I hadn’t heard this song in a long time, but when it came up on my i-Pod the other night it felt like hearing from an old friend. I’ve loved this song since I was a teen. It brings back memories of spending time on Richmond Lake with my friend Greg in the summer of ’76. Of all the post-Beatle solo songs out there, this is my absolute favorite (along with Ringo’s “It Don’t Come Easy!”) Please enjoy “Crackerbox Palace” while you read this week’s Wally’s Week, and envision a 15 year old me sitting by the lake on a hot summer evening, drinking an ice cold Coke from one of those little glass bottles.
Tuesday the 6th – HEY IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK HOME AGAIN! – I took advantage of being back in my own bed again, and slept in very late. But I did get up in time to ride my bike to NBC for “The Tonight Show.” I love my new bike, and biking to work is wonderful. I plan on doing this a LOT during the summer, weather permitting. That night I met my old pal Brittney Powell for dinner at Jerry’s Famous Deli. While we were there my friend Chuck McCann and his wife Betty walked in to eat. Chuck gave me a long hug and thanked me for being with him in Minneapolis, and suggesting him as a guest. We did have a great time! When dinner was through, I met my pal Sara for pie at DuPar’s. While it’s always nice to travel…go back home and see relatives and eat the local foods I miss…it’s equally as nice to come back to LA and enjoy things like soup at Jerry’s and pie at DuPar’s!
Wednesday the 7th – HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! – Today was my mom’s birthday! I called her and wished her a happy birthday. I also biked to work again today, and it was terrific! While we were taping “The Tonight Show”, I stepped outside to take a cell phone call. I was sitting on a bench outside the studio, enjoying the sun and conversation, and I felt myself moving a little bit. I thought it was my heartbeat. When I used to walk everyday my heart was so strong that it sometimes would rock me, depending on how I was sitting in a chair. I remember sitting in the dentist’s chair once watching all the instruments wobble a little bit, because my heart was beating so strongly. So, since I had biked to work yesterday and today, I figured my heart was getting stronger and was doing that “rocking” thing again. When I finished the call I went back inside and Patrick the audio mixer asked me if I felt it. Felt what? A 5.4 Earthquake! So THAT’S what I was feeling! Apparently only a few of the crew felt it. There was minor damage around the area, thankfully. That night I went to the evening meditational service at my church, and then had dinner with Sara. I did some auditions in my home studio and e-mailed them to my agents.
Thursday the 8th – FANTASTIC FOUR! – I had four sessions today. I guess vacation is officially over. First, I drove all the way to the Culver City area and did a pick-up session for a super secret videogame I had worked on several months ago. The session only lasted an hour, so I took advantage of the situation and visited Laser Blazer and picked up a few new movies on Blu Ray…”Jason and the Argonauts,” and “Death Race 2000.” Later I went to It’s a Wrap in Beverly Hills and picked up a few new shirts. The week I was in Minneapolis and South Dakota, I missed the final session for the second season of “The Garfield Show.” It was sad to miss it, but I just had to be in Sioux Falls for my grandma’s 98th birthday. Director Mark Evanier was kind enough to reschedule my session to this week so we could pick up all my lines from the final episodes. I left him with fond wishes for a successful San Diego Comic Con (since I wouldn’t be going this year), and went on my way home. I walked Sassie quickly, and then sped off to NBC. No time to bike today! I got there and did the show, then went over to Studiopolis Burbank to do some ADR (additional dialogue recording) for an “Avengers” episode. This show looks REALLY good! It’s going to be VERY well received when it hits the air this fall on Disney XD! That night I relaxed and prepared for a busy Friday. But I had no idea just HOW busy it would be!
Friday the 9th – FREAKY FRIDAY! – I was up bright and early to be back at Studiopolis to do some lines for Hakubi, the ghost dog character in the anime series “Kekkaishi.” Then I went over to Roundtable Pizza to enjoy their lunch buffet. YUM! As I was getting ready to leave, my agent Vinnie called and asked if I could be at NBC at 1:30 for a quick pick-up for a comedy bit I voiced earlier in the week. After a quick stop at It’s a Wrap in Burbank (and a few MORE new shirts!) I got over to NBC. The place was crawling with Secret Service agents, since Vice President Joe Biden was going to be on the show that day. I parked my car in the usual place, but the regular entrance was off-limits. I went through the metal detector and headed on in to work. I did the session, and then headed back out to my car to go walk Sassie. On the way out, I got “wanded” by a Secret Service agent. I got home and walked Sassie, then got back in the car and went to my chiropractor’s for an appointment. My call time for “TTS” had moved up to 3:15 that day. So when I left my doctor’s office I headed to NBC. But traffic was completely stopped around the studio. I saw a California Highway Patrolman on his motorcycle parked in the middle of an intersection with his hands up to stop traffic. OH! It was the Vice Presidential motorcade! It sped by in front of me and when it was finished the CHP officer mounted his bike and rode away. They were going the exact same way I was, however. They went to the gate I usually go into to park. It was now about 3;20. I called the production office to let them know I was held up because of the motorcade, and they told me to go to an alternate gate and park there. Unfortunately, a LOT of other people went to the alternate gate as well and the line there was also long. The guards recognized me and waved me through. I guess they had just gotten a call from the production office telling them I had to be inside to rehearse the show opening right away. So I parked and dashed on in. It was not about 3:25. I emptied my pockets and went through the metal detector again. Then I got into the booth and got ready to do the opening. It was now about 3:30. I got my headset on and heard Liz the director come on. “How long did it take you to get through the security?” I said, ‘The good news is…I got here at my call time of 3:15. The bad news is, so did the Vice President! Guess who won!” But tardiness was to be expected that day, as it was an unusual day for “TTS.” But it’s not everyday you get to have the Vice President on the show, and it’s not everybody who gets to introduce a sitting Vice President in the show’s opening! It was something I’ll never forget! Unfortunately I didn’t get to see him walk by, as Secret Service rules forbid anyone from being in the hallways while the VP was on the move. Rats! As I was leaving “TTS” I got a call from Jamie Simone, the director of “Avengers” at Studiopolis. He had forgotten to get a few lines from me during the previous day’s ADR session, so I drove back over to Studiopolis and we finished up the needed lines. When I finished I went by Albertson’s grocery store. It’s the only store in the area that has the particular type of soda I like. Diet Rite tangerine! YUM! But they were all out. They promised me that they would order 10 cases for me and have them in by Monday. It was going to be a very long weekend as I was out of tangerine and would miss it during movie night. I stopped at a fro yo place on the way home and got some frozen yogurt to console myself.
Saturday the 10th – WEIRD WEATHER! – My maids came to clean Planet Wallywood, and as they were finishing my friend Sara came by. When they were through Sara and I got some KFC and went to my friend Fred Westbrook’s house to lounge by the pool. It was fun to catch up since I hadn’t seen Fred in several weeks. On the way home we got fro yo again, but when we came out the sunny day had turned gloomy. There were big clouds overhead and Sara commented about how weird that was. As I got home and was getting ready for movie night, I heard a rustling sound outside. I looked out the window and it was RAINING! Previously the day was so hot and humid that I had the A/C on, but I turned it off and opened all the windows. A mid-summer rain in Los Angeles is rare, but it reminded me of those quickie thunderstorms we used to get in South Dakota. It was wonderful, and it smelled divine! I grabbed a quick nap before movie night, and welcomed a bunch of friends in to watch “Hot Tub Time Machine” and an old favorite “Defending Your Life.” “HTTM” was good, but unnecessarily vulgar in certain parts. It would have been just as enjoyable without the “South Park-isms” here and there. And a few of our group hadn’t seen “DYL” before, so it was good to go from dopey poo humor, to smart, thought humor. But by the time the movies were over I was tired. I enjoyed the rest of the evening watching episodes of the original “Hawaii Five-O” on DVD, as I had now completed “The Man from UNCLE” first season.
Sunday the 11th – BAPTISM! –I slept really late and enjoyed the rest. Today was the day my friends Joe and Zandra were driving down from Lompoc to have their grandson Jamison “baptized” at my church. I say “baptized” because our church baptizes on personal choice, and doesn’t really baptize babies. But we do a “dedication”, much the same as traditional baby baptism. It’s something that Joe and Zandra had been looking forward to for some time and we finally did it! Plus, the scheduled elder was unable to make the service, so at the last minute I was happy to take over the role, since it was going to be such a special day. When the service was over we all went to Barone’s to enjoy some great food, then back to my house to prepare for their trip back home. I grabbed a quick nap, then got up to do some auditions to e-mail to my agent. Then it was back to “Hawaii Five-O” season 4!
And how was YOUR week?!?!!
