February 02 – February 08 (2026)

Monday the 2nd – PREP AND MORE PREP! – My daughter Lacey called so we could chat in anticipation of the thyroid surgery that I would be having on Friday. She’s a medical professional in South Dakota, so in addition to being one of my daughters, she’s also someone who I can use as a sounding board for concerns and questions. I wiped down the Mustang and it was a gorgeous day. My gal Angi came over and I hadn’t seen her since before Christmas since she had been out of town for both work and time with her family. We had a lot of catching up to do, and we started with a meal at Little Toni’s. Then it was back home to do a little more work, take my nightly WOG (walk/jog) and type out Wally’s Week.

Tuesday the 3rd – BROTHER TOM! – In the late afternoon I recorded a few auditions and sent them to my agents. I picked up a package at my box and then headed over to McDonald’s to get some food at the drive-thru. It was time again for another meeting of The Sons Of The Desert (the worldwide Laurel & Hardy fan club) so I headed to the meeting to hang out and see if I could be of any help setting up. A recent member to our chapter (even though he’s been a member at another chapter previously) is my old pal (and fellow Voice Actor) Tom Kenny. You’d be surprised at the amount of actors who cut their teeth watching “The Boys” on Saturday afternoon television. It was fun chatting with Tom and catching up. We watched some fun films and had a lot of laughs. I headed back home to rest up a little. I did my nightly WOG, did some more work around the house, and then made some lasagna and watched another episode of “The Virginian.” This show is really terrific!

Wednesday the 4th – SAD MONTH! – February will always be a month that holds two sad anniversaries for me. Toward the end of the month it will be three years since my dog Roxy passed, and today marked the three year anniversary of the passing of my “adopted grandma” Shirley. I miss both my girls a heckuva lot! At the Sons Of The Desert meeting on Tuesday night I paid my fee for the upcoming 100 Years of Laurel & Hardy convention that will happen this June in San Diego. It was 1926 when Hal Roach first paired Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in a film, and the rest is history! 2026 is the centennial anniversary of the pairing that launched a thousand laughs! The producer of the convention reminded me to call the hotel to make sure to book my room. And after glancing at their website I knew just the kind of room I wanted! Something with a balcony on a high floor! BINGO! Reserved! This will be fun. And I LOVE San Diego! It will give me something to look forward to while I’m on the mend after my surgery. That and having my daughter Lacey’s family visiting me in May for Monsterpalooza, going to a convention in Hartford, Connecticut in July, going to this year’s Voices Against Cancer convention in June, and a few other fun things! My friend Amanda was in town so we went to Bob’s Big Boy to get dinner, something she always likes to do when she’s in the area. I took the Mustang back to my auxiliary parking spot, got the Rav back out again and headed back home to do some auditions. Then I took my nightly WOG; probably the last one I’ll get to do for quite a while.

Thursday the 5th – HEAVY LIFTING DAY! – During my recovery I won’t be able to do any heavy lifting, because of the incision I’ll have. So today was the day I took care of all of that. I did a bunch of laundry, changed sheets on both beds, and got some groceries. My seamstress Maggie came over to pick up some materials so she could get started on some special puppets we’re making for a display at this year’s Monsterpalooza museum. Then I sped off to Voice Trax West to do a brief session for American Airlines. It’s a line they needed to pick-up for the safety demonstration. I told them they should probably get it before I have surgery, rather than after – as I can’t be guaranteed how the surgery will affect my voice…if at all. I got back home to do some work and try to occupy myself with stuff to do until it was time to hit the hay. I had to start fasting at midnight (no solid foods for 8 hours, only clear liquids up to 4 hours before surgery, that sort of thing) so I made sure to eat some food that would stick with me. I had a chicken pot pie with mashed potatoes and gravy. YUM!

Friday the 6th – WELL THAT DIDN’T GO AS SMOOTHLY AS I HAD HOPED! – My eyes shot open at 6:45 am and I got cleaned up. This process has been going on for so long I’ll really be glad to have it all behind me. Hopefully soon. The surgery to remove the right lobe of my thyroid is scheduled for 10am, with an 8am check-in, and it should take about 90 minutes. The recovery time for coming out of anesthesia should take another hour or so, and then I’m home. Or so I hoped. My pal Mark picked me up at 7:30 and we headed to the hospital. I checked in and was taken to the “Short Stay” wing of the hospital. I liked the sound of that. It’s the wing that services all of the outpatient procedures. I got in my gown and got on the gurney. But the medical assistant said they didn’t get any of my pre-op stuff from my Primary Care Physician! What?! After all the trouble I went through to get it done? (See last week’s Wally’s Week!) So before they could take me into surgery they had to DO IT ALL AGAIN! That included an EKG and a full blood panel. Ugh. I called my doctor’s office and they said they faxed the information over on Thursday. For some reason, it was never received. I’ll inquire as to why when I’m back on my feet. But I think I might be due a refund of some sort. My surgeon came in and we chatted. Then the anesthesiologist came in to chat. He said he saw I had a history of arrhythmia in my charts. Not that I know of! In fact, my heart has always been one of my best features. I thought hard about why it would have said that. And then it occurred to me. Back in the 90s I was having an issue where my heart was beating very powerfully. I had it checked by a cardiologist who told me, “I don’t know what your problem is, but it’s not your heart.” I said, “It’s good?” He said, “It’s more than good. It’s great!” After consulting with my doctor at the time he said, “OK, I know you don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t do drugs…how’s your caffeine intake?” Uh-oh. That was it. I was drinking about 7 Diet Pepsis a day! That’s when I backed off on caffeinated sodas and went mostly toward iced teas (which have a LOT less caffeine). I’m glad I eased back on the diet drinks anyway, since Aspartame has always had a bad effect on me. I told the anesthesiologist that might have been what he was referring to, but I haven’t had anything wrong with my heart in decades. As they wheeled my gurney down the hallway I was doing my race car sounds to make everyone we met along the way laugh. I got into the OR and went nighty night. When I woke up I was back in the prep room, Mark was there, and I was being given some water, apple juice and Jell-O. I devoured them all quickly. It was over. I stood up and went back to the dressing area to put my street clothes back on, but I noticed that my throat was a lot sorer than it probably should have been. The nurse looked at my neck and immediately called a doctor over. Since the surgery ended a few hours ago, my surgeon was already on the road on her way back home. But they called her and the doctor shot pictures of my neck and sent them to her. She’s coming right back. Apparently I had some excess bleeding that shouldn’t be there. Too bad too. Because the little clear patch they had over my incision looked kinda neat. But I wasn’t fully out of the anesthesia yet, so my mind was still a little bit foggy as all this was going on. Poor Mark, he thought we were going to be getting out of there, but instead I’m being wheeled over to the Emergency wing for a second surgery! They would need to open me back up and address the bleeding…a hematoma, I believe they call it. This time the guy driving my gurney didn’t seem up for any laughs, and I was a bit concerned myself. I was put under and when I woke up the clock said it was 4:00. I had been there a long time! As I was trying to come out of the sedation I was trying to comprehend everything that was being told to me. Apparently they would be needing to keep me overnight for observation. RATS! I’ve lived 64 years without anything needing to be removed from my body (with the exception of teeth and a few intestinal polyps) and I haven’t spent a night in the hospital since I was a baby. I guess my streak was over on both counts. I would be staying the night. But since I was an infant the last time I stayed the night in a hospital, I was unsure of what was to come. They were trying to get a room cleaned and ready for me, but it was taking a while. I was wondering what Mark had been doing all this time. When I finally got wheeled to room 1608 both Mark and Angi were there waiting for me. They were a sight for sore eyes…or at least a sore neck! Because of the excess bleeding they had to install a drainage tube in the front of my neck, and the bulb needed to be drained from time to time by a nurse. I remember having one of these installed in the BACK of my neck when I had an outpatient surgery back in 1999, so I was at least familiar with that. I was starting to feel a bit more like myself again, so I started talking with Mark and Angi. Honestly I don’t know what I would have done without them. Absolute angels! By the time I got into my room the cafeteria was closed and there was no more food available (is that even a THING at hospitals?!) so Angi got on her phone and got delivery from a nearby restaurant. But I wanted out of the hospital so I would do anything to get discharged on time. They said the criteria for discharge was 1) eating some food, 2) going pee-pee, 3) being able to walk, and 4) being able to show that we had good lung capacity. Apparently after the intubation some patients have trouble with their lungs. They brought in a small plastic device with numbers on it, a floating plastic chip inside it, and an expandable hose. They said that normally people that come right out of surgery can only get up to the 1000 or 1500 mark. I smiled and said, “Watch this.” I exhaled all of the air from my lungs, wrapped my lips around the mouthpiece on the hose, and took a deep breath in. The little floating plastic chip shot all the way to the top of the unit and made a loud “CLICK” sound. I felt like the guy at the carnival who hit the platform with the hammer and made the bell ring. The looks on the faces of the nurses was hilarious! They said they had never seen that from somebody coming right out of surgery. I said with a smile, ”Wanna see it again?” I did it a second time and they were amazed! Honestly this little device felt more like a kid’s toy than an actual medical device. Since I was starting to feel more spry I started joking around with the staff. They would bring me little mugs of ice water, but within a few minutes they would be drained. I made sure to drink a ton of water. Not only did I want to flush the remaining anesthesia out of my system, but I wanted to show them that I could pee on a regular basis. Now I just needed to prove myself with a walk and some food. My attending nurse asked if I wanted to walk. I said, “Let’s go!” I held her arm like I was the Scarecrow and she was Dorothy and we made our way around the hospital floor. I was joking and laughing all the way, and she said to slow down, that she was having trouble keeping up. We completed one lap and I said, “One more! What the heck!” Then I really turned on the juice. I was WOGGING her around the floor and everyone was laughing. It was nice to see smiling, laughing faces. I doubt you get to laugh much in that line of work. I stopped at the room next to me and chatted with the nurses and the patient there. I said, “Hey, you wanna see a neat trick?” I grabbed the breathing device and performed my party trick. The nurses there were amazed too. In fact, one of them even shot a video of my doing it! Then I confessed that I was a Voice Actor and singer and have always had good lung capacity. Though I probably wasn’t supposed to be using my voice much, I couldn’t help it. Between me trying to do parlor tricks to prove that I was eminently qualified to be discharged, and perhaps a little bit of the “wacky medicine” that was still in my veins, I was all over the place. In fact, we carried on until midnight! Between Mark, Angi and I – we had the whole place in (if you’ll pardon the expression) stitches! But as it started to get late I realized that our “party atmosphere” may not be appreciated by some of the other patients who were trying to rest. So Mark said his goodbyes and took off. Angi stayed for another hour or so. They brought me in a strong pill that they said would help me sleep. But after an hour it hadn’t done much. So they gave me a second one around 1 in the morning. Angi said goodnight and headed out. I tried to relax, but the hospital bed was 1) too small for my height, and 2) really uncomfortable! I don’t sleep well sitting up (unless I’m on a plane, for some reason) so it was difficult to get into sleep mode. Add to that the fact that the room was stuffy with no airflow, and actually quite warm. I asked the nurse to check the temp of the room and she called “master control” who told her the temp in my room was 76 degrees. What? That’s almost 80! Much too warm. She asked them to take the temp down to 68, and then she left. But I still couldn’t get to sleep. The temp hadn’t cooled at all! Luckily the nurses were bringing my ice packs for my incision, so I put one on the top of my head to try and cool down. It was absolutely miserable. I avoided having to stay in a hospital room for 64 years, and after this experience, I hope it’s ANOTHER 64 years before I have to stay in another one. It wasn’t a “hospital,” it was more like a “HOTspital!” Yuck! I asked for a fan but they didn’t have one. If I opened the door to the hallway some airflow would come in, but then I could hear the staff talking, the machinery beeping, and the other patients moaning and groaning. It was a nightmare. Between 1am and 6am I got virtually no restful sleep at all.

Saturday the 7th – HOME AT LAST! – Just like magic, at 6am the air conditioning came on. Wouldn’t you know it?! I put a pair of socks over my eyes as a sleep mask and got a few hours of sleep here and there. My surgeon came in to check on me and she said they had no reason to keep me longer, and that I would be going home around noon. I asked her what happened with my situation. She said that in about 3-5% of patients there is excessive bleeding. Whattayaknow! I defied the odds again! I’m getting tired of defying the odds only in a negative way, frankly! She said for some reason there were a lot of clots and bleeding that had to be dealt with. I’ll go over to her office later this week to have the drainage tube removed and hopefully that’s the point I can really start mending! The nurse showed me how to empty the drainage bulb, and I started getting my things ready to go. I honestly can’t fathom how people stay in a hospital night after night. It would drive me NUTS! Angi was out running errands and picking up my meds, and when she arrived at 1pm I was ready to go. They wanted to take me down in a wheelchair and I said I’d rather walk under my own power. But the staff said it’s legally mandated so I had to sit in the wheelchair to be taken to her car. At that point I would have done anything to get the hell out of there. On the way home I saw an elderly lady fall as she was trying to get into her car. Angi, always the angel, put on her hazards and hopped out to help her. I can’t lift anything over 20 pounds for a few weeks so I would have been useless. Plus the incision on my neck and the drainage tube look pretty unsightly. She made sure the lady was OK and got into her car safely. Thank God we spotted her! It didn’t seem like anyone else was going to help that lady at first! It was great to be back home, albeit 24 hours later than what I had originally hoped. But when we opened the medication from CVS we realized they hadn’t filled the most recent prescription for pain medication! These medicines were my normal routine prescriptions – heartburn medicine and nose spray! So Angi had to go back out to CVS to try and get the most recent prescription. Honestly. The quality of service in this world is really suffering these days. And it’s not just the common service sector either; it’s now extended to the medical and pharmaceutical profession! Not having my pre-op materials ready for my surgery was highly unprofessional, and not having a simple prescription ready for somebody who just left the hospital is pretty “amateur hour” as well. It’s sad, but I just don’t see it getting better. And with all of the embellishments of technology-this-and technology-that, it seems to have actually made it WORSE! While Angi sped off to CVS to get the real medication, I showered. And boy did it feel amazing! It’s a bit tricky with the drainage tube, but I managed. I put my pajamas on, Angi returned, I took a pill, and slept the rest of the night. I needed to catch up on a lot of sleep I missed from the previous night at the HOTspital!

Sunday the 8th – GOD BLESS PHYSICAL MEDIA! – The entire day consisted of eating a little something, emptying my drainage bulb, and sleeping some more. I guess that’s all that is required at this stage. But later at night when I was feeling a bit more myself, I decided to delve into the new Blu ray set that was just released that contain all of the old Ma and Pa Kettle films. I used to love watching those films on cable TV and at the Saturday matinees when I was a kid. This new bundle has all of them on a 5 disc set. I got comfy in bed and watched the first film in which those characters were featured. It was a Fred MacMurray film from 1947 called “The Egg and I.” Because the appearance of the Kettles in that film was so memorable, they went on to star in 9 movies that were all their own. Watching movies like these take me to a completely different world; particularly when you’re needing to recover from something. Movies were so different then…the casting, the writing, the photography, the acting style. I love it! I was thankful that the hard part was behind me, and I was also very thankful that my voice seems to be mostly unaffected by this surgery. I’ll know more after I gain full use of my neck and throat again, but so far I don’t foresee any permanent issues. Thank God!

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK