RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK
I’m not sure who the artist of this is, but I sure do like it. It’s the character of Mighty Mightor from an old Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, along with his pet dinosaur Tog. Nicely done!
Here all along I thought “Got A Hold On Me” was a Fleetwood Mac song, but it was a solo tune by Christine McVie. Since I heard it on my road trip back from San Jose last weekend, it’s been on my mind. What a GREAT song!
Monday the 31st – CHILDHOOD PAL! – It’s beyond belief that this amazing summer is coming to an end already. Without exaggeration, I can honestly say that the summer of 2026 has been one of the most amazing summers of my entire life. SO many amazing things happened! But the advent of Labor Day has always been the “unofficial” last day of summer, and it’s right around the corner! I started the day by going to Michaels to get a few frames. One was an 11 by 14 frame for the new Willie Ito sketch I purchased over the weekend at Galaxy Con San Jose, and the other was a 12 by 12 frame in which I intended to place the newly signed (by Muppet performer Dave Goelz) “Muppet Movie” soundtrack LP! (Unfortunately, the album cover is 12 ¼” and it turned out to be too large for the frame.) I picked up a few packages at my box and then headed home. My gal Angi came over so we could get ready for our big dinner gathering I had planned at the Smoke House that night. My childhood pal Chris Valle and his new girlfriend Pamela were in town and I wanted to stage a dinner gathering so we could all hang out and chat. We were also joined by Edi and Elliot Lurie and Mark and Connie Fullerton, and it was an absolute blast! Chris sat across from me and we chatted all night about “the good old days” living in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Chris and I always had a ton of common interests. For example, during recess in elementary school (while the other kids were playing kickball or swinging on the swings) Chris and I would tuck ourselves away in a clearing in a hedge and perform improvised Ernie and Bert sketches! He was Ernie and I was Bert! (Oddly enough, my first job on “Family Guy” was doing the voice of Bert, so our improvised sketches turned out to be good training!) As we got older we developed a love for Laurel and Hardy. He was Ollie and I was Stan. And my indulgent dad was kind enough to snap a full roll of film of Chris and I in our Laurel & Hardy costumes. And still later, we developed a love of “Star Trek.” He was Spock and I was Kirk. Good times. But when we entered high school Chris was the hottest trumpet player in the school. I enlisted his assistance when I was putting together my Elvis tribute band for our high school talent show on February 9, 1978. (Elvis had just passed away a half year earlier.) And on that subject, Chris told me something that I had never heard in the 48 years since we did the act. He said that numerous people had come up to him thinking that we were lip syncing to an Elvis record. Chris told them, “No, that was really us playing.” I never knew that people in high school thought we were playing to a record! We had a lot of laughs, and when we finished our amazing dinner Chris and Pamela followed Angi and I to my house for a tour of Planet Wallywood. A few of the items in my collection are items I’ve had since Chris and I were hanging out in the old days. After they took off I relaxed for a bit, and then recorded my auditions. I did my nightly WOG (walk/jog) and it was really nice, considering that the recent heatwave had broken. Odd…when I left L.A. last Friday with my pal Mark it was blazing hot in L.A.! And when I returned it was fall-like. Amazing how things can change just over the course of one weekend! I spent some time in the anti-gravity chair enjoying the evening and an iced tea, and then came back inside to type out Wally’s Week.
Tuesday the 1st – CANCELED X 2! – Most of the day I spent relaxing, but I did manage to step out for a little bit and get some groceries and supplies at the local CVS. My computer guy Thor had to cancel our final phase of my computer set-up because something had come up for him at work. We rescheduled to Wednesday night. Later, Angi, Chris and Pamela, and I were all supposed to go out for a late-night excursion. But Angi texted me later to let me know that Chris and Pamela had to cancel because they were exhausted. It makes sense as their body clocks are set to Central time. So I recorded my auditions, did some video editing, and took my nightly WOG. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I could actually see my breath! The temps had sunk that much in less than a week! I spent a little time in the anti-grav chair, and then came back inside to make a salad and watch a few more episodes of “Have Gun – Will Travel.”
Wednesday the 2nd – THAT ‘FINAL PHASE’ FEELING! – My computer guy Thor came over at 5 and over the next 3.5 hours we were able to complete the third and final phase of my new computer set-up! We had lots to do! We even got two brand new battery back-ups installed. I figured since we were implementing a whole new system, I’d install new battery back-ups too. Given that this nutty state has a real problem keeping our power on sometimes, I think it’s the safe, logical thing to do. My assistant Emily came over and we headed to Bob’s Big Boy to grab a late dinner. I came back and rested for a bit, and then did my nightly WOG, with subsequent time in the anti-grav chair. Gorgeous! I got busy and put away all of the old drives and computer equipment that I would no longer need, now that my old computer has been officially retired. I also spent some time labeling the drawers in my office to make locating certain things a lot easier. It feels SO good to get organized! I made another amazing salad and watched a few more episodes of “Have Gun – Will Travel.”
Thursday the 3rd – LONG WEEKEND COMIN’ SOON! – Since there wasn’t anything pressing on the schedule, I took the opportunity to sleep late. After all the travel and activity last weekend it felt good to catch up on some Z’s. I met my pal Chris Malmin for dinner at Paty’s, and then picked up a package at my box. After some work around the house I relaxed for a bit, and then took my nightly WOG later. Since the maids were coming on Friday I straightened up a few things to make their job easier.
Friday the 4th – “WE GOT TO MOVE THESE COLOR TVs!” – My maids arrived at 12:30 and spent an hour and a half cleaning up. They used to be here a full 2 hours, but now that I have no pets their job is somewhat easier. When they left I headed over to Paty’s to meet up with my assistant Emily and her friend Heather, whom she was helping to move into her new apartment. My pal Scott Sebring also met us there and we had a fun lunch on a gorgeous late-summer day. I told Emily that Scott and I would help Heather move her big screen TV up a flight of stairs to her new apartment, which I think came as a bit of a surprise to Scott. But we managed just fine and we got it upstairs and loaded into her living room. Then Scott and I got back to my house and he helped me load an EQ plug-in into my audio recording program. Unlike my old recording system, which had an EQ system built-in, this new system required it to be added later through something called a VST thingamajig. My doctor called later in the afternoon to refill a few prescriptions, and then my assistant Emily came over to pick up some boxes that had been taking up room in my garage. She was glad to get them, and I was glad to get rid of them! I went inside to do some work, rest up a bit, and I took my WOG later. I loved spending time in the anti-grav chair relaxing afterwards. I came back inside and made a salad, watched a few episodes of “Have Gun – Will Travel” and welcome in the 3 day weekend! Delicious!
Saturday the 5th – I’LL NEVER FORGET THAT FACE! – It was time again to head to my stylist Andie’s salon to get a touch-up on my color. The weather had turned hot and humid again, as Hurricane Marie (off the west coast) was promising to dump a bunch of rain on the L.A. area Sunday afternoon. I walked into the salon and noticed a small, older lady sitting on the sofa with her phone. She didn’t say anything. When her stylist came over to tell her it was her turn, she had to talk very loud. I think the little old gal had hearing issues, and there might have been some dementia going on. The stylist was having trouble helping her to stand up, so I leapt up and went to the elderly lady’s left side. I still had my sunglasses on, along with my ball cap and my sleeveless t-shirt…and I hadn’t shaved in a while. I extended my hand to her and said, “Can I help you up?” This little lady looked up at me, looked directly into my face, and smiled broadly at me with the sweetest smile I shall never forget. It melted my heart. Even though she didn’t know me from Adam, and I looked like some sort of thug, she appreciated my gesture. I took her hand and helped her up. I told her I’d take her phone and carry it over to her chair for her. We escorted her to the chair where her caretaker was waiting for her. He thanked me profusely, and I told him it was my honor. Come to find out, her caretaker is a gentleman who met this little gal at church and decided to take her under his wing to help her. It kind of reminded me of the dynamic I had with my “adopted grandma” Shirley, who passed away 3.5 years ago. How very, very nice. After I got a touch-up on my color I headed over to CVS to pick up some prescriptions. I picked up a few grocery items and then went home to eat a late lunch. I relaxed, did a few random things around the house, and later went out to take my WOG. As I walked past a section of grassy area in our complex I saw what looked like a cat digging in the grass. But when it looked up I realized that it was our area SKUNK – whom I’ve now named Baxter. Baxter has been hanging around quite a bit, and we’ve learned to avoid each other anytime we come across one another. I hope we can continue to avoid each other just as successfully going forward! EEK! It was a balmy, tropical and humid night…really gorgeous! I settled into my anti-gravity chair and drank an iced tea and fired up a nice cigar! I came back inside to do some editing and check the news on my social media feeds. Oddly enough, somebody posted a clip from the Laurel & Hardy film “Pack Up Your Troubles.” It’s odd because I had that film on the roster for tonight’s Laurel & Hardy Theatre event, which I do the first Saturday of every month. What are the chances?! Honestly!? As I usually do, I made my Chef Boyardee pizza-in-a-box, popped some popcorn, had a banana Twinkie (I allow myself only one a month, at this point), and had some Diet Pepsi in my Oliver Hardy ceramic mug. The restoration of this film that was recently released on Blu Ray was STUNNING! It’s amazing the things they can do with these films nowadays!
Sunday the 6th – RAINY REST! – The weather report said that the L.A. area was going to get drenched by the residual rain from Hurricane Marie all day. So I took this opportunity to open my windows and sleep to the sound of the rain. AMAZING! This doesn’t happen often in Los Angeles, so I love taking advantage of days like these. It was really, really nice. By the evening the rain had mostly ceased, so I took my nightly WOG. When I was in the anti-grav chair I could feel a few drops here and there, and I found out that we were expecting another small cloudburst closer to sunrise. I came back inside to do some work, do some video editing, and prep for my traditional “unofficial last-day-of-summer” meal – chili cheese dogs on the grill! But by the time I was ready to hit the grill in the early morning hours, it had started pouring pretty heavily! The cool raindrops were hitting the hot cover of the grill and it created a lovely layer of steam. I downed 3 chili cheese dogs while I watched an episode of “The Outer Limits” called “The Sixth Finger.” Man these shows were well-written back in the day!
Monday the 7th – LABOR DAY 2026! – My friend Edi and I met for a mid-afternoon lunch at Paty’s, but it was much too muggy to eat outside. So we spent a few hours inside discussing new merchandise ideas for her husband Elliot Lurie’s concert appearances. Elliot has been a friend for a long time, and he’s the one who wrote and sang the mega-hit “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)” in 1972. But now that Yacht Rock is all the rage, he’s constantly in demand and he travels around playing shows all over the place. Edi is his “merch” person. I got back home in time to take a call from my pal Brian (another one of my “computer” guys) who needed to set up the back-up schedule for my new internal back-up hard drive that Thor installed the other day. We got that all fixed, and then I rested for a bit. Later I recorded some auditions, did some video editing, and then took my WOG. I saw Baxter again, and he did NOT look happy to see me. Ordinarily he(?) kind of ignores me, but I saw him turn and look directly at me. When I saw it was him(?) I made a hard right and rerouted my walk. During my walk I also encountered rats and spiders – not a particularly good night for the faint-of-heart! I spent a little time in the anti-grav chair, but I had to get back inside to write Wally’s Week and do some other work. Plus, I needed to hit the hay fairly early as I had a VERY busy Tuesday planned!
And how was YOUR week??!!
PIX FROM THE WEEK
Chris Valle, Elliot Lurie and me at The Smoke House!
Little did we know, but it was Pamela’s birthday eve that night!
The whole gang! Mark & Connie. Edi & Elliot. Chris & Pamela. Me & Angi!
Chris and I as Stan and Ollie back in 1974…
While watching “The Outer Limits” from 1963, I noticed that this actress (Jill Haworth) bore a striking resemblance to Sydney Sweeney! Is Sydney actually a time traveler???
After the rain left the L.A. area, we were blessed with a GORGEOUS sunset on Labor Day evening!
