before I do an official assessment I’m going to have to let my insurance people inspect it after it all dries out completely. The water came up to the entry way leading to the interior of my house, but I grabbed a sandbag and put it inside my entry way so the water wouldn’t get into my house. It also helped that the door transition is raised, so that helped repel the water as well. It took about 45 minutes until the city crew could turn off the valve, and once they did the water intrusion stopped. Now the maintenance guys were busy with push brooms and a squeegee to get rid of the standing water in my garage. They also brought two dehumidifiers over and suggested I run them steadily for the next several days. They also said to leave my garage door open slightly, as the naturally hot, dry weather would help dry things out as well. And as if my luck couldn’t have gotten worse, I found out I lost a gig on a video game that I had been cast in. The recording schedule the producers set would happen during the week I’d be visiting family in South Dakota…the very next week! Since the producer was flying in to L.A. to direct the sessions personally, they had no flexibility in scheduling. Oh well, easy come easy go. Once I was convinced that there wasn’t anything more I could do in the garage, I finally went upstairs to shower and get a few hours of sleep. When I woke up later I went downstairs to survey the damage. The garage was drying out, but a large piece of indoor/outdoor carpeting that I had installed in front of my washer/dryer was completely soaked through. Thinking that indoor/outdoor carpet was designed to be soaked, I took some comfort in that. I pulled as much of it up as I could so the floor underneath could dry out. When my contractor Terry installed it several years ago he did such a great job that it will be difficult to remove it entirely, as it’s attached in several places. I went outside to look around at the damage. Our newly paved driveway was all ripped and bubbly – obviously it will have to be completely redone AGAIN! The high pressure water moved under the asphalt with such force it literally lifted the asphalt and moved it around like a layer of whipped cream on a cake. Worst of all, in the middle of all this mess, there was an 8 foot wide sinkhole! What a mess. And good luck getting anything from the city. If we tried to sue them it would be tied up in courts for decades. I went back inside and rested a bit more to catch up on sleep. I wasn’t really in the mood to WOG tonight, as I had exercised quite heartily while repelling all the water and frantically moving things around in my garage! Besides, my daughter Lacey would be coming to L.A. in a few days and I had lots to do. I put fresh sheets on the Puppet Room bed, did some laundry, and started the dehumidifiers again. Things are drying out slowly, and the weather is really helping. What a freakin’ day!
Wednesday the 7th – I NEED A BREAK! – My assistant Emily and my pal Edi met me at Bob’s Big Boy for lunch. They couldn’t believe the story about my garage situation. All of my neighbors had manageable water intrusion with little or no damage, but because of the instability of the pavement, none of us can use the driveway to park in our garages. So we all have to park elsewhere while this crisis is being rectified. I went to my box to pick up some packages, hit the post office to send some mail, and then went to Staples to pick up a few things. I went to CVS to get some supplies and then got some groceries. It was still 100+ degrees out as it approached evening, and since I can’t park in my garage, I had to haul a bunch of groceries a long way to get them in my house. I hope this gets rectified soon, but I have my doubts that it will happen soon. Knowing how slow the bureaucracy of this city works, I’m expecting us to be garageless for about a month or so. Our management is promising a lot sooner, but I think it’s a pipe dream…and I’m more of a realist. Needless to say I’m really looking forward to getting away to South Dakota for a vacation next week! I recorded an audition, and then got some rest. I got up to do some work around the house, take my WOG, and I spent some time in the anti-grav chair enjoying (what will probably end up being) my final cigar of the summer. The heatwave is ending, and to me, cigars are “summer” things only. Not only will it be cooling off, but we’re expecting rain this weekend! I went inside to pack a few things, and then I sat down to work on my Lacey photo album. All of the photos I had taken of Lacey as a baby some 43 years ago were falling out of their original photo albums due to age. I thought it would be nice to put them all in a nice, new photo album and have it ready by the time she got here. I worked on it for several hours, but I was getting tired. As I was preparing to wrap up “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder popped up on my iPod! As I always say, “God is my DJ!” What are the chances? Out of 3600 songs on my iPod – what are the odds that song would come up just at that time? Shortly after Lacey was born on March 21st, 1983 I was on the radio later that afternoon. I played the full 7 minute version of that song to celebrate her birth! It’s always held great memories for me! Honestly…what ARE the chances?! Amazing.
Thursday the 8th – “SO YOU’LL WAIT UNTIL I’M PREGNANT …?” – I spoke with my insurance company early in the day to see if there’s any mold mitigation procedures they could offer. They told me something that made my logical mind swirl! They’ll only offer help AFTER the mold forms…with NO mitigation at all! I said to the agent, “So you’re going to wait until I’m pregnant, instead of giving me a condom, right?” He laughed and said that’s pretty much it. Totally, totally illogical. So instead of spending a few thousand dollars to mitigate mold growth after my flooded garage, they’d rather spend tens of thousands of dollars to get rid of the mold AFTER it forms. Not only is it stupid, but it’s possibly endangering my health! Lacey’s flight is set to arrive at 9pm and everything is apparently on-time. She’s having much better luck with her flight than I’ve had with the airlines of late! Finally some GOOD news! I cleaned up and went to the airport to pick up my eldest daughter. Per my instruction, she had seen the movie “Obsession” the night before. There was a reason I wanted her to see that film. We went to dinner at Little Toni’s so I could show her the location where they filmed Nikki’s meltdown scene – “I thought we were having a nice date!” At first the table was occupied (it’s a VERY popular table now), but I asked our server if we could be seated there after it was vacated. Sure enough, the people left and we were seated in the booth! FUN! We got to Planet Wallywood and got her settled, and got prepared for our big weekend!
Friday the 9th – SWEET, SWEET MUSIC TO MY EARS! – We had to get up early to head to the McCambridge Recreation Center in Burbank. That’s where the Burbank Community Band does their Friday morning rehearsals, but it’s most famously known as the gymnasium where Marty McFly auditioned for the talent show for Huey Lewis! I’m going to be emceeing and performing with the band for their upcoming Halloween concert on October 24th, so they wanted me to come by and meet the band, and rehearse my numbers – “Monster Mash” and “Thriller.” We ran through “Monster Mash” a few times, and when they played “Thriller” (the show closer) I did the narration at the end – most famously done by Vincent Price. I don’t really imitate him, but I told them I could do a “Disneyesque” scary voice. It went very well, and I’m looking forward to the concert! It’s a 60 piece band complete with brass, woodwinds and a full percussion section! It’s made up of mostly-pro musicians who want to keep their music chops up in their retirement years! Many of these players have played with major orchestras in films and TV shows! After the rehearsal we went to Coral Café to meet with my pal George, who owns a publishing company called Baby Tattoo. We hadn’t met in a while, but he’s getting close to wanting to launch my Christoween story series! We talked about several artists that we may engage for the books, and though I wasn’t familiar with a lot of them, Lacey was ELATED when she heard some of the names. She follows them all voraciously! I’m glad I had her along. My gal Angi also joined us for a while, as Lacey asked to see her while she was in town. Angi will be leaving town on Monday the 12th for an extended performance tour, so it’ll be the last I’ll see of her for a while. I took Lacey to a lot of the shops and stores I figured she’d love on Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank. We shopped, and shopped, and shopped. But it was getting late, so we headed over to the Marriott Hotel Convention Center to check in for the first night of “Son of Monsterpalooza,” the main reason Lacey came to town. She’s a HUGE fan of the 1985 movie “Fright Night,” and she was set to meet the cast and its writer/director Tom Holland (NOT the Spider-Man kid)! We got a great shot with Tom, and she went to get an autograph with Deep Roy from “Never Ending Story,” another of her favorite films! While we were looking around at the dealers, my attention turned away for a second. I heard someone say, “Dad!” At first I paid it no mind. But then I realized it was Lacey talking to ME! Hearing the word “Dad” was sweet music to my ears. I hadn’t heard that in a very long time. We topped the evening off with dinner at the Daily Grill, and then we headed back to Planet Wallywood totally exhausted!
Saturday the 10th – DAMAGE REALIZATION! – Knowing that parking at “Son Of Monsterpalooza” is sometimes impossible, Lacey and I took a Lyft to the event. But when the car pulled up people were driving their cars onto the lot and parking with no problem. Rats! We headed into the convention and saw my pal Kelly Delcambre and James Braddock! We hung out for a while and got a great group shot with Tom Holland! The “Fright Night” panel was fantastic, and Lacey got her group photo op with three of the cast members! While talking to some friends I mentioned that I had all kinds of great signed posters that I had collected up over the years. Signed posters that…ARE IN MY GARAGE!!! OH NO! I hadn’t even thought of those when assessing the potential damage loss! I had tons of signed posters rolled up in several mailing tubes. I was POSITIVE that they were now all water damaged. RATS! I couldn’t wait to get home and check it out. We grabbed lunch at the Daily Grill, and then Kelly drove us to the Smoke House so we could meet Edi and Elliot Lurie. They gave us a ride back to Planet Wallywood and I immediately went down to the garage and dug out the huge box of mailing tubes. But miracle of miracles! The box that contained all of the mailing tubes filled with posters (though it was totally soaked at the bottom) had about 2 inches of plastic-covered foam filler at the bottom of the box! This elevated the posters ‘mostly’ out of harm’s way! To top that off, when I placed the caps on the bottom of the mailing tubes, I secured them on tightly with about 4 inches of cellophane packing tape! This provided a barrier for the level of water that intruded into my garage! Most of the posters were untouched!!! However, a few of the posters that were not rolled, but rather had been mounted on flat pieces of foam core, had minor damage. My two signed Austin Powers movie posters had minor water damage, as did my childhood Lynda Carter poster. I pulled them out and turned on the dehumidifiers again in hopes of drying them out! Lacey and I got a chance to look at some of the photo albums I put together of when she was a baby, and we had a good time browsing through them. Though I didn’t get the book completed, I got the photos from the first four years of her life all secured in the new album. Fun! Lacey was exhausted, but I spent the rest of the evening packing for my trip to Sioux Falls on Monday. It’s gonna be COLD there, so I’m bringing lotsa layers!
Sunday the 11th – MARK, MUSEUM, AND MARIONETTES! – My pal Mark Fullerton picked us up so we could head to the Academy Museum on Wilshire Boulevard. For a limited time they were featuring a salute to horror films. They had a lot of costumes and props from famous horror movies cleverly displayed on the top floor of the museum. However, I find it odd that very few horror films are ever nominated or WIN Oscars – even though it DOES happen. While in line we ran into our friend Brian and his wife Margaret who were also waiting to get in to the exhibit. It was PACKED that day! Mark said he’s never seen it so busy! I figured it was the Monsterpalooza people who were in town for the convention, but had decided to take Sunday to peruse the items in the museum. It was so packed that it almost was prohibitive to having a fun time. Mark promised me that he and I would go back during the week some time when it’s less busy. We tried to eat at the local DuPar’s, but the parking lot was full. Then we tried Canter’s Deli, but the parking lot was full. I’m hearing a lot of buzz about a “bad economy,” but to be honest – I’m not really seeing it. Every place was SWAMPED with people spending money! We decided to head back to Universal City to have lunch at Ernie’s Taco House. Mark dropped us back at Planet Wallywood so we could rest up and get set for that evening’s “Spooktacular” show at the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre. I’ve been wanting my pal Edi to see the show for years, and tonight she joined us for the performance. She was NOT disappointed. It was fabulous! On the drive back home the traffic was slow for about a half hour due to an accident on the freeway. But once we got back to Planet Wallywood we got ready for our early morning flight to South Dakota – Lacey to head back home, and me to visit family! EXCITING!
PIX FROM THE WEEK PT. ONE
A few shots of “Lake Wingert” from October 6, 2026! What a mess!
Our new sinkhole! Fun times!
Once the water receded we were left with a muddy, mucky mess.
If I had to have an alien bursting out of my torso, this would be MY choice!
A great “Halloween” cosplay group. (Poor Ben Tramer! IYKYK!)
“Fright Night” writer/director Tom Holland, Chris Sarandon, and Amanda Bearse at the panel!
The gang with Tom Holland after the panel! He also wrote and directed “Child’s Play” and started the whole “Chucky” thing!
Getting ready to rehears with the Burbank Community Band!
Bela Lugosi’s original (and recently restored) cape from “Dracula!”
This is the last known “pull” from the molds that were used to create the animatronic shark in “Jaws,” rescued from a junkyard by my pal Phil!
Make-up master Jack Pierce’s original make-up kit!
Speaking of Chucky, here are a few of the original dolls used in the film!
Look out Lacey! That’s not a South Dakota trout behind you!
Elsa Lanchester’s wig from “Bride of Frankenstein,” a prop from the most recent “Frankenstein” film, and a few recognizable utilities from the lab of Dr. Frankenstein! All used in the films!
This mask was worn by Ricou Browning for the underwater scenes in “Creature From The Black Lagoon!”
Creeping out of the crypt with the gang!
Is Bruce REALLY taking a bite out of Lacey’s head?!
Robert Englund’s costume from the first “Nightmare On Elm Street” film!
No caption necessary!
FINALLY! Lunchtime at Ernie’s!
(Thanks to Mark Fullerton for these amazing pictures!!!)
The Invisible Man literally falls to pieces over a beautiful green with in the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre production of “Spooktacular!”
The monster, Dracula, Vampira and Dr. Frankenstein – what’s not to love?!
The monster tips his hat…uh…head to the audience.
Rush right out to see “Spooktacular” IF you can get tickets!!
Here’s a detailed look at the water damage in my garage, followed by a taste of the Burbank Community Band during rehearsal, and my favorite part of the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre’s “Spooktacular” show!
WALLY’S WEEKS Continues with Pt. Two!
Monday the 12th – AT LAST – A BREAK! – Lacey and I got out of the house early for our trip to South Dakota. It’s the first time I’ve ever flown with my eldest daughter, so it’ll be a real treat! I parked at the Burbank Airport and I was told by the parking attendant that it’s the last day of operation for the airport in that location. Tuesday they’d be launching operations at the new, improved airport a half mile down the street, and I’d have to take a shuttle back to the old airport to get my car when I returned on Saturday. It’s wild to think that I was taking one of the last flights out of that airport location EVER! I’ll miss that old airport. Lotsa good times there. But…progress, ya know. Our trip to Denver was fantastic. Everything worked properly and we arrived on time. Lacey and I had lots of time to make it to our next gate, which was on the other side of the terminal. The big planes, like the kind they take from Burbank to Denver, park on one side of the terminal (Gate B19), but the little planes that fly from Denver to Sioux Falls fly out of gates B80 and above. So we got our exercise in! Unfortunately, the stupid airline kept texting me that they were changing our seats. They couldn’t decide on what type of aircraft they’d be using to get to Sioux Falls, so our original seats (which were booked next to each other) were going away once they decided to use a smaller plane. They divided us up, but I wasn’t having it. I rebooked us on seats that seated us together, though not in our original class. This airline screwed up in so many ways throughout the week that I can’t WAIT to fill out the lengthy survey that I’ll no doubt receive when I return home. They’re going to get an earful! We made it to Sioux Falls on time, however, and I was glad of that. When we got off the plane Lacey said, “Get ready for the onslaught.” She said that her husband Andy and the kids would be waiting for us as soon as we got out of the secure terminal area. Sure enough, there they were. What a fabulous time! My granddaughter leapt into my arms and I gave my grandsons a hug too. They took off for home (Lacey had REALLY missed her pets too!) and I got my rental car and headed to check into my usual room at the Hyatt by Lake Lorraine. I had a second to sit down, put my stuff down, and breathe. Then it was time to head over to the Fry’n Pan to meet my dad, my sister Peggy and brother-in-law Jeff for dinner. Though the hot beef sandwich I ordered tasted…odd. I headed back to the room to unpack and get settled. It’s going to be windy, chilly and rainy in Sioux Falls this week. Glad I packed layers!
Tuesday the 13th – A NEW ZOO REVIEW! – Since this was going to be the last “nice” day in a while, I decided to take my grandkids to the Great Plains Zoo. They were off from school for conferences, so we took advantage of the situation and hit the zoo. They hadn’t been in a very long time, and it had improved greatly since their last visit. In fact, it had REALLY improved since MY last visit, which was back in 1988! It really expanded. Oddly enough, I originally met their grandma Jamie at the park that used to be just up the hill from the zoo. Back in 1982 it was called Dennis the Menace park. The park is gone now, as that land had been annexed by the zoo for expansion of the enclosures. But I reminded the kids that they were standing on hallowed ground. If it hadn’t been for me being at that park on that particular night, they would be there with me now!! Unfortunately Jamie passed away from lung cancer when our grandsons were very young, and Natalie hadn’t even been born yet. So she never got to meet her. I smiled at the sky and quietly whispered, “Hey Jamie! Look what we’ve got!” While the improvements at the zoo were fairly impressive, I feel that some areas still need some work. For example, the poor snow leopard made me sad. He was pacing around nervously, panting, and frustrated. My grandson Elliot looked up the condition that caged animals get and it’s called “Zoochosis.” The definition is…a psychological condition and behavioral disorder seen in captive wild animals, characterized by repetitive, stereotypic, and functionless actions caused by the stress, confinement, and sensory deprivation of zoos, aquariums, or circuses. He eventually settled down, but it was very sad to see, frankly. He was in a very small enclosure that should be expanded to at least four times its size. But the weather was very, very cooperative! I took the kids back home and I hit B&G Milky Way for some of those famous sloppy joes! I stopped at Kohl’s to pick up some pajama pants that I heard they had in stock. I bought some nifty Star Wars Christmas bottoms, made of comfy, fleecy fabric with pictures of Darth Vader and Stormtroopers wearing Santa hats! I also picked up a few pair of fleecy bottoms that featured the image of Bumble from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” I found a few pair of bottoms with Cookie Monster on them, though not in my size. I’ll give them to a few people I know. My pal Scott Smith was having a birthday dinner, so I headed to Ruby Tuesday’s to join the gang for the celebration. When we finished dinner I headed back to the room to pass out.
Wednesday the 14th – THE WORLD-FAMOUS CORN PALACE! – My old pal Scott Maguire and his buddy Chuck met me at the hotel so we could drive over to Mitchell to check out a few stores there and grab some lunch. The only place we could find that wasn’t a fast food place was a Ruby Tuesday’s…so we went there. Mitchell is the town where my grandparents used to live, and where my parents met. But it’s changed quite a bit since then (and not necessarily in a good way) and it’s a bit sad to see. Pheasant hunting-mania had taken over the state, so everywhere you looked it was hunters this and hunters that. But it brings a lot of money to the state, so I guess that’s a good thing. But before we drove back to Sioux Falls I wanted to have another look at the World Famous Corn Palace. Unfortunately that TOO had changed, and not for the better. The beautiful, colorful domes that once topped the facility had now given way to cold, sharp and spiny metal things. Maguire mentioned that at night it’s all lit up with colored LEDs, but in the daytime it looks cold and foreboding. I made it back to Sioux Falls just in time for our family pizza feed at Godfather’s pizza. This is becoming a tradition with our family, as my grandkids really love eating there. My dad was there, as were my two sisters and their husbands, Lacey and her family, and my pal Dave and his wife. What fun! I purposely had a salad earlier in the day at Ruby Tuesday’s so I’d have LOTS of room for that delicious pizza! When the festivities broke up I headed back to the room to turn in.
Thursday the 15th – A SORRY SAFARI! – Since I didn’t have much going on, I asked my dad if he wanted me to pick him up for lunch. He’s 91.5 years old and doing VERY well! We went to the area Perkins and it’s a good thing we weren’t very hungry, because the service was VERY slow. My dad suggested going to THAT Perkins because the service at the other Perkins in town was awful. But comparatively I’m not sure how bad it could have been! It was a rainy day, and very gloomy. I was already longing for those sunny, warm L.A. days! When we finished lunch I went back to my room to rest and enjoy the rainy day from inside my room. Later my dad suggested we meet my sister Peggy and her husband Jeff for dinner at a place called the Safari Café. I’m sorry I went. It had a very dank bar-like atmosphere which I was immediately repelled from the minute I walked in. Plus, it was filled with all sorts of dead, stuffed animals that had been shot by various hunters. I can understand the animals you shoot to eat, but they had stuffed cougars, bears and other animals that you’d never want to eat! Trophy hunting sucks, and I could barely finish my meal. It was nauseating, and I wanted out fast. Never again. It was truly, truly a gross, disgusting experience. On the way to the car I saw an approaching car in the parking lot. In its headlights I saw something that looked like light snow flurries. Ugh! Time to go home! I went back to my room to call it a day, and I kept getting texts from the airline about changing my seats again. They can’t decide which type of aircraft they’re going to use, and it’s really annoying. PICK A PLANE, ALREADY!
Friday the 16th – FRIDAY…THE FINAL NIGHT! FINALLY! – Since it would be my last day in Sioux Falls I went back to B&G Milky Way and picked up some sloppy joes and ate them in my rental car. Then I got a giant strawberry/vanilla twist cone and ate that. B&G would be closing for the winter in about a week, so this would be my last chance to get this delicious food! I went to gas up the car in anticipation of turning the rental car in before my flight on Saturday afternoon. I met my pal Maguire at a local store so he could pick up some new running shoes, and again it was “hunter heaven!” People had brought their dogs in for some sort of contest, so it was fun seeing all the great doggies. But there was a tiny cage with a few pheasants inside it, which was…odd. They were beautiful, and I assured them I wasn’t there to shoot them, but to admire them. Later in the afternoon I went to a local arts and crafts show that my sister Bonnie and her husband Roger gave me tickets to. They had a booth there to sell their scented candles and related products. I invited Lacey and the kids to meet me there, and my dad was there too. It wasn’t very busy, so I got some good looking around done. I bought a few items and got to chat with some great people. After we finished at the show a bunch of us went to Fry’n Pan to have dinner. It would be my last night in Sioux Falls, and my last chance to see everybody for a while. (At least until next July when I’ll return for the sixth annual Voices Against Cancer convention!) I got back to my room and packed up as much stuff as I could, and then went over to Boss’ Pizza to get a pizza. But I only ended up eating half of it because I was still full from dinner. I checked into my flight online and printed my boarding passes.
Saturday the 17th – ADVENTURES AND MIS-ADVENTURES IN AIRLINE TRAVEL! – After packing up my last-minute items and checking out of my room, I met my dad for lunch at a different Perkins. My pal Maguire and his wife Patty joined us as well. But there was bad news incoming! I got a text from the airline that my flight that was supposed to depart at 5pm was going to be delayed over an hour because of weather. And I would likely miss my connection in Denver! Apparently the post-rainy weather conditions in Sioux Falls had whipped up some fierce prairie winds, and it would be unsafe to fly. Since it was the last flight of the day out of Denver to Burbank, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. Should I go get my room back at the Hyatt and rebook my flight? Confound it! I really don’t want to be stranded for the night in the Denver airport! I could possibly rebook a flight to LAX, which accept later flights than Burbank, and my assistant Emily could pick me up and take me to the Burbank Airport to get my car the next day. What to do? I decided that I would go to the airport and talk to a live person to see what my options were. If they didn’t have any good alternatives, I may need to check with the other airlines to get a ticket later to LAX. When I got there, there weren’t any other agents at the counters of the other airlines. There were just TWO agents at the counter of the airline I was taking. I explained the situation to the lady. She told me that a flight to Denver that was supposed to leave at 9:40 that morning had been delayed all day, but was now leaving at 4pm. She said many of the passengers on that flight had arranged for alternate flights which created a lot of vacancies on the flight at 4pm. GREAT NEWS! Not only would I make my connection, but I’d actually be getting into Denver an hour earlier than originally expected! I grabbed an available seat in an exit row, and called my dad to tell him the good news. I turned in my rental car and headed to the gate. But it all turned to crap after that. Apparently the newly rescheduled flight at 4pm wouldn’t be leaving for a while yet due to “technical” issues. So even though the wind had died down, the plane was broke. Ugh. It was very stressful, and the gate area was filling up with angry passengers who weren’t getting any useful information from the gate agents. In fact, the gate agents ended up just leaving the area and disappearing – most likely afraid to encounter the growing angst of the passengers. The delayed morning flight that was now supposed to take off at 4 was now delayed again. I watched the time tick away nervously, hoping I could still get on the flight and make my connection in Denver. We were finally allowed to board at 5:30, which was now a half hour past the time of my ORIGINAL flight. My original flight was now scheduled to take off at 6, but that wasn’t looking likely either. I heard somebody mention that, “The airlines send all the broke-ass planes to Sioux Falls.” Matters are made worse by the fact that the maintenance crews live a fair distance away from Sioux Falls, and it takes them a while to even get here! WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON!? Even though I was on the plane at 5:30 and ready to go, the plane sat on the tarmac for about a half hour just burning fuel…and time. I watched the monitor on the seatback in front of me and the arrival time in Denver kept changing as the time continued to tick away. My flight to Burbank would be departing at 7:20pm, and if I missed that…I’d be in the airport in Denver for the night. FINALLY the plane took off and the pilots put the pedal to the metal. The usual flight time from Sioux Falls to Denver is about an hour and 51 minutes. But the arrival time on my seatback monitor said the flight time would only be an hour and 8 minutes! They were breaking speed records. Unfortunately, even though we landed at 6:40 pm in Denver, it took another 20 minutes to make it to the gate. Many people had tight connections and we were the first people allowed off the plane. I had seen on the seatback monitor that we’d be arriving at gate B26, and my flight to Burbank would be leaving from B39 ON-TIME! When I got into the terminal I hauled ass 13 gates away, praying that the plane wouldn’t leave without me. I had received a text several minutes ago that my flight to Burbank was boarding! As I approached gate 39 I saw the line of people still waiting to board. THANK GOD! I made it! Though I was out of breath and sweating! I got to my seat and caught my breath. Then I looked up and saw the two pilots boarding the plane. THEY WERE LATE TOO! They came on the P.A. and apologized, saying that they had just come in from a delayed flight and they needed about 25 minutes to go over some paperwork before we could leave! As it turns out…I HAD PLENTY OF TIME!!! Ugh. This entire summer has been filled with horrible airline experiences, and it will most likely be a while before I’m ready to fly again. I put on my iPod and listened to some tranquil tunes to try and relax for the 2 hour flight to Burbank. But the evening’s madness wasn’t quite over. We arrived at the NEW Burbank Airport at 9pm. While it was stunning to experience while I walked through the halls, it was disheartening to see that it just looked like just another airport – it had no personality to speak of (unlike the old airport). My luggage arrived and I walked outside to enjoy the warm, balmy air of L.A.! Quite the change from what I had just come from! And best of all…I WAS HOME AT LAST! So not only had I flown on one of the last flights out of the old airport, I had flown in on one of the first flights in the new airport! WOW! Since my car was in the ‘old’ parking lot, I had to take a shuttle back to the old parking lot to get my car. It took the shuttle forever to arrive, but I finally climbed on and headed to get my car and go home! The place the shuttle dropped me off was still quite a ways from the office where I had to make my payment, so I was REALLY getting my exercise in that day! I’ve flown out of the Burbank Airport tons of times, and I had never, NEVER seen it like this. It was a virtual ghost town! Not the usual bustling facility I was used to, as there were only a few workmen and a cop outside. Word has it that it will be torn down completely and that area will be used for storage and other airport-related needs. I gotta say…progress has really reared its ugly head of late. One of the Studiopolis studios had recently been completely torn down, the Burbank Airport is going away, and other well-loved entities are disappearing from existence. Sad. I shot some video and photos of the ghostly Burbank Airport, and it will probably be the last time I’ll ever see it. When I got my car I headed to the grocery store to get some food items for later. Then I went home to unpack and get settled (and try to find a suitable parking space!). I grabbed a nap and thanked God that I had made it home despite all of the stressful chaos of the day. I got up to do some work around the house, but I noticed that some of my leg muscles were sore from all of the sprinting I did earlier. I guess the muscles I use during my nightly WOGs (walk/jogs) are different than the ones I used to dash from gate B26 to B39! So as a result, I was too sore to WOG. I had a salad and watched “Outer Limits.” It was good to be home and back to normalcy! Whew!
Sunday the 18th – BACK TO BUSINESS! – Though I was looking forward to enjoying a nice “comatose Sunday” at home, I didn’t sleep as much as I thought I would. My mind was buzzing with all the stuff I needed to do. I put all my stuff away from my trip, washed clothes, sorted through the disaster area that used to be my garage, sorted through mail, paid bills, organized receipts, did auditions, etc. I grabbed a little more sleep, and then got up to do a WOG. It was good to be out again! I didn’t spend any time outside in the anti-gravity chair as I had too much to do! Besides, it was getting too chilly outside to be fully enjoyable. The maids are coming on Monday morning so I had to do some organizing for them. I did some writing and then hit the hay. The last couple of weeks were WILD!
And how were YOUR weeks?!
PIX FROM THE WEEK PT. TWO
Lotsa geese on the lake outside my hotel room! Beautiful!
My granddaughter Natalie and the penguin exhibit at the Great Plains Zoo.
This is the closest I ever want to be to a bear! Thankfully, there was a pane of very strong glass between us! But he’s beautiful!
The tiger is fascinated by a squirrel who was busy burying some food.
Simply gorgeous!
Dear Great Plains Zoo…get this poor snow leopard a BIGGER enclosure. He’s stressed out!
Grandkids, candy, animals, and a gorgeous day. What more could you want…
…well, a few of these sloppy joes would be nice too!
AND a giant ice cream cone!
The weather in Sioux Falls the day before I left. And I left not a moment too soon. It was 90 in L.A.!
Dad does some cartooning for Natalie.
Some beautiful pheasants…currently the most sought-after bird in South Dakota.
The sad, quiet, ghostly remains of the old Burbank Airport. Good times there. Really good times. And great memories. I shall miss it.
Overall, a very fun trip to Sioux Falls, and a wonderful visit to the zoo with the grandkids! But seeing the demise of the Burbank Airport was a bit sad, to be honest.
