February 21 – February 26 (2017)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

This is the only Oscar I really care about.

An old tune from the 90’s popped into my head this week and wouldn’t leave. Amy Grant’s “Every Heartbeat” is a peppy, fun earworm that was good to hear when I dug out the CD and gave it a spin!

Tuesday the 21st – BUILDING A WHOLE NEW CASE! – After I got up at noon I did a few auditions, and then got Roxy ready to drive into Woodland Hills to talk to a specialty veterinarian surgeon. She has a discharge issue that started back in January, and repeated again in early February. Her veterinarian suggested we see a surgeon about a benign tumor that showed up when they scoped her. We got to Woodland Hills a little early so we had some lunch at the Jack In The Box drive-thru. Then we went in and talked to the doctor. He said that the surgical options to remove the tumor were very severe, given its position. He said he’d prefer not to perform them, particularly with a benign diagnosis. After his examination he said he would further consult with her local vet. We headed back home and I finished Wally’s Week. I’ve really been enjoying having my Animal 1:1 replica Muppet encased in my room, but he seems lonely. So I’m considering having a new case built for my Kermit the Frog 1:1 replica Muppet and putting him next to Animal. The case I originally had built for Kermit had to have certain height restrictions built into it because of space limitations, but in my room there wouldn’t be any such limits. Then I can use Kermit’s former case for something else in the Puppet Room. Insistent that I was going to check, double-check and triple-check the measurements before I sent the order into my friend Kyle at Plastic Depot, I even went as far as to build a mock-up case out of poster board to ensure that the sizes would work within the space limitations of my room. Satisfied with my work, I drew up the plans and e-mailed them to Kyle. I did a bunch of auditions and then grabbed a short nap. I got up later to do some more work around the house. I made hot dogs and watched another episode of “Barnaby Jones” from the fifth season DVD set before bed.

Wednesday the 22nd – MAN OF THE CLOTH?! – Mid-afternoon I sped over to my seamstress Karyn’s studio to drop off a bunch of fabric for some new projects we’re working on. She wasn’t able to work long because she had a crisis with the post office she needed to settle. (Somebody having a problem with the post office? Say it ain’t so!) I gave her a ride to the local post office and dropped her off with my good wishes. Having dealt with the post office in the past myself, I knew she’d need all the luck she could get! I grabbed some food at Burger King and then hit the road for home. First I stopped off at my auxiliary garage and swapped out my Mustang for the Gran Torino. I drove over to JoAnn’s fabrics to pick up some new fabrics for some shirts Karyn will be customizing for me, and then I headed back home to feed the pets. I grabbed a short nap, and then got up for a fun dinner with my buddy Larry Strothe and my old pal Ron Chaney. We had a great meal with lots of talk about possible new projects. Then we came over to Planet Wallywood to watch an episode of “The Monkees” that guest starred Ron’s grandpa, the great Lon Chaney Jr. I had seen the episode a few weeks ago and told Ron he HAD to see it. Filmed in 1966, this was around the period of time when Ron was hanging out with his grandpa on a regular basis. So the Lon Chaney Jr. you see in this episode is exactly how Ron remembers him best. What a thrill it would be to be able to see your grandfather in high definition; to hear his voice, see his face and mannerisms as if he was still there. It was a neat experience for Ron. After our fun meeting I did auditions, and then headed to bed.

Thursday the 23rd – DID YOU SEE MY CEE TEE? – Just before I woke up I was having a cool dream about a young child that was sitting on the lap his parents, or a staff member at a hospital. The child had a breathing apparatus attached to his nose, and the attendant was rubbing something on its forehead. I was making funny faces at the kid and he was smiling. I felt bad for him because I knew he wasn’t in great health. Next I knew, I was standing up and reading a script in a crazy character voice; as if I was performing something from an animated script. The kid was loving it and laughing. Then I snapped awake. I took note of the dream in case I ever wanted to start a group of Voice Actors who went to hospitals to perform live shows for sick kids. Neat idea! I did some auditions, some bookkeeping, prepared some mail to be sent, paid some bills, and then hopped in the Torino and headed to Jersey Mike’s to get lunch. While I was there I parked next to a gorgeous green early 70’s Chevy Nova. My first car was a 1974 Nova, so I still have a special place in my heart for them. Looking inside the car, I noticed how the instrument cluster looked just like how I remembered it. What a blast from the past! Then it was time to go to my doctor’s office to get the scoop on my recent CT scan of my sinuses. The news wasn’t good. He showed me the scan on the computer, and while my right sinus was totally fine, my left sinus was completely blocked. This is residual trouble from a sinus infection I acquired on New Year’s Eve. Apparently it never fully cleared up after two weeks’ worth of anti-biotics and steroids. So, it was back on another round of anti-biotics and steroids. He said if it’s not better in 10 days I needed to consult with the Ear Nose and Throat doctor down the hall to see what he suggested. Strangely enough, my ENT Dr. Line was the one who referred me to my physician a few years ago. Everything comes full circle I guess. From what I hear, the surgery required to clear out sinuses isn’t very pleasant. But it may be the thing I need to clear this up. I headed over to CVS to pick up my prescriptions, but there was some sort of mix up with the medications. It took a very long time to get everything I went in there to get. But once I got my stuff I headed home to design my medication schedule. The medications can’t be taken together, so I needed to plot out a daily routine to make sure the meds would be taken to maximize their effectiveness. I did some auditions, and then headed to Jerry’s Famous Deli to meet with my pals Brittney Powell, Natalie Duran and my assistant Sara for dinner. I came home to grab a short nap, and then got up later to do some work around the house. I sent out my movie night invites and prepared for the maids to arrive the next day. Sara had made some sloppy joe mix earlier, so I heated some of that up and watched another episode of “Barnaby Jones” before bed. YUM!

Friday the 24th – LONESOME DOVE! – When I got up at noon to let the maids in, I saw a very sad sight to start the day. I walked Roxy out to the courtyard to let her do her morning bathroom duties. One of the standing lights in the courtyard was surrounded by a lot of gray feathers at its base. That meant that a hawk had been in our complex and had found a mourning dove for lunch. I always hate seeing that, because I love our local mourning doves. They’re so cute and graceful, I love how they coo, and when they’re in flight their wings are crooked in a very specific way. I’m working on perfecting a mourning dove coo by whistling in a low tone. It’s a lot like backwards whistling. So far it’s been convincing enough to attract a few doves who fly close to me, thinking they’re coming to find another dove. Sometimes I’ll call out, and a few mourning doves will even answer me! So I’m very sad to see a pile of gray feathers knowing what had occurred. And as if that wasn’t sad enough, I looked over beneath a tree about 10 yards away. Sitting in the grass beneath the tree was lone mourning dove looking very confused. I’m sure this must’ve been the late dove’s mate who seemed to be very perplexed as to why her mate wasn’t around. She cocked her head from side to side and paced around in the grass. Very sad. I drove over to Voice Trax West to do another session for an “Archer” promo, and then I went to pick up some groceries before heading home. I actually got recognized in the parking lot of the store as I was returning my grocery cart to the dock. I heard someone yell, “Wally?” I turned around and a young gentleman and his girlfriend were sitting in their car. He said he recognized me from my internet presence. Oddly enough, he had no idea I was a Voice Actor, but when he found out about some of the shows I’ve worked on he laughed with delight. He and his girl had just moved to L.A. to try the acting biz, so we exchanged numbers and agreed to get together for lunch and exchange stories. Fun stuff! When I got home I met up with my A/V guy Brandon, who had come over to do some work in Planet Wallywood. This was a make-up session from last Friday, which was canceled due to the hazardous pouring rain. The rain wasn’t the bad thing; it was the backed-up gutter drains which created huge lakes in the streets. Nobody should be out in that. When Brandon finished up the work I sent some e-mails, and Sara and I had dinner delivered in so we could continue doing some work. I walked over to Floyd’s Barbershop to get a touch-up on my color, and then I headed back home to grab a nap. I got up to do an audition or two, and then worked around the house. I fed Roxy and took her on our late-night stroll through the neighborhood. Then I drove the Torino over to the auxiliary garage to put it away. I drove my Mustang over to Denny’s to get some food to go. At this point it was 3:30am. I got all the way back home and was ready to go in and get ready to eat my dinner, when I realized with horror that my ever-present shoulder bag (which has my entire LIFE in it) was missing. My first thought was that I locked it in the Torino. Then I realized that it wasn’t IN the Torino, but rather I had left it sitting OUTSIDE the Torino after I locked it up. I hopped back in the Mustang and sped back to the auxiliary garage. Luckily, since it was the middle of the night, nobody had been in the garage since I had left. The bag was still sitting there just where I had left it. WHEW! Am I getting forgetful or something? Considering all that goes into locking up the Torino; making sure the cutoff switch is off, the doors are locked, the car cover is on, attached and locked, and the alarm is set, I’m not surprised that I forgot that one little item. Never again! I got back home and enjoyed a VERY thankful meal while watching another “Barnaby Jones” episode.

Saturday the 25th – METHOD CAVEMEN? – By the time I got up at 2 it was time to take one of my pills again. I took it with some food so it wouldn’t upset my stomach, and then I spent the afternoon swapping out movie posters and lobby cards in my wall frames. I did some more busy work and organized things for that evening’s movie night. We watched the newly-released-on-Blu-Ray classic “One Million Years B.C.” starring Raquel Welch. Since there is very little dialogue in this film, and the dialogue that does exist is all shouts, grunts and unintelligible muttering, it gave our group plenty of opportunity for funny comments and parody. Knowing that the film was shot in London, and was primarily cast using English actors, I thought it was funny thinking about the filming process. With most of the cast very likely Shakespearean trained actors, I imagined what it might have sounded like between takes. The actor stops the action and asks the director, in a perfect British accent, “Is the line ooga ooga braa braa, or ooga ooga BLEE ba?” I also laughed at the thought of an actor forgetting a line and stopping the action with, “LINE?!” Considering the actors spoke no English in the film, was it really that important that the gibberish they were speaking be letter perfect to the script’s dialogue? I’m sure the actors must’ve been given some leeway, given the fact that most of the audience who saw this film couldn’t actually speak “caveman.” We watched some funny animal videos on YouTube and then ended the evening. I spent the rest of the night dubbing music, working around the house, and planning for the new week. It rained overnight just enough to give the landscape a nice, moist glaze. And just enough that I needed to cut my late-night stroll with Roxy short. I made my traditional Saturday night Super Salad and watched the final episode of the old BBC show “The New Avengers.”

Sunday the 26th – PHOTO ASSIGNMENT! – Just after 2 I woke up and walked Roxy. I did some work around the house and got ready for evening church. I’m not exactly sure how she knows, but Roxy seems to have a telepathic ability to know when we’re going to church. I’ve even switched up my pre-church routine to try and fool her. But she always seems to know and gets very excited. She’s so funny. She loves getting pets and treats at evening church. It was a nice service, but lightly attended because of some awards show that was on, or something. Pastor Louise challenged us to pay attention to the little things in life that give us revelations about a higher power. She invited us to take photos all week of the little wonders of the world, and e-mail them to her. She would show the photos at next week’s service. Fun idea! My “adopted grandma” Shirley and I walked back to my house and got ready to head to dinner. I wanted to go to a place that didn’t have a TV, so we could avoid seeing any evidence of the rumored awards show that was on. So we went to Bob’s Big Boy and we all had delicious tuna melts. Then I dropped Shirley back at her home, and I headed to my house to grab a short nap. I got up later and did a few fun auditions, and prepped for the new week. It was a cold night, so I made some soup and a sandwich and watched another episode of “Barnaby Jones” before bed.

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

As you can see, once Roxy figures out that we’re going to church, she goes crazy. And it’s just too cute.

Think my cat Spooky is spoiled? You BET he is!

The baby Eaglet on the webcam feed I obsess over is growing fast, and getting curious about the outside world. For the first time I saw him venture to the edge of the nest to observe what’s out there. It may not be long before it’s ready to take a first flight!