RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
How did I miss this one? I had NO idea that The Flying Nun was a big go-to on Halloween in the 60’s. I had never seen this before. But sure enough, the Ben Cooper company made a Flying Nun mask and costume.
Well, after hearing this song at Floyd’s at the most amazing and coincidental time, it was stuck in my mind the rest of the week. The Rolling Stones with “Mother’s Little Helper.”
Monday the 16th – MANNEQUIN MANIA! – Since it was the MLK holiday, not much was going on. So I took the opportunity to sleep until 2. When I got up I decided to install my new Jack Lord mannequin on the main stage in my living room. It was going to be a huge project, and I vowed not to stop until it was to my liking. The first job was to take down the mannequin that was already on the stage. This headless mannequin had been modeling Jack Lord’s original “Hawaii Five-O” suit and boots for years. But now that I had a mannequin fabricated in the likeness of Jack Lord, I no longer needed the headless one. First, I removed the carpet so I could get to the support plates that were bolted into the stage. When the screws were removed, I took the mannequin down and placed it in the Chaney Room for safe keeping until I was ready to make the costume switch. I also removed the Mannix mannequin, a torso mannequin that models one of 5 original sport jackets I bought from Mike Connors. These were original jackets worn on the old detective show “Mannix.” They were all custom-made for Mike Connors, and he kept a fair amount of them when the show ended. I also own a tour jacket owned by Elvis’ tour manager Joe Esposito. I removed that mannequin as well. The Hutch jacket, worn by David Soul in the “Starsky & Hutch” movie, was far off to the right side so I didn’t need to move that at all. With all the carpet, fasteners and bases removed, I had a clean stage to work with. I started by putting up the lower half of the new Jack Lord mannequin for placement. Once I got it situated where I wanted it, I traced the base on to the wooden stage. But before I fastened it down permanently, I put the top half and arms on to make sure spacing was perfect. It was, so I screwed the base of the mannequin to the stage. We do live in earthquake country, after all. I punched a hole in the carpet that corresponded with the mannequin’s support rod, and I laid the carpet over the base. While I had the Mannix mannequin down, I decided to change out the jacket it was wearing. Periodically I like to switch out the jackets so they all get displayed eventually. I have screenshots of Mike Connors wearing the jackets from various “Mannix” episodes, and I had him sign each one. I know for sure the jackets are the ones from the episodes, because I meticulously matched the pattern weave of the fabric to the ones in the show. When I’m convinced that the patterns match perfectly to the ones on the show, I know I’ve got an original. If it were another jacket made from the same material, the chances that the stripes and hounds tooth design would fall in the exact same place on the lapel is almost nil. While I had the giant ladder out, I took the opportunity to clean and dust everything. I removed the Jack Lord costume from the old mannequin and dressed the new mannequin, and then I hoisted it up to the stage. It looked amazing. I got him posed exactly how I wanted him, and then turned my attention to the Mannix mannequin (or Mannix-equin). I put a different jacket on the torso and fastened it to the stage. I searched through my files and found the corresponding photo of Mike Connors wearing that jacket, and then mounted it in the frame that was attached to the wall. I put a hole in the carpet where the Mannix-equin support rod was, and laid the carpet back down. Then I put the Joe Esposito mannequin up and everything was looking really good. I need to mount the framed piece that displays Jack Lord’s “Hawaii Five-O” badge, ID card and personal business card next to the new mannequin, but I need my pal Kyle at Plastic Depot to fabricate a special piece before I can do that. I worked hard all afternoon and was exhausted. I called my assistant Sara and asked her where she wanted to go to eat for her birthday. She chose Barone’s, so we met there for dinner. I came back home and napped a bit, and then got up later to do a ton of auditions. I also worked on my computer, organized files, and then went to bed to enjoy some leftover Barone’s pizza and another episode of “Lost in Space” on Blu Ray. Whew! What a day!
Tuesday the 17th – GADGETS AND GEAR – When I got up at 2 I prepped for my A/V guy to come over and give me a tutorial on how a lot of my video and audio gear works. I had questions about certain pieces of equipment and the things that they’d do that I may not be aware of. Heck, I just recently realized that I had a 3D compatible TV in my room all these years and never knew it! After he left my pal Brittney Powell came over to do some work, and then I grabbed a nap. When I got up I did two hours’ worth of auditions, fed and walked Roxy, finished up Wally’s Week (I was late this week!) made some stew and watched “Lost in Space” before bed.
Wednesday the 18th – A PAIN IN THE JAW! – Once again, I got up at 2 and headed to my mailbox to get my packages. Then I went to Plastic Depot to drop off the plans for the piece I needed to mount my “Hawaii Five-O” display piece. Kyle’s a genius and can always figure this stuff out. Then I went to Michael’s Crafts and bought a few items. I had lunch at Wendy’s, and then headed over to the Firing Line shooting range to renew my membership for another year. They’re not sure how the newly passed laws in the wacky state of California are going to affect their business, but I’m sure they’ll figure out a way to work it out. I went to Foam Mart to drop off some plans for some foam pieces I’m having made, and then I headed home to feed the pets. Sara came over to do some work, and then I went to Floyd’s to get a touch-up on my hair color. As my stylist Andie and I were commiserating about how recent illnesses have set us back, and how we don’t seem to heal as fast as we used to, the overhead music system read our minds. As if in the soundtrack of a movie, Mick Jagger came on the speaker and said, “What a drag it is getting old!” We both laughed and said, “YES!” It was one of those funny moments. When I went home it had started raining. We were expecting three storms to hit his over the next several days, with the third storm being the biggie. I went home to relax, but I was feeling considerable pain in my left jaw. It’s not uncommon to have jaw pain during a sinus infection, as sinus congestion can affect the roots of your teeth and the surrounding area, but this was really painful. I took some Advil and laid down. When I got up I did my auditions and made a pizza. But I was still feeling the jaw pain. I watched “Lost in Space” before bed and put some ice on my jaw.
Thursday the 19th –SICK AND TIRED OF BEING SICK AND TIRED! – Around 1 I met with my friends Dorothy and Dennis for lunch at Jerry’s Famous Deli. Dorothy used to write for “Star Trek,” and Dennis has done some amazing special effects on some of my favorite films. She’s teaching a class on TV writing and she wanted to borrow some DVDs from my collection. Unfortunately all of the shows she needed aren’t in my collection. But it’s always great to see them. I was still having a lot of pain in my left jaw, but I am trying to stay off of the nose sprays and pain killers as much as possible. I wanted to call my doctor to see if I could get in, but I decided to try and soldier through it for a few days. I came home to do some work around the house, and then I napped from late afternoon to early evening. I got up to meet Sara at DuPar’s for dinner, but because of the pain I wasn’t much in the mood for food or company. It’s been a horrible winter, since I’ve literally been sick since December 14th when I felt my bronchitis starting up. After that and a bout with the worst flu I’ve had in years, and then a sinus infection to top it all off, I’m literally SICK OF BEING SICK! Hopefully it’ll all be over soon. I got a few groceries and then headed home to do auditions. It’s funny, but doing certain voices are more painful than others. When I manipulate my mouth to make certain sounds, I expand the sore portion of my inner mouth. I laid down on the couch to meditate a bit, and then got up to feed the pets. I worked in the living room all night cleaning and dusting my high shelves and displays. I moved the ladder around the room and tried to dust everything I could. I refocused my lights to make sure they were how I wanted them. I made some hot dogs on the grill outside, even though it was pouring rain, and went inside to watch “Lost in Space.” I stayed up long enough to join 30 million other people and watch the Presidential Inauguration.
Friday the 20th – LIKE A BABY, BABY! – Since it was pouring rain when I finally got to sleep around 10am, I left the windows open so I could sleep to the sound of rain. It always makes me sleep like a baby. I got up later to do some work around the house, and then I went to pick up my “adopted grandma” Shirley for dinner. We met Sara at the Coral Café and had a delightful dinner. I couldn’t take the pain any longer and took a pain pill. It made me feel a lot better. The pain had diminished a bit, but I’m still trying to rest as much as possible. Since the jaw pain hasn’t moved for several days, I’m convinced it’s not residual sinus infection pain, but rather an inflammation of my Eustachian tube. As the sinus infection subsides, drainage can occur sometimes blocking the Eustachian tube and causing pain. I’m certain that’s what happened. But I’m going to try and see the doctor next Monday to have him look at it just to make sure it’s not a full-blown ear infection. That’s all I need. When I got home I napped on the couch and then got up later to continue cleaning the living room. Then I made a pot pie and watched another episode of “Lost in Space” on Blu Ray. This one featured my “adopted grandpa” Leonard Stone; one of the greatest character actors from the 60’s and 70’s! It was great seeing him again, even though it was only on my big screen TV. I miss him.
Saturday the 21st – THEY WENT LADDER WAY! – At 2, I woke up with both animals on the bed vying for my attention. It’s great. I got up and walked Roxy, and then set about finishing the dusting and cleaning project in my living room to prep for movie night. I took the ladder outside to capitalize on the respite from the rain and clean my rain gutters. It was a nice day as we were waiting for storm number 3 to descend. I went inside to do some more clean-up work and get ready for movie night. We watched “La La Land” and had a lot of fun. When everyone left I napped on the couch, and then got up later to feed the pets. I was feeling pretty good so I laid back down on the couch to rest some more. It had started raining again, so taking Roxy on our extended walk around the complex wasn’t possible. I didn’t wake up until 6:30am! When I got up my Eustachian tube was sore again. Rats!
Sunday the 22nd – MONSOON-ER THAN LATER! – Much like the other day, I thought it would be nice to sleep with the windows open to listen to it rain. But storm number 3 was a lot fiercer than the previous two, and it was more like a monsoon. Rain was blowing in my windows, and I eventually had to get up and close the window to keep everything in my room from getting soaked. It was a real whopper! I got up later to go to evening church, but since it was raining I wasn’t able to take Roxy. Since I was going to drive, I stopped over to Shirley’s place to pick her up so she could go along. After church we went to Denny’s to eat. It had stopped raining and was a real pleasant evening. Our waitress Maggie was just about the cutest thing I had ever seen and I wasn’t sure whether I should propose marriage or try to adopt her. I took Shirley home and then I went home to relax and nap. I got up later to do auditions, worked a little around the house, made some soup, and then hit the hay to be up for an early session on Monday.
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
I started out by putting the lower half of the mannequin on the stage for spacing.
Once I found a good spot, I put the top half on to make sure it wouldn’t be crowded.
Then I started dressing the new Jack Lord mannequin. As soon as that classic costume got on the mannequin, the visual started taking shape.
Once Jack got settled, I put the Mannix figure next to him and secured it in place.
Jack was looking good!
I added the credit plaques and the display was complete! Notice how I’m saving space in case I ever get a Tom Selleck-worn “Magnum; p.i.” Hawaiian shirt?
