February 11 – February 17 (2013)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

On a night that was clouding over to give Los Angeles a good soaking, I headed into church and saw this amazing visual. Unfortunately all I had with me to photograph it was my camera-phone, but it’s still a neat pic!

Not sure why I remembered this song, maybe because I was commenting about how great it was to be alive, but this Def Leppard song from their 1999 CD “Euphoria” popped into my head. It’s a great tune!

Monday the 11th – MULTI-TASKING MONDAY! – I was up early and headed to Lime Studios in Santa Monica to voice another Old Navy TV commercial. I play the voice of a swingin’ airline pilot. When we finished I went to the Arby’s on Lincoln Blvd. to get lunch at the drive-thru, but WHAMMO! While I wasn’t looking it turned into a Wendy’s! But I got lunch there anyway. Apparently three months ago they sold out to Wendy’s and did some remodeling. I love Wendy’s, but I’m gonna miss that Arby’s. I made it home, did some work around the house, recorded a few auditions and sent them into my agents, and then headed to “The Tonight Show” to do the show. After I did the opening, I went into one of the other studios and recorded a comedy bit. During the show I finished up Wally’s Week for the previous week, and when the show wrapped I stopped by my mailbox to pick up some packages. I got a bunch of DVD racks in that I was expecting, so I went home and started setting them up in my closet. I watch a lot of old television before bed, and I have about 20 DVD sets all stacked up on my shelf. For some reason they keep falling over (probably when I’m reaching for something else and bump the stack), so to prevent that I’m going to put them in a cozy little rack. I fed Spook, walked Roxy, took a relaxing dip in the jacuzzi and ate some veggies from my veggie tray. Then I grabbed a nap by the fire on the couch. It’s funny how animals adapt to a routine. When I turn on the music on the satellite and start arranging the blankets on the couch, and I light the fire, my cat and dog know to go get in their little nap positions. (Roxy on a giant green vinyl beanbag, and Spooky on a little stack of blankets by the fireplace.) I got up after a few hours and did a bunch of auditions, fed and walked Roxy, and watched an episode of “The Six Million Dollar Man” on DVD just before bed.

Tuesday the 12th – ENDORPHINALITY! – I slept till noon, got up and did some work on a song I would be singing at church on Sunday, then did a few auditions and e-mailed them to my agents. I walked Roxy and checked my mail. There was a “TS” script in my inbox, so I recorded that and sent it into NBC. It was an absolutely beautiful day, so I got on my bike and rode to “TTS.” It was a beautiful ride! We taped the show and I sped home on my trusty bike. It felt great. I took a dip in the jacuzz to relax my leg muscles, then my assistant Sara and I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get some items. One of those items was a dustbuster-type thing which specialized in picking up animal hair. Sara and I grabbed dinner and then I headed home. I did some work around the house, set up the Shark Dustbuster and started cleaning Roxy hair off my comforter. It worked great! There were no auditions in my inbox so I had the night free to do what I wanted. I didn’t feel the need to grab a nap. In fact I had a ton of energy. Endorphins maybe? They’re pretty amazing things! I like it! I worked all night organizing my video shelf in my room, then I walked and fed Roxy, and we settled in to watch another episode of “Six Million Dollar Man” just before bed.

Wednesday the 13th – THE MIDWEEK MELLOWS! – I slept in, and when I got up I felt very mellow. It was another nice day. I walked Roxy, scanned some checks to prepare for a deposit, and then got a call to record a script for “TTS.” I did it, e-mailed it in, and then went to “TTS” to tape the show. I met with my pal Brittney Powell and some friends of hers who were in town visiting. I got them tickets to see the taping, then gave them the nickel tour afterward. We met for dinner at Paty’s, had a nice meal, then I went home to walk Roxy and feed Spook. I took another dip in the jacuzzi, and then grabbed a nap. I got up to do work around the house and record some auditions, made a pizza and then watched another “Six Million Dollar Man” episode.

Thursday the 14th – MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE THEM INSURED??!! – I hope you had a good V.D.! (Valentine’s Day) I was up early and headed to Mai Tai Studio to do two more Old Navy TV commercials. Once again voicing a swinging airline pilot. I got to see my pal Kevin who owns Mai Tai and his beautiful Aussie Shepherd dog named Kona. Kona loves hanging out with me and he’s a lot of fun to play with! While I record, Kona will sit on the couch and stare at me through the glass. When we finished the session Kevin helped me record a bit for “TTS” and send it in. I drove through the McDonald’s drive-thru to get some lunch, then sped off to Voice Trax West to do a half hour of voice work for US Airways. When we finished I went next door to the bank to make a deposit and talk to a banker some more about my new corporation Planet Wallywood, Inc. While I was sitting in the waiting area, an elderly lady across from me said, “You have beautiful legs. I was going to tell you before but I didn’t know if it was ok.” I was shocked, but I thanked her anyway. I told her it made my way. That’s just not something I hear everyday. I went home to walk Roxy, and then sped off to “TTS” to meet up with my pal, comic book artist Christopher Jones from Minneapolis who was in town for a convention. I got he and his girlfriend tickets to the show. Then we met at Jerry’s Famous Deli after the show. We were joined by my pal Edi and her daughter Ems, my assistant Sara and my pal Brittney Powell. It was a FUN dinner! Then I went home to jacuzz and relax after a very busy day. I started packing up some items for my weekend getaway. Then it was another episode of “Six Million Dollar Man” and bed. I’m down to the last few episodes of the series, and I can tell they’re running out of ideas. Certain story points aren’t explored or answered. Lots of unanswered questions. After tonight’s episode there’s only one episode left. Then I have officially watched the entire series.

Friday the 15th – A QUICK WEEKEND AWAY! – I got a hotline call from “TTS” to record a bit, so I got out of bed and recorded it and sent it in. Then I went back to bed, but got another hotline call soon after to record another bit. I sent that one in and then went back to bed to cuddle with Roxy for awhile. Then I got my walking clothes on and walked Roxy over to the groomer’s to get a bath. We had a great weekend away planned, and I wanted to make sure she was clean for the trip. I came back home, cleaned up and headed to NBC. I grabbed a tuna sub at Subway on the way. For the first time in the three years I’ve been at “TTS,” they had some technical issues during the show. Some of the computers weren’t behaving properly, but the amazing team pulled it together splendidly! Top notch! My friend Carolyn was at the show with her friend Tina. Carolyn and her pal Laura are the ones producing the Starsky & Hutch convention on April 6th that I’m emceeing. David “Hutch” Soul is busy restoring a car that once belonged to Ernest Hemingway, so it was fun to get a chance to talk to Jay in the hallway about the project. I’d love to get David and Jay together for a few minutes to exchange ideas and advice. Carolyn told Jay about the project and Jay seemed intrigued. I dropped the ladies at their car and then headed to the hardware store to buy a heater to take with me on my trip. Then I went to pick up Roxy at the groomer’s. I talked to Terry, the owner of Rusty’s Discount Pets for a bit. Then I ran into an old pal of mine from church and we chatted for a little while. I drove home and got Roxy’s stuff packed up (I was already packed!) and we waited for Edi and her dog Bunny to pick us up. We were headed to Palm Springs for the weekend! Sara came over to housesit for the weekend, and then Edi arrived. We barely got all of the stuff loaded into Edi’s truck, and we headed out. Roxy was nervous about getting into the car. But I lifted her up and we went on our way. Some luggage had shifted in the car a few blocks away, so I pulled over on Lankershim Blvd, one of the busiest streets in L.A., and when I opened the back door something told me to grab Roxy’s leash. Sure enough Roxy darted OUT OF THE CAR! Good thing I had a hold of her, otherwise she would have most likely run in front of some traffic. I think she thought she was going to the vet or something, because she was panting nervously and drooling all over her dog bed. As we got down the freeway she settled down a little bit. Traffic on the 210 was pretty bad, but once we hit the 10 East it was smooth sailing. We got to Palm Springs around 11, got some food to go at Denny’s, and then headed to the hotel to check in. Edi and I took our dogs for a walk, and then I went upstairs to get Roxy settled and feed her some dinner. I was looking forward to getting out on the balcony of my room and watching stars all night. I believe that relaxation should appeal to all six senses. 1) Sight – I love staring at the clear Palm Springs sky and watching the stars, shooting stars, and any birds, bats or owls that may fly over. I also love “watching the Earth turn.” I keep my eye focused on a bright star near the horizon of the mountain range in front of me. I stare at it as long as it takes to watch it eventually disappear behind the mountain. It’s there, it’s there, it’s there…then all of a sudden, POOF! It’s gone. And I just saw the movement of the Earth. Amazing! 2) Sound – I have a special Palm Springs playlist on my i-Pad that I listen to while I relax. It’s music I have that’s appropriate for the mood. It’s diverse, and moving. 3) Taste – I love eating some fresh-popped Jolly Time Blast ‘O’ Butter popcorn (which is why I bring my microwave with me all the time) and drinking an ice cold Coke in a glass bottle while I relax. 4) Touch – Feeling the clean, warm Palm Springs air while I relax is in itself refreshing. Though it’s not that warm at night yet in Palm Springs (it was 50, but I prefer 64) I put on my big, cozy white robe and enjoyed being surrounded by that for awhile. 5) Smell – I always light a scented candle and have it burning in my room while I relax on the balcony. That plus the smell of the fresh desert air is extremely pleasant! 6) Spirit – I don’t know if it’s because there are Native American burial grounds nearby or what, but Palm Springs seems to be a highly spiritual place. It seems like everyone’s sprits are at peace there, and the sense of the spirit is always appeased during my relaxation/meditational visits to Palm Springs. But Roxy was still very unsure of what was going on. She was a little restless and was pacing around the room. But it had been a long day and I was getting tired, so we hit the hay. I had to wake up several times to settle Roxy down. But she’ll get the hang of it.

Saturday the 16th – ROXY’S FIRST PALM SPRINGS DAY! – We got up around noon and Edi and I drove the dogs to a dog park near the Palm Springs airport. It’s a huge park, very nicely designed. They both loved it! Roxy wasn’t sure what to do at first, but quickly got the hang of it. Though Bunny is small, she takes charge right away and keeps the other dogs in line. Roxy saw two boys playing football with their mom and joined their game. She would stand in front of the boy with the ball and bark wildly until he threw it. When he did, she chased it to the next person. She was having a blast. In fact, she got tired out pretty well! I knew there had to be some way to help her spend some of that pent-up energy! I got a call from my pal Adam West with a time to meet with he and his wife Marcelle for brunch the next morning. Edi and I took the dogs back to the hotel and walked down to Ruby’s Diner for lunch. Palm Springs is VERY dog friendly, and the stores along North Palm Canyon Drive sometimes will have bowls of water outside for passing canines. Between Bunny’s tiny cuteness and Roxy’s royal beauty, Edi and I got stopped a lot by dog lovers along the way. One more thing to adore about this amazing town. We went back to the hotel and the dogs were OUT! Between the dog park and walking the street, they’d had enough for now. So I took advantage of her exhaustion and slept for a little while myself. I woke up around 9 and then hit the jacuzzi. Then it was back inside to get the doggies ready to go find a later dinner. Most of the places we wanted to go to had closed already, but we did find one italian place next to a karaoke bar. We were sitting out on the patio listening to horrible karaoke singers and laughing ourselves silly. But a few singers were good. A guy did “Your Song” by Elton John, and another guy did “God Bless the U.S.A.” by Lee Greenwood. They were pretty good. But after about an hour I commented to Edi that so far we had only heard songs from the 70s and 80s. You know what was missing? Songs by Bieber, Gaga, Beyonce, Miley, etc. Apparently when the young crowd want to have fun singing karaoke, none of the modern day music is good enough for them. Go for the classics! “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Pour Some Sugar One Me,” “Don’t Stop Believing,” etc. You can’t beat the classics! I didn’t think we’d see him, but sauntering down the sidewalk was our old pal Harpo the Clown! It was good to see him. Though he doesn’t talk, he indicated that he had just been thinking about me about 15 minutes earlier. STRANGE! I headed back to the room to feed Roxy and get her settled for the night. We had to get up early for brunch so we couldn’t stay up too late. But while I was enjoying my balcony time, Roxy came out and joined me. She laid right by my feet and passed out. We both slept very well that night!

Here’s a video from the balcony of my hotel in Palm Springs

Roxy playing football in the park

Sunday the 17th – BRUNCH WITH THE BAT! – Edi and I headed over to the Tennis Club for brunch with Adam West and his wife Marcelle at 9:30. We took the dogs with us and they had a blast. They got a ton of attention, and one of the nice tennis playing ladies even gave Roxy a tennis ball to play with. I reminded Adam that he and I first met in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on March 1st back in 1980. So coming up this March, we’ve known each other for 33 years. Where does the time go?! We had a great conversation and talked about a little bit of everything. Then they invited Edi and I over to their house to meet their enormous poodle named Louie. He’s a real lover, but he’s the size of a small horse! Great house, great dog, and great company! We said our goodbyes then we went back to the hotel to get packed up and hit the road. I was singing at church later that evening so I wanted to beat the traffic back to L.A. Along the way we stopped at A&W and got some root beer to go. We made it back home at 2:45. We made great time! I unpacked, got ready for evening church, and grabbed Roxy to go. We rehearsed the song with the band, then enjoyed the rest of the service. The song went very well. It’s the old 1971 hit from the band called Ocean called “Put Your Hand In the Hand.” My mom had that record when I was a kid and she played it constantly. It’s a song about Jesus, but it’s on the Buddah label, released under the subsidiary label called Kama Sutra. Odd pairing. Jesus, Buddah and the Kama Sutra. The irony is too much! While walking back home I noticed my ducks had come back to our pool and were swimming around. One hen and one drake. It’s the same couple that visit every time this year, right around mating season. I can tell it’s the same couple because they respond to my little duck sound I make. It’s comforting to see them return every year. I wanted to hit the jacuzzi and I was hoping I wouldn’t scare them off. So I used a different door and came in the other side, all the while I was making the duck sound so they would know it’s me. I got in the jacuzzi, enjoyed me time and they kept a watchful eye on me. I never made a move toward them, in hopes that they would get used to seeing me out there every night minding my own business. But I was exhausted after the weekend’s activities. So I went inside to nap. My pal Amanda came over and woke me up so we could go to dinner. We had another delicious dinner at the Coral Cafe. I came back home to do an audition, and then walk Roxy for the night. When we came back I saw the ducks back in the pool. They were bobbing their heads together in unison. (That must be the mating dance or something) And as the rhythm of the head bobbing got faster, the drake flew over on top of the hen. Yup. Mating dance, alright. I felt it best if Roxy and I left them alone. I didn’t want Roxy getting excited with all the fluttering wings and barking. That would have ruined their mood for sure! I came inside, continued to unpack, and I passed out in bed! What a weekend! Now that I know Roxy is cool with the Palm Springs thing, I’m looking forward to getting back there for a longer period of time early in March.

And how was YOUR week??!!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

Roxy looks for new friends at the Palm Springs dog park