Monday the 15th – HEALING! – Most of the day I spent sleeping, but I did get up to check messages for a bit, and then went back to bed. I’m trying to get as much sleep as possible to expedite the healing process. (If you remember, I had a crown lengthening surgery on my gums – nasty stuff!) Later I went to CVS to pick up some supplies and I met Honey the Dog again! Honey is a gorgeous (and very friendly) reddish Golden Retriever. I had met Honey and her human a few months ago at the bank, and I totally remembered her. Honey is an amazing dog, and she loves getting pets and kisses! I came back home to do some work and rest some more. I did a few auditions and noticed that the last of my stitches had come out. I guess the incisions have all healed on my gums around tooth #31. I hope this is the end of it. I did my nightly WOG (walk/jog) and came inside to write Wally’s Week.
Tuesday the 16th – PUPPET “TROOP!” – My pal (and brilliant puppet builder and puppeteer) Steve Troop stopped over so we could go over the work he has done so far on replicating Gonzo the Great. He had made some good headway, but he wanted to get some more measurements off the 1:1 replica I had made several years ago. We finished work and headed to Paty’s to have lunch on the patio with my pal Chris Malmin. After lunch I went to my box to ship off some stuff for my grandkids in Sioux Falls for Christmas. Then I came home to do some work, and rest up a little bit. Later I did my auditions for the day, took my nightly WOG, and reconciled my bank statements. End-of-the-year bank stuff is never very fun. I made a pot pie and some mashed potatoes and gravy (soft food kinda stuff for my sensitive gums) and watched another episode of “The Virginian.” This episode guest-starred George C. Scott…and it was utterly amazing. I really love this show!
Wednesday the 17th – WIND-SDAY! – The winds they were-a blowing all around the Los Angeles area. I woke up for a bit mid-morning, but I realized I was having a bit of pain around the surgical site, so I continued to rest. Later I did my auditions and sent them into my agents. I created a concept sketch for an exhibit I was pitching to Monsterpalooza for this year’s museum. I think Monsterpalooza’s producer Eliot Brodsky is really gonna love it! I took my nightly WOG and was surprised to see that it was actually quite warm out. It must’ve been the Santa Ana winds that blew in earlier. But a warmer night means that I get to spend time outside after my WOG in the anti-gravity chair. I like to cool down after my exercise, have an iced tea and relax while staring at the sky in the middle of the night. One gets to do a lot of introspection and thinking during these times. But I had a busy Thursday planned, so I had to get moving. First, I was due for my one-week follow-up visit with my Periodontist (so he could look at the healing process) and I was also going to head to Gardena to the offices of Julien’s auctions to pick up the item I won at the recent Jim Henson auction. The Gonzo Puppeteering Stool will look great on display in Planet Wallywood. It’s a specially-constructed stool with a divot cut in the seat for the puppeteer’s arm. Then the stool has 3 legs and is backed by a mirror. It’s an optical illusion – the mirror reflects the legs of the stool and makes it seem like it’s a free-standing, four-legged stool with a Muppet sitting on top of it. It’s a gag they used in the original “Muppet Movie,” and they used it again for Gonzo and Rizzo for the 2005 show “Muppets Tonight.” But because there’s a mirror attached, I realized that the piece will be fairly fragile. So I packed the Gray Ghost with foam rubber, blankets, Styrofoam, etc. – so it will be safely packed for its trip to Planet Wallywood.
Thursday the 18th – I NOT ONLY GOT ONE BREAK… BUT TWO! – In order to get to my follow-up appointment with my Periodontist I had to be up fairly early. He looked at the area and said I needed to start brushing it quite a bit, in order to toughen up the gum tissue to prep it for taking the impression for the permanent crown. I told him I was still having some discomfort, and I asked him if that was normal. He said it shouldn’t be hurting any longer. Uh oh. I picked up a package at my box, and then had some breakfast at McDonald’s. It was 11 bucks total, but I got very little food for my money. Sad. I mailed off some bills and then headed home to do some work. My pal Mark Fullerton came by at noon so he could help me with my Gonzo Puppeteering Stool, so hit the road and headed to Gardena. We eyeballed the location of the auction house, and then had lunch at a nearby diner to kill time until my appointment time arrived. Mark and I waited in the Julien’s lobby and a young lady came out to greet us. She said, “I’m looking for Wally.” I said, “I’m Wally.” She said, “I have some bad news.” I knew exactly what she was going to say before she said it. She said, “As we were bringing you item up for you, it fell over and broke.” I wasn’t mad, but I wasn’t surprised either. Just a few days earlier I got concerned about transporting such a fragile item (considering it had a mirror attached) and I emailed them to ask how the piece was packed and fortified. They basically told me that it wasn’t, but they could give me some bubble wrap and a box to transport it home. I’m shocked that an auction house with Julien’s reputation hadn’t secured it better, considering it was a fragile item. I had considered eventually removing the glass mirror from the stool anyway, for safety reasons, and replacing the glass mirror with a Plexiglas mirror for display. But not only had the mirror shattered in about 10 pieces, but a leg from the stool broke off as well. They said they had an excellent restoration guy who could fix it, but I told them I didn’t want glass put back on the piece – only Plexiglas. Since the staff was getting ready to head out for the holiday break, they said it should be ready for me shortly after the new year. So Mark and I went back to the L.A. area empty-handed. I kinda had a feeling something like this was going to happen. I phoned my pal Dan Roebuck from the road and asked him to meet us at Bob’s Big Boy for a late-afternoon snack. Dan arrived and we had a great time chatting. But as I was eating my delicious vegetable beef soup, something felt wrong. The temporary crown on my #31 tooth had detached. I immediately wrapped it in a plastic bag and stuck it in my pocket. Was EVERYTHING going to break today? Gee whiz! Actually, with the temp crown off, my tooth was feeling better. I wasn’t experiencing the discomfort I had been. So I decided to leave it off and just leave the tooth exposed until the time came to take the impression for the permanent crown. I got back home and was pretty bushed, so I hit the sack for a nap. Later I took my nightly WOG, recorded some auditions, paid some bills, and got some stuff ready for shipping.
Friday the 19th – FOGGY WOG! – My maids stopped over to Planet Wallywood to give it a good cleaning before the Christmas break. Later my gal Angi stopped over with her doggie Khloe. She’s heading out of town to see family over the holidays, so this will be the last I’ll see of her for a while, sadly. We headed out to go get some dinner, but first I stopped at the post office to mail some stuff. I stopped by my box to pick up some packages – which included the Blu ray sets for the TV shows “Night Gallery” and “Outer Limits,” and a Blu ray of the 1972 movie “Frogs.” Fantastic! Before we went to eat, I took Angi and Khloe over to the Christmas House in Burbank. I wanted to see if Khloe would respond to the amazing light show. Sure enough, she was pretty entranced for the most part. We’re never sure how doggies respond to different colors, but she seemed to enjoy it. At one point, when the snow machine starts up, I wanted to get Khloe out into the “snow” to get some video. It’s not real snow, but an incredible simulation made with a type of foam. Khloe was OK until she heard the snow machine start up and then she got a bit nervous. When the “snow” started up she didn’t quite know WHAT to think. We shot some video and it was adorable! December 19th, 2025 marks 3 years since Angi and I had our first encounter. We met for dinner at Paty’s and sat at the last booth on the patio. We were there for about 3 hours chatting! So every year on the 19th we go to Paty’s and try to get the same booth. This year Khloe was along, so it was extra fun! I got back home to relax and checked the weather forecast. It’s going to be a VERY wet Christmas holiday week in L.A.! In fact, we’re in for a couple of very foggy nights for the foreseeable future. I took my nightly WOG through the fog and it was quite enjoyable. I came back inside and made soup and a sandwich and watched another episode of “The Virginian.” This was the sixth episode in, and while the other episodes had been stellar, this one was rather mediocre. But I think this was an exception, as I’m sure the rest of the episodes will be wonderful.
Saturday the 20th – WHY DO THEY CALL IT FASTING? IT’S SOOOO SLOOOOW!” – After doing some reading on the subject I decided to fast for about 24 hours. I laid around most of the day just drinking liquids. I did manage to go out to get some groceries, but I never really got hungry. I came back and rested some more and did my WOG later. I did some work around the house and broke my fast with a salad around dawn on Sunday morning. For my Saturday night viewing, I took my buddy Kelly’s advice and started watching a brief series from the 70’s called “Fantastic Journey.” It’s quite interesting.
Sunday the 21st – BOW TIE SHOW TIME! – As is usual on a Sunday, I relaxed most of the day. I call it my “Comatose Sundays.” After checking the extended weather forecast it looks like I may miss several nights’ worth of WOGGING due to rain. I got outside to do my WOG for the night, and then came back in and looked at a few videos on YouTube about how to tie a bow tie. I wanted to tie one on my Stan Laurel life-size figure. After a few tries I got it down pretty well. I may try it again as I think I might be able to do better on a second try. As I was perusing social media I came across an account that posts a lot of old photos that are connected to Playboy. And one of the photos posted was a photo from my archive of me dressed as Darth Vader dancing with Playmate Missy Cleveland from a Corvette Show in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1981! I’m not even sure how this administrator got the photo, but I was happily surprised. I contacted him and asked if he’d like to have more photos from the same set. He said he would love it! I also sent him some photos I took of Playmate Sandy Cagle from later that year when she was doing an appearance at a local shopping mall. Fun stuff!
Monday the 22nd – THE WARM BEFORE THE STORM! – Since it’s getting to be that time of year, I spoke with my accountant about end-of-year tax stuff. I needed to get a few things clarified before I continued working on them. I got a text from my pal Sara Raftery saying that she could use a ride home from the airport. Though I hadn’t gotten much sleep (I’ve been sleeping SO much!) I decided that I would go pick her up. She’s been there for me countless times, so it’s the least I could do for her. This time of year the Uber rates are sky high, so I figured I’d do her a solid, and call it her Christmas gift for this year. I delivered her to her house, and then headed back home to do a little more work and rest up. Later in the evening I met my pal Rob Richards and Alex Zsolt at Little Toni’s for dinner. Alex was in town from Nashville to do some holiday concerts with Rob, and Alex would be leaving for home the next day. When we finished dinner I headed back home, and then Alex came over to see a few new things I had put up in Planet Wallywood. It had been a while since he had visited. We talked well into the night, and when he left I threw on my workout clothes and did my nightly WOG. I also spent some time outside afterwards in the anti-grav chair admiring the night. Since it was so late, I didn’t get to type out Wally’s Week (as I usually do on Monday nights). I started going through one of the boxes in my downstairs storage to separate and inventory the pieces inside. I made some chili and a sandwich and watched another episode of “The Virginian,” and this episode was MUCH better. It had an actor playing Teddy Roosevelt, and he was fantastic! Just before I hit the hay on Tuesday morning I spoke for a bit with my daughter Lacey in Sioux Falls. It seems like early mornings is the best time to reach her. We talked about their plans for the holidays and other Christmassy stuff.
Tuesday the 23rd – STORAGE STUPEFICATON! – The rain is expected to arrive any time, and it’s going to be epic. They’re talking about flooding and inches upon inches of rain! I relaxed a little bit, and then did some work in the garage. Each year at Christmas I do something called a “Creative Christmas.” I pick a special creative project I want to do for the Christmas holiday, and get absorbed in it while I listen to a show called “Christmas Across the Lands” on the radio. I do some work on the show as a character named Wally the Elf and it’s a great deal of fun. But I spent hours looking for a specific bin in the garage that I just couldn’t locate – and it was driving me nuts! I looked at the inventory page in my computer, so I knew it was down in the garage somewhere, but I’ll be damned if I could find it! The off-and-on rain that we had during the day had let up a bit, so I took advantage of the pause and did my WOG. Just as I was nearing my house the rain had started up again. Talk about GREAT timing! But I was still flummoxed by the missing materials I had been looking for. And then it hit me! The materials were part of a bin marked something else! I went to the garage, found the mysterious bin, pulled out some stuff, and THERE WAS THE STUFF I NEEDED! AWESOME!
Wednesday the 24th – CREATIVE CHRISTMAS BEGINS! – Stores would be closing early since it was Christmas Eve, so I needed to get out soon and do my errands. It was pouring rain, but I didn’t care. It was actually pretty nice. After picking up some packages at my box, I went over to Paty’s to have lunch on the patio and watch it rain. It was very relaxing! I picked up a few grocery items, and then headed back home to do some work. In years past, my “Creative Christmas” projects have included building puppets, painting a night sky on my kitchen ceiling, and doing other fun stuff. This year it was embellishing my South Dakota photo albums. About a year ago, when I was visiting my parents in Sioux Falls for my dad’s 90th birthday celebration, I was given a couple boxes of keepsake photos and ephemera. My folks had started downsizing and they had separated all of the photos they had in their archives to give to each of us kids. I couldn’t believe some of the great stuff in the boxes they gave me! Photos of me as a kid. Every school photo I had ever taken. Report cards. Letters to grandma. Artwork I did as a kid. It was all amazing! Several years ago I decided to redo all of my photo albums. The photo albums I organized back in the late 70’s/early 80’s had gotten very ratty. The gum on the pages had gotten dry and all of the photos were falling out. I split all the photos in my archive into two groups – SOUTH DAKOTA and L.A.! I would tackle the South Dakota photos first, and then move onto the L.A. ones later. There were photos dating back to 1961 when I was born, and continuing all the way up to the time I left South Dakota in 1987. So I had almost 30 years of photos to go through! But I did it, and I must say – I did a pretty good job putting them all together. I separated all of the photos I had into two categories – PERSONAL and PERFORMANCE. Any photos of a personal nature went into one pile, but photos that were connected to any performing I did (plays, characters, impressions, puppets, radio, etc.) went into another pile. I would make two different sets of photos albums for each category. I laid them all out to create a certain timeline narrative to the best of my ability. I was pretty happy with how they turned out, and when I finished them up – I moved onto working on the L.A. photo albums. But that was a few years ago. Now I have all these “NEW” photos that have come into my possession, and I would have to figure out a way to incorporate them into my already-completed South Dakota photo albums without messing up the narrative. Therein lies the challenge. But I could do it. Luckily the adhesive I used to fasten the pictures into the photo album pages was something called “removable tape.” It’s double-stick tape, but unlike the permanent stuff, this allows you to unstick the photo and move it if you change your mind. It’s good stuff! I took all of the photos my parents gave me, along with some news articles and other ephemera I had unearthed in the mysterious storage bin, and started organizing and inventorying the materials. I spent most of the afternoon doing that, and it was a blast. I found some GOLD! I streamed “Christmas Across The Lands” on my computer while I worked. In my home’s entertainment center, my receiver is set up to send audio to every room in the house. When I moved in back in 2000, I had an A/V guy send wires all through the house that connected to the receiver. So whatever is playing on the main receiver goes to the Puppet Room, the Chaney Room, and my main bedroom. Each room has their own individual audio controls. I like to have “Christmas Across The Lands” playing all through the house on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so I can hear the show no matter when room I’m doing work in. I knew the photo album embellishment project wouldn’t be just a one night affair. It would most likely take me through the entire Christmas-to-New Year’s week to finish it. But I made a LOT of headway the first night. It was an absolute blast. In situations where I feel the photo or article needs a bit of explanation or commentary, I’ll sit down at the computer and print out a bit of text that I can post along with the image in the photo album. What a blast! I took my nightly WOG on a quiet Christmas Eve night, and then went back inside and continued working through the night. As the sun began to rise on Christmas morning, I called it a night and continued with my “Creative Christmas” tradition. I made a Chef Boyardee pizza-in-a-box, and head to bed to watch something special. Last year it was a few Muppets Christmas specials. This year it was the Charlie Brown and animated Grinch specials. I never get tired of those! Pure brilliance! What a fun Christmas!
Thursday the 25th – CHRISTMAS! – I put a few finishing touches on the photo album work I had done so far, then got cleaned up and headed to the Smoke House for our annual Christmas dinner. It was still raining pretty heavily, but it was a very pleasant evening with friends. With a very full tummy, I came back home to rest. Unlike the luck I had the previous nights, getting to do my WOG during pauses in the rainstorms, I had no such luck tonight. It poured rain all night. So I took the night off and stayed inside printing and pasting in my photo albums. Oh well. I lost one night of WOGGING. But that’s nothing considering I had originally thought I’d be losing FOUR nights earlier this week when I saw the weather forecast.
Friday the 26th – WRAPPING UP 2025! – At the end of every year, it’s advisable that my corporation’s President (me) cut a bonus check to the corporation’s only employee (me). I know it sounds silly, but my corp cut a check to me that I would deposit in my personal account. I scanned a few other checks and then headed to the bank to make the final deposit of the year. Then I headed over to CVS with a flash drive so I could get some photos printed for my photo album work. I knew I’d be needing a new battery back-up for my computer soon (the one I have has already given me one warning ‘beep’ that it’s beginning to die), so I headed over to Staples to pick one up. I also needed to get more label tapes for my Brother P-Touch label maker. I keep forgetting that Staples has my voice on their phone line, as well as on the overhead speaker system. They bought the text-to-speech program that I recorded several years ago. So as I was shopping I heard me say, “Customer service has a call holding. Customer service.” Several times, in fact. It’s always fun to hear that. I told the girl at the checkout counter that the voice on the overhead speakers was me. When I tell people that they usually don’t know what I’m talking about, or how to take it. Then I do the voice, and explain that I recorded the program they use many years ago. She was quite taken aback by that. Fun stuff! The employees hear that voice program hundreds of times a day and probably just think it’s computer-generated – and not a real guy. I was craving a Big Mac for lunch, so I headed to McDonald’s to get some food to go. I also stopped by the post office to mail off some bills, and then went back home to continue work on the photo albums. We were having a break in the rain for a little bit, so it was nice. After resting for a little bit, I took my nightly WOG, and then came back inside to continue work on the photo albums. I’m having a blast! I made a salad and watched another episode of “The Virginian.” It was another winner with guest star Eddie Albert doing a dramatic turn long before he showed his comedy chops in “Green Acres.” The episode also featured Robert Colbert and Tom Skerritt in the cast! WILD!
Saturday the 27th – WHAT TIME IS IT? TOOTH-HURTY! – When I awoke I had a fairly bad toothache in the area of my #31. What the heck was going on? I don’t think I should still be having pain there! I took some meds and went back to sleep. Later on I took my nightly WOG and noticed that the area around my tooth would throb with each step I took. It would also throb when I bent over to pick something up. Something’s amiss, for sure. When I got back inside I busied myself with another photo album. This one would feature all of the portrait photos I had taken when I was a kid – from the age of 6 months old all the way up to my senior picture in high school! I also incorporated school photos and all of my report cards. Some of the comments from my teachers on my report cards were funny – “Please listen!” “Wally needs to learn that others would like to talk sometimes too.” “Wally could do better – but does careless work.” While my grades were fairly average all the way around, I did do well in vocal class – getting mostly A’s. But in the very last quarter of my junior year my teacher in vocal class gave me an F. WHAT?! I wonder what THAT was all about. Looking back on my sixth grade report card made me realize just how miserable I was in that class. I didn’t like my teacher, and she didn’t care much for me. I think by that time I had pretty much had it with the standard “readin,’ writin,’ and ‘rithmatic’ lessons from Kindergarten through 5th grade. I was at the age where I needed more to challenge me. So when I read the comment “Wally does careless work,” my response was, “Well why didn’t they give me work I could care about?” It occurred to me that the person who got rid of Junior High in favor of Middle School was a genius. A kid in sixth grade has MUCH more in common with those kids in 7th, 8th and 9th grade – than they do with those in K through 5. When I got to Junior High it was amazing. Industrial Arts class, drafting, shop class, vocal class, art class – stuff that really challenged me! But I made it through OK. I made my traditional Saturday Night Super Salad and watched another episode of “Fantastic Journey” before bed.
Sunday the 28th – TOPSY TURVY! – Given the fact that it’s in the middle of a holiday break and nothing much is going on, my schedule is even more topsy-turvy than usual. I ended up staying awake all during the first part of the day, and I didn’t actually get to sleep until 3pm in the afternoon! WOW! I slept the entire rest of the day and it felt great. I did do my WOG later in the evening, and then spent the rest of the night on my photo albums. It’s all coming along nicely, and I’m predicting that by the end of the holiday break I’ll have them all completed to my satisfaction. My daughter Lacey and her husband Andy gave my grandkids a trip to L.A. this spring for a Christmas gift, and I couldn’t be more excited! We’ll go to Monsterpalooza, Universal Studios, Bob Baker Marionette Theatre, and more! Heck, I may even bore the grandkids with my photo albums! HA!
Monday the 29th – SCHOOL DAZE! – Since my assistant Emily was in the area, we decided to go have some lunch on the patio at Paty’s. Then I picked up a package at my box, headed to CVS to print some more photos for my photo album project, and then headed home to do some work. My friend Amanda happened to be in town, so we met up to go see the Christmas House in Burbank, and then went to Bob’s Big Boy for dinner. It was fairly nice out, so we ate on the patio and enjoyed the evening. Later, after relaxing for a bit, I did my WOG and thoroughly enjoyed the warmer weather. I came back inside and put the finishing touches on my “Portraits” and “School Daze” photo albums. These turned out VERY nicely!
Tuesday the 30th – DOUBLE DENTIST DAY…AGAIN! – Since I wanted to get a new temporary crown put on my #31 tooth, I went back to my dentist’s office. He already had one made up and ready to go (he kept my mold). As he was applying it I was talking to him about the pain I was experiencing since the crown lengthening procedure. And when I mentioned the “throbbing,” he stopped and said, “I’m sending you back to the root canal guy.” Apparently the throbbing pain was something for an endodontist to address. Luckily, my endodontist is two floors below my dentist in the same building. I called and they had an opening in two hours. I had a lunch appointment at Paty’s with my pal Scott Sebring at 1, so this would work out great. I had lunch with Scott and then skedaddled off to my endodontist’s office. We talked about the pain I was still having (which is odd, considering I had a root canal done on the #31 and should have no nerves in it) and we started talking about the mini-canal that he couldn’t access during the procedure because of the calcification. He said the human eye couldn’t detect anything, but I would need a “cone scan” of the area – which shows him upper, under, and side views of the tooth. Then he could determine where the mini canal was, and how he could access it. He said he didn’t have a tool small enough to get at it from the top, so he could have to go in through the bottom of the root to get the nerve out – IF it was even still alive in there. Clearly SOMETHING is alive in there, because it’s giving me pain. But after he described that procedure, I said, “Thanks, but I think I’m just gonna have the #$)%&ing thing yanked out.” I went back to my dentist to give him the report and he said extraction and implant was probably the best option now. He said I could probably have the implant inserted immediately after the extraction was done while I was still under anesthesia. That would be idea. Unlike the nightmare I encountered in 2018 when I had to have two teeth removed that were exacerbating infections in my left sinus. I had so much bone loss due to ongoing infections that I had to get a bone graft before any implant could be inserted. But I doubt there’s any bone loss in my #31 area, so hopefully it’ll be easy-peasy. But so far, NOTHING about this whole process has been easy-peasy. But…again…I take total blame for not addressing this problem long ago when I had the chance. Procrastination is dangerous. I have an appointment with the periodontist who did my crown lengthening surgery next week, so I’ll ask him about everything then and see what he says. In my VERY uneducated opinion (thinking logically) I’m thinking that the crown lengthening procedure exposed the remaining nerve in the calcified canal of the tooth, and the pain is emanating from the tooth because of that. That would explain why I started feeling pain after the crown lengthening procedure, and not before. Had I not had to have that surgery, the tooth could have been fine. But the fact remains that there was simply not enough tooth structure exposed above the gum line for the crown to attach to. So…I tried to keep my own biological material as long as I could. But it seems that the only option now is to have it yanked and be done with it. I came back home to rest, and later I worked on more of my photo albums after a refreshing nightly WOG.
Wednesday the 31st – RINGING OUT A RATHER TOUGH YEAR! – While this past year had a lot of downs, there were a few, wonderful ups to celebrate. I have to stay focused on those and stay positive. Once I get a few health things out of the way, it should be clear sailing! On the final day of the year I went to CVS again to get some more photo prints made for my photo album project. Then I braved the rain to get some grocery items, and head to Jersey Mike’s to get a sandwich. When I came outside the sky looked really weird. It was kind of orange/gray. I think we were between rainstorms, but there were still a fair amount of thick clouds overhead – with a few breaks here and there. I think because the sun was just setting (but we couldn’t see it because of the cloud cover) it cast an orange-ish hue on the gray clouds. It looked really eerie. I happened to be on the phone with my pal Edi and she said the sky was weird-looking at her location as well. What a way to end the year! I got back home and did a little work with my photos, and then slept for a bit. I was awakened by the sound of fireworks going off at midnight. Because of the rain all of the “amateur” fireworks fanatics that are usually out on New Year’s Eve were silent. But the fireworks I was hearing came from a nearby movie studio where they were having some sort of event. People must want to party pretty badly to stay out on a rainy night! But when I was awakened, I came out of one of the funniest dreams I had ever had. In fact, I woke up laughing…and laughed…and laughed…and laughed. The description that follows may not be completely effective in conveying what went on in the dream, but trust me – it was hilarious at the time! In the dream I was onstage with a few other performers. I had no idea what I was going to do, so I walked over to one of the other performers and asked to see the script. I saw that my part in the show was a bit called “Bottom of the 9th,” and when I gave the script a cursory look, I had no idea what it was all about. So I decided to improvise and come up with something different on the spot. Just then a guy wandered up on stage and I thought he was a stage intruder, so I started beating him and throwing him around telling him to get off the stage. Then somebody from off-stage yelled, “He’s one of your volunteers.” Then I collected myself and started brushing the guy off, apologizing all the time. Which was pretty funny. In the dream, the crowd was loving it. With all of the mania currently going on about “stage intruders” it’s funny to think that a guy was roughed up who was SUPPOSED to be there all along, and had just innocently volunteered to be a part of the act. I had a panel of four volunteers onstage, standing at podiums, who were all guys I knew from elementary school (I can thank my photo album project for that mental imagery). I was going to do an improvised mind-reading act. I would read the mind of one volunteer, and then mentally transmit that same thought to one of the other volunteers. But the whole thing would happen while all of the volunteers are within earshot – so really not that amazing considering that they just heard what I said. I went to volunteer #4 and read his thoughts. “I’m reading your thoughts…and you’re thinking about a black ground squirrel.” Volunteer #4 says, “You’re right!” I moved over to volunteer #1 and said, “So now I will transmit that same thought to volunteer #1 and see if he can pick up on it (which should be easy since he just heard what I said out loud). I said, “I’m mentally transmitting to you the thought I received from volunteer #4. What are you picking up?” Sheepishly volunteer #1 says, “A black ground squirrel?” I said, “Correct! Amazing!” Then I moved onto volunteer #2 and started reading his mind. “I see that you’re thinking of…a 1920’s art deco house with a chimney.” Volunteer #2 says, “YES!” “Amazing! Now I will mentally transmit that same thought to volunteer #3 and see if he can pick it up.” Of course #3 will pick it up, because he was standing right next to #2 and he heard me say what the imagery was. But when I transmitted the image to #3, he got it totally wrong! (Which is totally absurd since he was standing right next to #2 and obviously heard what I said . But his response was WRONG. Which was very funny). The whole thing defies written description, but in the dream it was absolutely hysterical. I may try and use that bit someday. By the time I got up it was raining too hard to WOG, so I took the night off. I popped some more Ibuprophen and started in on my photo albums again. I inventoried the remaining items in my South Dakota Memories bin, and sealed it up and put it back downstairs in storage. I made a salad and watched an episode of “The Virginian” to ring in the New Year!
Thursday the 1st – HAPPY SNOOZE YEAR! – What’s better than spending the first day of a new year in bed while listening to it rain outside? NOTHING! And that’s exactly what I did! By the time I got up and got ready for my WOG all of the rain had disappeared. The full moon overhead looked very eerie; occasionally peeking out behind a thick, rapidly-moving cloud cover. I spent the rest of the night putting the finishing touches on the photo albums.
Friday the 2nd – HOLIDAY WEEK BURN-OUT! – Now that the holidays were officially over, I was ready to get back to work. I was over it. Kind of like how I was “over it” by the time I reached sixth grade and needed something more. My maids came over to clean and when they finished I did some work around the house. I’m getting ready to clear out my files of pay stubs and receipts for the year, so I brought up a bunch of categorized envelopes to put them all in for storage. I cleared out my file cabinets and made room for all the pay stubs and receipts for the new year. We were between rainstorms, so it was actually pretty nice out. I took my nightly WOG later in the evening and it was gorgeous outside. I even spent some quality time in the anti-gravity chair watching the full moon pierce through the cloud cover, which created a wonderfully eerie “moondog” effect! I came back inside and finished the final photo album, labeled it, and stored it in my closet. WONDERFUL! It was a lot of work, but well worth it. And all of the photos and ephemera from my parents’ archives are now safely at rest in MY archives! I’m really happy with how they all turned out. Overall it was another great Christmas break (except for that pesky #31!) and I had some spaghetti and hit the hay.
Saturday the 3rd – COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET! – Today was supposed to be the final rainy day of this set of storms. I loved the rain we’ve gotten, but I was ready to have a change of pace and see some sun and enjoy some warmth again. I drove over to my stylist Andie’s salon to get a touch-up on my color. Then I came back home and napped to the rain. NICE! The rain had ceased by the time I was due to take my nightly WOG, so once again I lucked out! In fact, the night was even pleasant enough to enjoy some time outside in the anti-grav chair after my workout. But I was energized. So I went into my bedroom closet and started rearranging things. I pulled a lot of stuff out that I no longer needed and began throwing things away. Back in the early 2000’s I had burned CDs of various folders and files from my computer that I wanted to archive, and stashed those in my closet. But I no longer needed those now because I have so many redundant back-ups of my system on various external hard drives. So I tore through books and books of useless old CDs and got rid of them. I also took out about a dozen pair of custom-made boots that I had made back in the early 2000’s. While they’re still very nice boots, they no longer suit my current style. So I pulled them out so they can be individually bagged and stored downstairs in my garage. Clearing all of the shelf space and floor space allowed me to do some much-needed rearranging. I would need the available shelf space for the rest of the photo albums I’m creating. By the time I was finished it looked much more orderly and clean! And since it was the first Saturday of the month, I got ready for my traditional observance of “Laurel & Hardy Theatre.” This month I’m delving into the new “Laurel & Hardy; Year 3” Blu ray that came out in November. It contains restored films from their final year as silent film comedians (1929), as sound came into movies the next year. I made my usual Chef Boyardee pizza-in-a-box and got settled in. The first film was “Liberty” (which contains some ‘sweaty-palm’ scenes on the top of a skeletal high-rise building – a classic!). The second film was “Wrong Again,” which features some scenes with a beautiful, VERY well-trained white horse named Blue Boy. Utterly hilarious. I like the watch each film through once, and then go back and watch it again with the commentary track engaged. I learned SO MUCH by listening to them. What a great time!
Sunday the 4th – AND THAT’S A WRAP! – Monday’s arrival will herald a new work week in a new year. I took advantage of the final day of the holiday break and rested up. My final task of the break was to extricate all of my pay stubs and receipts and pack them away into storage to make room in my files for this year’s receipts and stubs. It’s pretty much what I do at the end of every year, so I have my routine down pat. I finished that and took my WOG, and then hit the hay. What a wonderful holiday break it was!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! May your year be enriched with bountiful blessings!
PIX FROM THE WEEK(s)
I practiced my bow tie skills on the spare Roger M00re head, and then did it for real on my life-size Stan Laurel figure!
Alan, the owner of the Christmas House, had a surprise in store for me this year. He designed lighting to one of my favorite Christmas songs!
I love when it “snows” at the Christmas House!
A beautiful photo by Mark Fullerton!
Khloe seems shocked that her Christmas stocking is empty. “Are you kidding me with this?!”
My dad and my granddaughter Natalie on Christmas Eve!
Just what my dad needs…a book of dad jokes!
Here we’re discussing the damage to the auction item I won at Julien’s.
There, there. I’m sure it will be restored and all will be good again!
Here are a few shots of how the Gonzo Puppeteering Stool looked in its original form.
My buddy Dan Roebuck came to dinner with Christmas gifts! First, Lassie View Master reels…
…and a collectible Starsky & Hutch dart gun game! WOW!
I gifted Dan with some rare pin-ups from the Turkish sit-com we both dubbed called “Ersan Kuneri.”
The moondog was stunning on this past week’s full moon!
I was going to make some mac ‘n’ cheese…
…but decided not to when I discovered that it came with extra “protein” I didn’t need! YUK!
I was elated when an old picture of mine showed up on social media recently. Good times! Me as Darth Vader with Playboy Playmate Missy Cleveland at an auto show back in 1981!
My granddaughter Natalie modeling the cool Monster Dress I got her last October. Perfect fit!
Here are a few of the photos I came across while working on the photo albums. First, a pic of “New Wave” Wally, which hung in the lobby of the studios of KELO-AM radio for a few years…
…and this shot of a 13 year old me at a school picture session. I believe they called that thing I was wearing a “shirt-jack” – which was short for a shirt/jacket – and it could be used for either purpose. The 70’s were weird, that’s for sure!
One of the pieces of ephemera I came across in my archive was my original membership card from Prairie Dog Records in Aberdeen!
Poor Khloe looks very unsure about the snow machine at the Christmas House!
When I was 13 my friend Jon and I started our own comic book line. Mine was Wingert Comics; the King of Comics. I wrote and drew three issues, and these are the covers. I had plans to do more characters, but life moved on. Luckily, I found all three issues in my storage stuff, and they are now safely archived.
Poor little Khloe didn’t know what to think of the fake snow at the Christmas House! Here are a few of the visual delights that are featured as part of the Christmas House’s presentation. Lotsa holiday eye candy!
