January 3 – January 8 (2017)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

As I was perusing a photo file in my computer, I came across this great picture of my late friend Fred Westbrook when we were treated to a ride in a fire engine in San Francisco back in 2009. He looked like a little kid, he was so happy.

As I was heading out of Palm Springs, I had the radio on my favorite AM oldies station 1270. They played “You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice” by the Lovin’ Spoonful and I strained to hear it through the static as I was losing the signal. It had been on my mind all weekend. Here it is for you to enjoy too.

Tuesday the 3rd – TAKE A PICTURE, IT’LL LAST LONGER! – Just as I was getting ready for bed around 7:30am I got a call from my doctor’s office saying they could see me at 11:30. Great! I napped a bit and then headed in to see why my sinuses were clogged and my skull felt like it was about to explode. The doctor looked in my nose and said (and I quote), “Wow! I wish I could take a picture of that. You just never see it that bad!” Not the news I wanted to hear. Apparently my sinus infection was so textbook bad he wanted to immortalize it. And lucky me, I had developed this severe sinus infection just as my flu and bronchitis had gotten better! 2017’s off to a terrific start! He gave me lots of prescriptions and I headed out the door. I stopped by my cleaners to get my comforter, stopped by my mailbox to get my packages, dropped by McDonald’s to get lunch, stopped into my vitamin place to get some vitamins, and then I stopped by Enterprise to reserve my SUV for Thursday. Then it was off to CVS to get all these prescriptions filled. But as I waited around for them to complete the order my painkillers were starting to wear off, so I was getting anxious to get home. I got home and prepped for bed. I took my first dose of antibiotics, the first dose of the steroid he prescribed, and of course, more painkillers. This pain was so intense, Advil just wasn’t cutting it. So the doc gave me the “good” stuff. I slept into the evening. I got up to give the pets a snack, do a little work and just lay low. Then I napped on the couch. Poor Roxy didn’t know what to think. Here I was back in mega-sleep mode again, just like I was over the holidays. I continued to sleep, and when I got up later to feed the pets I felt pretty charged up. So I did some work around the house. I was cleaning through my bedroom closet and I found a Disneyland jacket I had bought years ago that lights up on the back with a display that looks like fireworks over Cinderella’s castle. The plastic cover that was over it was no good any longer, but stuck to the plastic cover was an “L” shaped sticker that read, “How smart is your 3D TV?” 3D TV? The only 3D TV I had was the used one I put in the Puppet Room recently, and that didn’t come with any sticker. I started to wonder if one of my other TVs was 3D and I just didn’t know it. Sure enough I Googled the model number of the TV in my room and it was fully 3D compatible. WHO KNEW?! But unlike the TV I bought for the Puppet Room, which used “active” 3D technology, this TV used only “passive” 3D technology, which according to some experts, isn’t quite as good. But still, it’s 3D! And now that I have 3D compatible Blu Ray players in every room, this will be great! I just need to get the polarized glasses! I made some dinner, watched another episode of “Lost In Space” on Blu Ray and tried to get rid of my congestion and pain from this damned sinus infection!

Wednesday the 4th – I GOT OFF EASY! – Around 1pm I woke up to eat some food and take my antibiotic. I want this sinus infection gone, and soon! But as I was walking Roxy I saw my neighbor who had a worse Christmas break than I did. He was in and out of the hospital during the holiday break with a serious urological issue. After hearing his story I came inside and realized that my bronchitis/flu/sinus infection battle was nothing compared to what he had just gone through. I finished Wally’s Week, paid some bills and got some deposits ready for the bank. I was feeling pretty good, as long as I stay on my pain medicine and my nasal spray to keep the pain and congestion away. I loaded up a micro SD card with all sorts of family photos for my mom. She said the card in her tablet had gotten corrupted, so I’m re-loading all sorts of cool family stuff on a card for her. I tried a micro SD card in my voice recorder, and it said “CARD ERROR.” Figuring it must be a bad card, I’ll take it back to Staples next week. I worked up until it was time to meet my assistant Sara and my friends Edi and Elliot for dinner at a barbecue place in Sherman Oaks. It was a fun dinner, but I was ready for a nap. I dozed on the couch for a little bit, and then got up to do about a dozen auditions. It felt good to be back in the groove again; partially because the holidays were over, and partially because I was feeling much better. I walked Roxy and then came inside to hit the hay.

Thursday the 5th – FIRE “FUN”! – After only sleeping a few hours on the couch, I sprang awake at 8am and got busy. I started packing for my trip to Palm Springs, and worked all morning getting set for my trip. I got my rental car around 2pm, and then napped for a few hours before it was time to hit the road. I like to wait for the horrible L.A. traffic to subside before I leave, and that usually happens around 8pm. But I didn’t get on the road until 9:10pm. But I got there around 10:45, which is great time. Once I hit the 111 freeway I phone my usual order into the Denny’s I hit when I get into town. Sadly, I found out that one of the regular employees I always talked to when I was there had passed away several months ago. Too bad.
I got my food and hit the hotel around 11pm. I lounged around and ate my dinner, unpacked, and took a short nap on the bed for a bit. But my respite was broken when the hotel fire alarm went off at 2am. When I was at the Hyatt during the Christmas break a few years ago, the same thing happened. It’s a major hassle. So I grabbed Roxy, put on my jacket and headed down the stairs to safety. Come to find out, the hotel wasn’t on fire, but some idiot had lit the Hyatt’s dumpster on fire behind the building. Had I not been napping and instead been on the balcony, I could have seen the whole thing from my room. But all the guests converged in the hotel lobby nonetheless for about an hour. I went back upstairs and couldn’t get back to sleep until about 6am.

Friday the 6th – P.S. I LOVE YOU! – Since the last few weeks have been cloudy and rainy in L.A., it was nice to see the sun again. I got up at 11 and ordered breakfast just before the 11am cut-off time. Whew! I ate it on the balcony and enjoyed the warm day, and then lounged around on the bed for another hour. I got up to enjoy the beautiful day with Roxy, so I loaded her up and we hit the dog park. They had just recently renovated it and it was wonderful! Lots of cool dogs were there. I let Roxy goof around for about an hour and run off some energy, and then I took her back to the room. When we got back into the car and I turned on my beloved 1270AM oldies, “Brandy” by Looking Glass was playing. Of course! They play it a lot! It reminded me that I needed to call my pal Elliot (who wrote and sang that song) to see what plans were for dinner. I dropped Roxy at the Hyatt and then stopped off and got a Dole Whip. Then hit Rite Aid to pick up some needed items for my stay that I had forgotten to pack. Then I went back to the hotel to relax until I heard from my pal Elliot about our evening plans. He took me to dinner in Indian Wells to a place called Vicky’s Santa Fe, and the band was amazing. He loves hearing them, and they’re about 50 notches above your average bar band. These guys had a wide repertoire and their musicianship was top notch! What fun! I had dropped Roxy off at his house before we ate so his wife Edi could spend time with her relaxing around the house. I dropped Roxy back off at the room and then hit Denny’s to meet up with my friends Mark and Connie who had just gotten to town. We had dessert and talked about the next day’s activities we had planned at the Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway for the big Elvis birthday event! Then I went back to the hotel and got prepped for the big day!

Saturday the 7th – ELVIS HONEYMOON HIDEAWAY BIRTHDAY PARTY! – It’s hard to believe, but Elvis Presley would have been 82 on January 8th of this year. WOW! To commemorate the event, I was invited to emcee the big birthday celebration at the Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway put on by the home’s owner. But first Mark and Connie came by the hotel so we could all hit the dog park. If Roxy was going to have to spend several hours by herself at the hotel I wanted her to be good and tired. We hit the park around 1, and soon Edi and her dog Bunny joined us. It was a blast and the weather could not have been nicer! We planned to get a quick fast-food lunch before we left for the birthday event, but the Burger King I usually patronized was out of business. WHAT? When does Burger King go out of business?! So we hit Jack in the Box instead, and then headed back to the hotel to down our food before leaving for the Elvis house. Edi’s husband Elliot met us at the hotel so we could all drive over together. Parking at the house was tight, so we wanted to carpool. Elliot was one of the attending guests at the event, as was one of Elvis’ original security guys named Dick Grob. He was a great gent and fun to talk to! When he told me a story about something that happened during the famous Aloha from Hawaii concert, it took my breath away…HE WAS THERE! Wow! I wanted to download his brain! The event was a blast and there were lots of talented musicians there. I had fun working the crowd and the event wrapped up around 5:30. I was pretty beat, so I didn’t want to go out and do a complicated dinner thing. We went back to the Hyatt and walked Roxy over to NYPD pizza and placed an order to go. The plan was to just enjoy some pizza at the hotel and relax. But when we finished eating we were all craving Dole Whips. So we walked down to grab one and enjoy the evening. It really takes a lot of energy to emcee those events, and I was feeling zapped. I bid Mark and Connie farewell and Roxy and I went upstairs to take a nap. When I got up at 2am to feed Roxy I noticed that there was some blood on the bedspread. With my sinus infection I figured I had gotten a bloody nose from the dry conditions in the desert. But it was on the side of the bed Roxy was lying on. So I thought she may have stepped on something at the dog park and wounded her foot. When I inspected her I found out that she was bleeding from her “girly parts.” That’s strange since she’s had a complete hysterectomy. So I made the decision to pack everything up and head back to L.A. right then and there. That way we could hit the vet first thing in the morning. Plus there would be no traffic on the freeway that time of night, and I could drive the top speed the law would allow (and then some). We left the hotel at 4am on the nose and made it back to L.A. by 5:30am. The vet’s office didn’t open until 9am, so we napped for a bit.

Sunday the 8th – BOTH ON ANTIBIOTICS! – When I got up to take Roxy to the vet they were extremely busy. So they suggested leaving her for examination and they would call me with the results. I headed back home to wait and work on Wally’s Week to kill some time. I spoke with the doctor later in the day and he said everything looked good, but he thought she might be suffering from something called “vaginitis.” She could have picked something up at the dog park, or got it from another dog; who knows? Anyway, he suggested a regimen of antibiotics to see how she reacted to those. In a week I’d take her in again and they would see the results. Great, now we have TWO sickies in the house! I went to pick her up, brought her home, fed the kids and then Roxy and I went over to evening church. After church I went to pick up my adopted grandma Shirley so we could go eat with my assistant Sara. While eating at Jerry’s Famous Deli I got sleepy again, so I headed right home. After a short nap in bed, I woke up to the sound of it pouring rain outside. Beautiful! I got up to do a few auditions, some other work around the house, and continue unpacking from my hasty retreat out of Palm Springs. I fed Roxy and gave her the next dose of medication, and then laid down on the couch with the fireplace on. But I only got about an hour’s worth of sleep because my sinus medication wore off and I woke up unable to breathe. This sinus infection is VERY stubborn, as my doctor originally said. Around 7am I did some work, made some food, took my meds and hit the hay. Could I just get healthy again already!? I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired!

And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

Just hanging out in the backyard of the Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway in Palm Springs, California; waiting to take the stage to emcee the Elvis 82nd birthday commemoration event!

My pal Elliot Lurie and his wife Edi lounge around in one of the many fantastic rooms of the house.

Elliot and I discuss what we’re going to talk about on stage when I introduce him to the audience.

The Palm Desert Strummers (an all ukulele band) pose with Elliot behind the house.

Leonard, who owns the house, is pleased with the way things are going. What a show!

Dick Grob, a member of Elvis’ security detail, shared some wonderful stories of working with the King of Rock ‘N’ Roll!

An audience member, named Priscilla, poses with me and a photo of me with “another” Priscilla!

The Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway looks gorgeous at night!

A gorgeous half moon sets just under the chin of Abe Lincoln’s profile in the Palm Springs San Jacinto mountains

As you zoom out, you get a better idea of where the moonset occurred under “Abe’s” chin.

At the dog park the “counting” dog enjoys hoarding tennis balls and keeping them in his mouth (along with some shredded wheat).

A Cairn Terrier (the same type of dog that was used as Toto in “The Wizard of Oz”) named Louie is VERY friendly.

Louie and Sammy sit nicely for a photo.

Another cutie at the Palm Springs dog park.

Sans his microphone, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog was even seen cavorting about in a rare moment of frivolity.

“Please, darling. Woof-sper sweet nothings in my ear!”

Go ahead. Look into that doggie’s eyes and tell me there’s no soul, spirit and energy present. I dare ya!

As the sun sets on the birthday event, and under a beautiful chandelier, my pal Mark Fullerton gives a report to the audience about the brand new Guest House at Graceland Hotel experience he enjoyed over the holidays.

Again…I dare ya!

Another Dole Whip, and it’s back on the road!

While in Palm Springs, I once again took advantage of consulting The Smartest Traffic Light In the World. But I was starting to wonder just how smart he really was…