August 21 – August 27 (2017)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

My pal Joey Torino made up this cool-looking TV Guide-esque parody of he and I at the Police Collector’s Show the previous week!

Let’s wrap up our study of great “story songs” with one of the greatest story songs from the last four decades. The Charlie Daniels Band took the world by storm with “The Devil Went Down to Georgia!”

Monday the 21st – CAR FUN! – Shortly after noon I got up and took Roxy out for a quick walk. I came back inside and did a phone interview with my old pal Greg Belfrage in Sioux Falls, South Dakota at KELO AM radio. He taped the interview to play closer to the time that “Batman Vs. Two-Face” comes out on home video. It was great chatting with him and we had a good conversation. I’ll post when the interview airs so you can catch it on-line. The rest of the afternoon I did auditions while waiting for the Service Manager at the local Ford dealer to call me and let me know when to bring my Mustang in for service. I did some more work around the house, and when the guy from Ford called I told him I’d bring the car over later that afternoon. We also discussed all of the issues they have with their Early Bird drop-off program (see last week’s Wally’s Week). I told him I understood that, because of their remodeling, things were in a bit of disarray. But I suggested they post a sign near the Early Bird key drop box instructing customers where to park their cars. He said, “That’s a good idea.” Duh! They didn’t think of that before? Anyway, I fed and walked Roxy and then got ready for dinner at the Smokehouse with two old “Tonight Show” friends. I dropped the Mustang off at Ford, and my assistant Sara met me there and drove me to the Smokehouse. My pals Troy, Eric, Sara and I had a terrific time eating and catching up. I got home and enjoyed a short nap on the Most Comfortable Couch in the Universe, and then got up to walk and feed Roxy. I typed out Wally’s Week, and then made some spaghetti and watched “Barnaby Jones.” I’m now forced to use the “new and improved” recipe of Old Wisconsin original summer sausage for my spaghetti sauce and it’s not nearly as good. It just doesn’t have the same zing as the old recipe. I wish they’d bring it back. Time to try some other brands, I guess.

Tuesday the 22nd – LOTSA LEAKS! – When I got up at 2 the Ford guy had called to tell me that I had a leak in my intake manifold, and my A/C compressor was bad and had a leak in it as well. The total estimate for service was about $3k. But it only has 68,000 miles on it, it’s 14 years old, is in great shape, has been paid off for years, and I’ve never spent a considerable amount of money on its repair. So this expense was expected. It’s super clean and well worth the work. Besides, we still have some hot weeks coming in late summer, so I’ve got to have good A/C! They said I can pick it up on Thursday. I spent the rest of the afternoon at home doing bookkeeping, going through my corporate receipts, paying bills, reconciling my bank statements, and I got a bank deposit ready. I got lots done! I walked over to my auxiliary garage to get my Torino out for a dinner meeting, but I realized I left the aux garage door opener in my Mustang! Luckily a resident was kind enough to open it for me. I met my agent Brittney for dinner at Jerry’s Famous Deli. She’s come on to the agency fairly recently, so I wanted to get acquainted with her and talk about possible upcoming projects. When I got home I grabbed a short nap on the couch again. I got up around 2am to feed Roxy, and then we went on our walk. When I came back inside I wanted nothing more than to lie back down on the couch and sleep some more. I ended up sleeping until 10am!!!

Wednesday the 23rd – EXER-SIGHS! – When I woke up at 10, after an all-nighter on the couch, I did an audition, answered some e-mails, and decided I would pick up my “adopted grandma” Shirley for lunch. I picked her up in the Torino and we went to Marie Callendar’s to eat. Then I ran a few errands. One of the stops was at a lighting store to try and find some lighting effects for my “Monster House.” I have a display above the TV in my home theatre that features five monster figures with a “monster house” facade behind them. The translucent windows in the facade have red lights shining into them from the back, casting an eerie glow from inside the house. But I started to think about other lighting effects to put in there instead; ones that would allow me to change colors or even use different flashing patterns. But the lighting store didn’t have anything I liked. I dropped Shirley off at home, and then I went to the bank to make a deposit. I got home and started working on the “Monster House” display. I had a spool of Super Night LED strip lighting, and I thought that might be good for the rear lighting effect I was looking for. So I brought up the big ladder from downstairs, climbed up and took down all the monster figures. Then I cleaned the platform where they stood. It was dusty and dirty and needed a good cleaning! I removed the monster house facade and took it down stairs to work on it. I added light-blocking vinyl all around the edge of the facade, so that there wouldn’t be any light leakage. I wanted the lights to shine only through the translucent windows. I looped the Super Night lighting all around the windows and climbed back up the ladder and replaced it. But the lights just weren’t bright enough to read properly. So I toddled back up the ladder and removed the facade. I took off the Super Night lighting and put it back in my cabinet to store it for another project. I ran back up the ladder, put the facade back into place, and replace the monster figures. But I noticed a back injury from last week was coming back…and in full force! Last week while trying out a new jump rope, I pulled a muscle in the middle section of the right side of my back. It hurt pretty badly, but went away quickly. But now it was back. All of the climbing up the ladder, twisting to my right to lift the monster figures up and down, replacing the facade – it was all culminating in a horrible back ache! My friend Emily Danyel was housesitting at a house in my area that had a private Jacuzzi. Additionally, Emily is a masseuse, so she agreed to work on my back for a bit. I went over to pick her up to get some sandwiches at Jersey Mikes, and then we went to the Jacuzzi to try and settle this back issue. But it was hurting pretty badly. I really did it this time! I went home and put some Ben-Gay on my back and took a nap with a heating pad. I got up later and did auditions, fed and walked Roxy, and came back inside. My back was a little better, but not much. I showered up, put an Icy Hot patch on my back and got into bed with the heating pad. I ate the leftover Jersey Mike’s sandwich and watched “Barnaby Jones.” OUCH!

Thursday the 24th – BACK TO BACK PROBLEMS! – I slept until 3, and when I got up I did some last-minute auditions. I answered some e-mails, did some photo editing, and did a little “light” work around the house. My back was still hurting quite badly. I haven’t heard anything from the Ford people about my Mustang and it was supposed to be ready today. I finished up all my auditions for the day and drove over to meet Sara at Little Toni’s for dinner. But I was hurting pretty badly again, so I went home and put some Ben-Gay on my back and napped. I got up later to feed Roxy and take her on our late night walk through the neighborhood (slowly!), and then came inside and found an odd position to lay on the couch that didn’t hurt my back. I slept there until 7 and then got up to get ready for bed. What a mess!

Friday the 25th – STRETCH INTO THE PAIN! – Even though I had a session for American Airlines scheduled at 3, I had to call and cancel. I was in too much pain. So we’re postponing the session until I’m better. The maids came over at 11 to clean up Planet Wallywood while I laid around in pain. Ford called and said my car was ready. I spent the afternoon resting, and later my neighbor Bob drove me over to the Ford dealer to pick up my Mustang. Later that night my trainer Natalie Duran came over and I decided we’d got back to Emily’s to try and work out the issues with my back. She ran me through a few stretching exercises. I had been avoiding moving in the direction of the pain because…well…it hurt! But Natalie said I should “stretch into the pain.” She said when a muscle seizes the one in my back; it needs to be stretched out. So I’m going to start stretching into the pain and see if that helps. Boy, it’s been quite a year. First sinus issues; headaches, jaw pain, sinus pain…and now this! What the heck?! I came back home and put on some Ben-Gay and took a nap. I got up later to feed and walk Roxy, and then I made some lasagna and watched “Barnaby Jones.”

Saturday the 26th – “DOCTOR DOCTOR – GIVE ME THE NEWS!” – Sara and I went to the store to get some items for movie night, and she did all the heavy lifting for me. I was still pretty miserable with back pain. So while she put the groceries way and got ready for movie night I rested upstairs. We had a fun time watching the old Tony Curtis “Houdini” on Blu Ray. After everyone left I napped on the couch, and then fed and walked Roxy. But I just wasn’t into doing my usual Saturday night routine, so I just got ready for bed and called it a day. But not before leaving a message on my Chiropractor’s voicemail asking to see him on Monday.

Sunday the 27th – HERE COMES THE HOT! – As I woke up Sunday afternoon I strongly considered not going to church because I was in so much pain. But I took a few Advil, put on an Icy Hot patch, and drove over to church anyway. It was much too hot to take Roxy as we were on the verge of a week-long hot spell of triple digits. The mild weather we’ve had for August came to an end at last. After church Shirley, Sara and I went to Paty’s to enjoy a gorgeous evening dining on the patio. It was warm, but not hot, and it reminded me of those Palm Springs evenings I love so much. After dinner Sara came over to work on my back for a bit. I took a dip in the Jacuzzi, put on a back patch, and napped. I got up later to do a bunch of auditions. I left another message on my Chiropractor’s voicemail letting them know that my pain had not improved over the weekend. I’m hoping I won’t have to cancel any more sessions this week, and I can get back to my old self here very soon.

And how was (OUCH!) your week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK