June 16 – July 06 (2025) – Wally On The Web

“Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.”

– Allen Saunders.

Truer words were never spoken. A few weeks ago I planned on appearing at a cool convention in New York, and then flying to South Dakota to visit my family and help mount our fourth annual Voices Against Cancer’s “605 Pop Culture Con.” But life took a few amazing twists and turns along the way, so I must apologize in advance for the three-week epic presented here in this edition of Wally’s Week(s). Despite its considerable length, I think you’ll agree that the happenings and occurrences described within were nothing short of amazing, emotional, and miraculous. Thanks!

Monday the 16th – READY TO ROCK NEW YORK! – The word came in from my sisters in South Dakota that, while my mom was doing better – she wasn’t out of the woods yet. She had recently been in the hospital for quite a while as she was losing energy. Nobody in the medical community in Sioux Falls, South Dakota could figure out the problem. There were lots of tests, more tests, and more tests – but no conclusive determination of what her health issues were. Then she was given the green light and sent home. Unfortunately that didn’t last long, and soon after she was back in the hospital. They were waiting for the Mayo Clinic to examine a bone marrow sample and make a final diagnosis. I’m staying close to my phone for updates. Since I had been suffering some weird body aches lately, I’ve been taking some medications and relaxing. But I’m feeling a bit better. To be honest, I think a lot of it may be stress related. The issues with my mom, the upcoming extended travel situation I’m about to undergo, and other numerous issues – most likely have all contributed to this. But today I was feeling better. I needed some sun and a salad, so I headed to Paty’s to dine on the patio. I sat there eating and did a lot of thinking. When I finished lunch, I hit my box to pick up a package, and I mailed off some bills. I went over to Staples to pick up some supplies for my nearly two week trip to White Plains, New York for the Undiscovered Realm convention, and then to South Dakota to see my family and attend the 605 Pop Culture Con, which was sponsored by our Voices Against Cancer children’s cancer charity. Normally when I travel to appear at conventions I travel with one suit bag (containing clothes and toiletries) and one hard-side file case that contains all my photos and signing pens. But given the fact that I would be on the road for two weeks, and the Undiscovered Realm convention was only two days, I decided to alter my photo/pen protocol somewhat. I wanted to ditch the hard-side file case for this excursion so I could have more room to pack clothes. So, I made a plan. I decided to take a limited amount of photos to Unlimited Realm, as some photos sell better than others. I packed 10 to 20 copies of the best sellers, but I made sure that I had sample copies of every photo I have available. Since every convention I attend now has an on-site company that prints Photo Op photographs, I could use their printing resources to print “print-to-order” photographs for some of the photos that usually sell fewer quantities. These Photo Op companies usually have a booth set up where the attending actors can pose with fans for a photo, and the photo is immediately printed out on-site. That way the fan can take it back to the actor’s table and have it signed. These companies usually have 5 or 6 working printers churning away constantly to produce the prints for the fans. If a customer comes to the table and selects one of my “print-to-order” photos, I’ll take my flash drive (which contains all of the photos I have available), pay to have the Photo Op company print it out, and then sign it for the customer. That’s much easier than lugging a bunch of pictures around that usually don’t sell as well as the others. Plus, since I’ve done a fair amount of these conventions now, and have learned a tremendous amount about how to do things, I’ve become fairly knowledgeable about the percentages of what sells well and what doesn’t. A majority of the activity at my table is signing Funko Pops. Or, the customers will bring their own materials to have signed; DVD covers, posters, prints, etc. And thirdly, customers select prints from my table. So going forward, I think I’ll be able to take a lot less photos with me at future conventions. I’m hoping that the use of the on-site Photo Op companies for print-to-order photos will work out nicely. We’ll see. But it certainly will free up more room in my luggage when I travel to a show. Perhaps it will even create more room for me to bring a puppet from time to time! When I got home I recorded a ton of auditions, typed out Wally’s Week, and then reconciled my corporate bank statement. Whew! What a day! It was nice to enjoy a nice, quiet WOG (walk/jog) through my neighborhood in the middle of the night!

Tuesday the 17th – BAD, SAD NEWS! – When I woke up at 1pm the news from the Midwest wasn’t good. My sister had called to let me know that my mom’s test results had come in, and based on those, the hospital determined that there was nothing else they could do for my mom. They were placing her in hospice. We were losing her. This meant that I had to snap into gear and do several things immediately. I had to cancel this weekend’s appearance at the Undiscovered Realm convention in White Plains, New York (which I was quite looking forward to), and I had to extend my reservations for my hotel and car in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Instead of my anticipated arrival on the 23rd, flying in from New York, I’d need accommodations starting on the 18th. I needed to cancel my flight from L.A. to New York on the 20th, as well as my flight from New York to Sioux Falls on the 23rd. Unfortunately I didn’t have refundable tickets, but I received travel credit for future flights instead. My usual house-sitter Emily was on another job and wouldn’t be available to take over house-sitting duties until Friday the 20th as originally scheduled. That meant I had to find someone trustworthy to care for the house and my cat Spooky for Wednesday and Thursday. Luckily my old pal Chris Malmin was available and agreed to help out. Now I needed to find a suitable flight for the next morning, and during the busy summer travel season that probably wouldn’t be easy. Luckily, I was able to find a good flight and I grabbed it. It wasn’t in the class I usually prefer, but I couldn’t be choosy. Chris and I met for lunch at Paty’s to go over the plan for the upcoming early departure. Then I hurried back home to pack some stuff and get ready to go. Time was of the essence as my sisters reported that my mom was in and out of responsiveness. Later I did my nightly auditions, and continued packing throughout the night. I’d have to be up very early for my flight, and I never sleep well on the night before a flight anyway.

Wednesday the 18th – IN THE MIDST OF DEEP SORROW; TREMENDOUS JOY! – As expected I didn’t sleep very well. I was up and down all night, and during one of my “up moments” I spilled a bottle of vitamin D3 all over the floor. Instead of getting angry or disgusted, I just stared at all of the little white pills all over my floor and quietly started picking them up one by one. My mind was pretty numb. I woke up before my alarm went off at 6:30am and got ready to go. Chris arrived at 7am to give me a ride to the airport. I got there at 7:30, a good hour and a half before my 9am flight to Denver, and then Sioux Falls. As is usual with a flight, I prayed for my flights to be on-time and safe. Given all the travel I’ve done lately, I’ve realized that having flights that are safe and on-time is all you can really ask for. All the rest is just gravy. Seating class, comfort, meals, etc. – all that other stuff is secondary. The lady who checked me in was very nice and when I explained my situation she offered her good wishes for my mom. I boarded the flight and listened to music and meditated all the way to Denver. Everything was beautifully on-time. The flight from Denver to Sioux Falls was also pleasant. I listened to music, slept and meditated the entire way. I arrived in Sioux Falls right around 4pm, both my suit bags arrived safely, and I got my rental car. I phoned my sisters to let them know I was in town, and to get directions to the hospice facility called “Ava’s Place.” But when I got to the hotel I realized that in my haste, I had accidentally reserved the wrong room. Instead of the usual balcony room overlooking the lake, I accidentally clicked on a “lake view” room. It had a view of the lake, but no balcony. Luckily, the wonderful people at the Hyatt said I could move rooms with no problem. But since all of the top-floor balcony rooms for the night were occupied already, they suggested I stay in the lake view room for one night, and then move the next day to a balcony room. I told them I very much appreciated their help as the balcony room would be very necessary, given the impending situations of the forthcoming week. I LOVE THE SIOUX FALLS HYATT! I dumped my stuff in my room and popped into a nearby grocery store to buy a dozen roses for my mom’s room. When I walked in I was spotted by a young man who worked there. He stared at me and said, “You’re Wally Wingert!” I couldn’t believe I was recognized in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. His name was Isaak and I shook his hand and asked him if they had a floral department. He showed me the way and said, “Aren’t you afraid of being recognized?” I laughed and told him that Voice Actors very, very seldom get recognized, especially in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but I appreciated his concern. He said he was looking forward to the upcoming Voices Against Cancer convention, and he really wanted to meet Tom Kenny. I told him I’m sure he’d have a blast and that I’d see him there. I found the floral department and bought a beautiful arrangement of red and white roses for mom. I raced over to Ava’s Place as best I could. Unfortunately, the drivers in Sioux Falls like to drive reeeaaaaalllly slooooow, and at certain points become a traffic hazard, as they don’t keep up with the normal flow of traffic. As I sped around one bonehead to get to my mom’s bedside, they angrily honked their horn at me. Ugh. Some people. Unfortunately my sister didn’t give me very good directions, so I overshot the turnoff and ended up on the other side of town. I called my brother-in-law and he assured me that I had gone too far. Once I finally arrived I grabbed the flowers and headed in. I knew that most of my family would be there, and that the situation would mostly likely be rather glum. In an attempt to lighten the mood, I decided to go for laughs. I recalled an Elvis song my mom always liked. In fact, I can recall the orange-labeled RCA 45 rpm record we used to have called “Mama Liked the Roses.” I knocked on the door to her room, opened it and brought in the flowers singing (in my best Elvis impression) “Oh mama liked the roses!” I sat them in the sink in her room, and approached her bedside. She was fairly responsive and was aware that I was there. Then I turned and noticed a wonderful face I never thought I’d see again. It was my 42 year old daughter Lacey, along with her husband Andrew and their 7 year old daughter Natalie. My sisters told me that my daughter Lacey and my son Zach had been up to visit mom earlier in the day, and I was relieved to see that Lacey was still there! Over the past 28 years Lacey and I haven’t been in touch, which has always gnawed away a small part of my soul. I was never very clear on why that was the case, but I’m sure she had her reasons. However, my door was always open in case she changed her mind. But here she was in person! As soon as I was done giving my mom a kiss I turned and said, “But now I have to hug my daughter.” Lacey said, “Are you sure?” I said, “I’ve waited 20 years for this.” We hugged and it was really, really amazing to see her again. I introduced myself to her husband Andrew, and then I looked down and extended my hand to my 7 year old granddaughter and said, “Hi Natalie. I’m gramps.” Despite the sad occasion, this was a truly amazing development. It was apparent that my mom’s last great act on Earth was facilitating my reunion with my first born child. Mom was in and out of responsiveness, but was alert for a good portion of the day. She loved having everyone around, and I could tell she really enjoyed having Lacey back, and meeting her great-granddaughter Natalie! I chatted with mom and we talked about fun memories. The medical staff had informed the family that mom’s kidneys, lungs and heart were all battling each other, and her frail body was beginning to shut down. Her 85th birthday would be on July 7th, but it was becoming apparent that she probably wouldn’t make it. My friends Scott and Patti Maguire came to visit, and my mom was glad to see them. I’ve known Scott for about 46 years, and he was always like a brother to me. But as the evening wore on mom was getting very tired, so we all decided to let her rest. Lacey said she’d return on Thursday, and most likely with her two sons in tow…my grandsons Elliot and Devin! WOW! I’d get to meet them too! The Maguires and I agreed to meet for dinner at Granite City, and we ate on the patio as it was a nice, Midwest summer evening. Though it was warm and slightly humid and windy, the famous South Dakota oppressive humidity and wind hadn’t started yet. (That would come later in the week!) We got to our table on the patio and we passed a couple with two gorgeous dogs…a Bernese Mountain Dog and a Berna-doodle! I was doing whatever I could to keep my mind off my mom’s situation, so seeing and petting beautiful doggies was a nice distraction. We got caught up on all the latest happenings, and I told them about the odd mix of emotions the day had presented me with. While seeing my mom in that condition was obviously very sad, the extreme joy I was feeling from reconnecting with my daughter and meeting my granddaughter for the first time was diametrically opposed to the feelings of sadness. After dinner I got some supplies at the local Walmart and went to my room and passed out.

Thursday the 19th – A TURN FOR THE WORSE! – After 11 hours of continuous sleep I woke up to the news on my phone that mom is not doing well at all. The hotel informed me that I was able to switch over to the balcony room, so I quickly got ready and moved all my belongings to the new location. I didn’t want to hold them up, considering they were doing me a huge favor by letting me move rooms. I thought vacating my present room as soon as possible would give them ample time to clean everything up and offer the room to other travelers who may be arriving that afternoon. I sped over to Ava’s House (a wonderful hospice facility named for a young girl who developed a very rare form of cancer a long time ago) to see what the current situation with mom was. It wasn’t good. Unlike the day before, when she was mostly responsive to the activities going on around her, she was now almost completely unresponsive. Also disheartening was the fact that she looked less and less like my mom with each passing hour. Her life essence – all the things that made mom, mom – was slipping away. The vessel she occupied for the past 84+ years was slowly being abandoned. Along with it came all the usual affectations of the transition. It was tough to see her suffering, though we were assured by the staff (who see this sort of thing every day) that she wasn’t in any pain at all. The good news was that I got to meet my two grandsons Devin and Elliot. My daughter and son-in-law brought all three kids to be at mom’s bedside, and those kids were marvelous! Not once did they glance at a cell phone. Not once did they complain. Not once did they show any sign of boredom or lack of respect. I was proud to see that my daughter Lacey had become an amazing parent, just like her mom. She and her husband Andrew had created an amazing family, and I was proud to be their gramps! As sad as the situation at my mom’s bedside was, it still brought me a great deal of hope and joy to glance across the bed and see my gorgeous grandkids! The Chaplain came in to chat with our family, which is most assuredly a sign that mom’s end on this earth was nearing. It was a long day, and unlike the day before, it took on a very sad and heartbreaking atmosphere. The festive nature of the previous day was now gone. My mom’s two sisters had come in from a town about 70 miles away to say their goodbyes. In order to break the overwhelming mood of sadness we chatted about the things we loved about life. Though it may have seemed disrespectful to some, talking about the things that bring us joy helped us to cope with the situation at hand. I told my grandsons I had been waiting a long time to meet them, and I inquired about their interests and loves. Elliot wants to be an animator, Devin does character voices and draws, and Natalie draws and loves puppets. I guess, as my daughter Lacey put it, ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’ I hatched an idea, and got my assistant Emily on the phone at my house in L.A. to give her some urgent instructions. “You see that Cookie Monster puppet on the rod in my living room? Take him off the rod. Turn him inside out. Fold him up neatly, and take him to the nearest UPS store and have him securely packed and shipped to my hotel.” Not only would I find great use for him at the upcoming Voices Against Cancer convention, but I wanted to show him off to Natalie. After a very long, sad day – I headed to B&G Milky Way to pick up a few of those delicious sloppy joes for dinner, along with a strawberry shake. I got back to my balcony room, ate my dinner, unpacked and tried to relax. Though I was exhausted, I found rest to be difficult to obtain. I had lots going through my head. In addition to the overall dour mood of the day, the South Dakota weather was uncooperative as well; humid, hot and yucky. It was pretty much everything I hated about the weather in that state. I passed out on my bed with just a blanket and a pillow. I didn’t wake up until 2am. Since I was no longer sleepy, and I hadn’t quite acclimated to Central time, I did the best thing I could. I went out on the balcony, cracked open an iced tea, and meditated and prayed. I kept focused on the western sky. An impending thunderstorm was flashing in the distance, and would soon be crashing overhead. I stayed out for about an hour and a half, and decided to come back inside around 3:30am. When I got back inside I shot a quick glance at my phone on the charger. The light indicating that I had a message was blinking. It was exactly what I feared, but was also relieved to hear. There was a voicemail from my sister Bonnie (who had been staying the night in my mom’s room at the hospice center) stating that she was awakened by the hospice staff at 3:20am. They told her that mom had passed around 2am – pretty much the exact moment that I awoke and headed out to the balcony. Strange.

Friday the 20th – PREPARATIONS! – Our family was instructed to gather at the funeral home at 2pm to meet with them about arrangements. Once again, I received bad directions to the facility and I spent a fair amount of time driving around in a state of confusion. But eventually I made a call and found the correct place. Lacey was already there, which brought me a sense of great joy. It was so nice to have her involved with the family again. As the outsider in the group, I let my dad and sisters do most of the talking and arranging. Then they led us into another room where mom was lying in state. Dad said he couldn’t make that look like mom. I told him it was nothing more than a discarded vessel, and the true life essence that made her mom had moved on to greater surroundings. Amidst all the sorrow we had some good laughs when we shared specific memories. Dad is handling it all very well, as he is ever the old Army soldier – honoring responsibilities that must be handled logically and efficiently. But after 66 years of marriage, and 4 years of caring for mom during her declining health, it will be quite an adjustment for him going forward. A family friend had some dinner delivered to my sister Bonnie’s house, so we all gathered there for dinner and fellowship. The weather was still hot and humid, with an unrelenting prairie wind of 25 miles plus. I hate South Dakota summer weather. Almost as much as I hate South Dakota winter weather. It was nice to be able to spend more time chatting with the family, and particularly Lacey. After dinner I had to get to the local Walgreens to pick up some allergy medicine. The local weather had reactivated my allergies something fierce! My vocal cords were full of junk! I picked up some KFC and headed to my room, but it was too windy to eat outside on the balcony. I napped for about 5 hours and then woke up around 3am to do some writing on the balcony. The weather was still warm, but the hot wind had switched to a nice breeze. It was the perfect night for some “Cokes ‘n’ smokes.” I enjoyed an ice cold Coke in a glass bottle and a nice Monte Cristo cigar. After my posts on social media about my mom’s passing I had received a lot of nice texts and voicemail messages. Just as I was finishing up my cigar, I felt raindrops – so I headed back inside to clean up. I slept for a few hours, but woke up around 6am for some reason. It was then I remembered that the Hyatt hosted an amazing breakfast buffet every morning, and I should probably go partake of their hospitality. Normally when I stay there, I always sleep until well after noon. But since I was up, I’d go give it a try. To say it was amazing would be underselling it. It was truly wonderful. The whole experience was made doubly pleasant because I took my plate out on the terrace and enjoyed breakfast outside overlooking the lake. The night’s rain had cooled the temperatures down considerably, and the wind and humidity had also subsided. It was very lovely!

Saturday the 21st – PINCHED NERVE?! – After breakfast I slept a while longer. My hours were definitely all screwed up. When I woke up I called dad and found out the funeral was set for Wednesday. My folks have burial plots in their original hometown of Mitchell, South Dakota – which is about an hour outside of Sioux Falls. Wednesday, after the funeral, I would drive dad over in my rental vehicle for the burial. I called my buddy Dave Baumeister to inform him of the news. Then I headed to the nearest Fry’n Pan restaurant, a local eatery my folks visited regularly, to meet with the family for lunch. I drove out to my sister Bonnie’s place and her little dog Mongo was busily running around. Though it was hot, windy and humid out – I spent some time walking Mongo around the neighborhood with great delight. It was good to spend some doggie time! I drove back to my hotel to meet up with Dave and enjoy some cold Cokes on the balcony. It was too windy for “smokes ‘n’ Cokes,’ but it was nice chatting with him. I drove over to a local Italian restaurant to meet up with the Maguires and my pal Scott Smith. I hit Walmart for a few more supplies, and then went back to the hotel to rest. The evening had cooled off considerably so I slept with the deck door open, but the screen door closed to let the cool breeze blow in. I just pulled a blanket over me and passed out. But I was awakened by tiny, cold, stabbing pin pricks on my left leg. I thought I may have pinched a nerve while sleeping on this unfamiliar bed, so I shifted positions to alleviate it. But then I felt tiny, cold, pin pricks on my right leg! Once I shook myself completely out of my sleep state, I realized that the cold, stabbing pinpricks wasn’t a pinched nerve at all. It was drops of rain coming through the screen door and hitting my exposed legs. Another late night summer shower was starting up! I got out of bed to close the deck door, clean up, and write and meditate for a while. Then, it was back to bed again.

Sunday the 22nd – THE WAITING GAME! – Since it was a lazy Sunday I lounged around in bed for as long as I could. I called my old pal Steve “Hutch” Hatt (he was Hutch to my Starsky when we were hanging out in Junior High) to see what his plans were for the week, and to tell him about my mom. I got the idea to buy special, specific gifts for the grandkids. Since they’re all interested in art (their mom is also a terrific artist!) I decided to get them each a sketchbook. I would write a special inscription to each of the kids on the first page of each book. While checking email I found out that I had some scripts that needed to be recorded for a regular client. Since I won’t be back in my home studio for another week, and the due date for these files was quickly approaching, I needed to find a local studio where I could cut the scripts and send the files. Luckily my buddy Maguire runs a bunch of radio stations, so I’m hoping I can record them there and send them to the client. I headed out for the day and stopped by a local Arby’s to pick some of their delicious cherry turnovers. I found out that my dad enjoys them as much as I do, so I made sure to buy whatever their location had left in stock. My sister Peggy and her husband Jeff invited dad and I out to their house for grilled burgers. They had already picked up dad, so I headed to their house on my own. The burgers were delicious, and sitting around with their affectionate pets Biggie (the dog) and Bubba (the cat) was delightful. While we were sad about the passing of mom, we had an undeniable sense of relief that she was out of misery and suffering. While sitting around listening to jazzy songs from the 30s on their satellite, I asked Peggy if they had any ‘Yacht Rock’ stations. She didn’t know what I was talking about. I described the Yacht Rock genre and she was fascinated. She was now on a quest to find a suitable Yacht Rock platform to provide some music. Dad and I took off so I could drop him back at his apartment. It was becoming apparent that another thunderstorm would be blowing in soon, which makes it almost every night since I’ve been in town. Before it got too stormy out, I took the opportunity to enjoy more “smokes ‘n’ Cokes” on my balcony. Enjoying a nice cigar while watching the western sky flash with signs of an impending storm was magical. And wouldn’t you know it…just as I finished my Monte Cristo, the storm moved in overhead and it started to pour. I cleaned up and slept to the wonderful sounds of rain and a thunderstorm.

Monday the 23rd – OLD FRIENDS! – It was back at the Fry’n Pan to meet with a family friend who would be conducting the service on Wednesday. He wanted to meet with us to establish the format of the whole process. I didn’t eat much because I had a lunch date scheduled for later with “Hutch” at a local taco place he loves. It was his birthday on the 22nd so I wanted to treat him to a fun meal. We’ve been friends since Junior High, and we chatted about all the ups and downs of getting older. But despite the obvious downside of transitioning into the “autumn of our lives,” we agreed that we were still doing well and we were happy and healthy. Thank God! I drove over to my buddy Maguire’s radio station to do a quick Voice Over session to record the spots for my regular client. He put me in the hands of his Production Manager Chris who recorded me and uploaded the files to the proper parties. Easy peasy! In the middle of all the adjustments being made, given the fresh absence of my mom, my dad has decided to downsize considerably. He has a lot of wonderful furniture items he wants to get rid of. The pieces that he showed me are quite stunning, and are vintage pieces made from real wood, not cheesy particle board. I reminded him that my high school girlfriend and her husband run the only resale establishment in town, and I’m sure they would help him consign some of the stuff for sale. So my next stop was to see them in their store and tell them of the situation. They said they would be happy to help him out, and within the next few weeks they would stop over to his apartment and evaluate the items in question. After that it was back to the funeral home to meet with the family. My dad and sisters wanted to see how they had dressed my mom for the funeral, and make any final adjustments before the service on Wednesday. I had arranged to meet Lacey and the grandkids for dinner at one of our favorite pizza places in town, but for some strange reason Godfather’s Pizza is closed on Mondays. So we stood in the empty parking lot assessing the local options. After discussing a few ideas I suggested Olive Garden. Lacey smiled; remembering that she and I used to have our special father-daughter dinners there when I used to visit her back when she was little. So off to Olive Garden we went. It would be nostalgic for Lacey and I, but now we’re making new memories (and possibly establishing a new tradition) with the three grandkids! When we finished our meal I suggested we hit B&G Milky Way for dessert! My friend Diane, who owns and runs that location, was there and gave me a big hug when she saw me. I proudly introduced her to my daughter and grandkids, and she let them go behind the counter and make their own desserts! The kids couldn’t believe their luck! Their gramps was really connected with important people! She showed them how to make their own dipped ice cream cones, and she showed Elliot how to make his own shake! Since Elliot is 14 years old, I told him to be careful – as Diane may be secretly auditioning him for a job! It was a great dinner followed by a great dessert! All in all, it was a wonderful day visiting with old friends, and new family members. I quietly thanked my mom for somehow pulling this all together. I got back to my room just in time to hit the balcony and watch a gorgeous sunset in the western sky. As had been my recent habit, I collapsed on the bed and passed out until around 6am. I went downstairs to enjoy another sumptuous Hyatt breakfast overlooking the lake on the terrace, and then went to my room, cleaned up and went back to bed.

Tuesday the 24th – PARENTAL PLAYLIST! – Since my body was requesting it, I honored its request and slept the majority of the day. This was ‘the calm before the storm.’ Soon it would be funeral day, followed by a busy weekend schedule for the forthcoming Voices Against Cancer 605 Pop Culture Con! We had a family dinner at a local Italian restaurant, and then it was back to B&G Milky Way for dessert. I can’t get enough of their strawberry/vanilla soft serve twist cones! I gassed up the car so dad and I could hit the road the next day for the trip to mom’s burial site. Then I went back to the room to organize for the next day. As nice as it was to hang out with the family and old friends, I was really looking forward to seeing some familiar, friendly faces soon. My friends Mark and Connie Fullerton would be flying in from L.A. Wednesday night to attend the convention and take copious photographs of the event. Since I anticipated a memory-making, post-funeral drive with dad for the one-hour+ drive to the cemetery in Mitchell, South Dakota, I decided to populate a special playlist that we could listen to on the drive over. I made sure to avoid any sad songs, but I made a special effort to include songs from his favorites; Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, and the like. Since I had been in Sioux Falls for several days and hadn’t yet enjoyed a traditional pizza from Boss’ Pizza, I drove over to the local location to get a late dinner. But by the time I got there they were closed. I guess in the summer they close early, since the colleges are out of session. In the fall, winter and spring months, when the college kids are in town, they stay open until 4am to serve all those late “crammers.” Still hungry for pizza, I found a local Domino’s that was still open and I got an order to go. I took it back to my room to eat and write.

Wednesday the 25th – BYE, MOM! – As I kind of expected, I didn’t sleep very well. I got up at 7 and it was raining. I had breakfast in the hotel (not on the terrace as usual, since it was raining) and then got ready for mom’s funeral. I was dreading this day. I picked dad up at 9 and headed to the funeral home. It was a full house! Lotsa friends and family were there, and it was good seeing everyone, despite the circumstances. But I was determined to keep everything light, as I didn’t want everything to become sad and glum out of respect for what I believe mom would have wanted. I honestly think she would have wanted everyone to celebrate her terrific life, as she mostly lived life in a state of fun and excitement. I wore a brightly colored Muppet shirt – as a personal tribute to the fact that she and I made so many puppets together back in the day, which helped bring joy to so many people. My youngest daughter Molly was there, and it was the first time I had seen her in person for a very long time. Not only is she the spitting image of her late mother, but she’s become a very well-adjusted, pleasant, and wonderful young lady! It was great spending time with her. Lacey, Andrew and Natalie were also sitting with me in my row. Despite the sadness of the situation, being with them brought me a tremendous amount of joy. Miracles DO happen! When the service was over we had a quick lunch in the basement of the facility, and then we hit the road for Mitchell. As my dad and I drove down the highway, watching it rain intermittently all the while, we listened to music and chatted. But just a few miles outside of Mitchell the sky opened up and poured! The downpour was so intense I could barely see two feet in front of the car. I told dad, “I’m not used to driving in this weather!” He suggested finding an overpass and pulling underneath it to stop until it all blew over. I slowed the car to a near crawl until we were out of the weather. Luckily it only lasted about 15 minutes, and once it blew over we were on our way to the cemetery. When we got to the burial site we got out of the car and it felt like I was walking into a steam bath. The humidity was oppressive and palpable! You could cut it with a knife! I told dad, “Sorry. I must’ve taken a wrong turn and ended up in Florida!” When all of the family converged at the burial site the service commenced. The heaviness and finality of the situation had hit us. This was it. Very sad. My mom is buried just a few yards from the final resting place of my paternal grandparents. So it was nice visiting their gravesite while I was there as well. Before dad and I hit the road to head back to Sioux Falls, we stopped at a local gas station to get some refreshments. Though our conversation wasn’t very dense on the ride back, it was just nice spending time with dad. I pray that he’ll be OK moving forward, despite the fact that he’s in for a huge series of lifestyle adjustments. By the time I dropped him off at his apartment I was hungry again. One of the local restaurants I really miss is a place called Taco John’s. I got some food to go at their drive-thru and headed back to my room to eat. After a short nap, I woke up and sprang into “convention mode.’ Mark and Connie let me know their flight would be arriving around 10pm, so I headed out to the airport to pick them up. They had a fairly pleasant flight, and we were now on the hunt for a 24 hour grocery store. But the internet lied…again! It stated that a store next to my hotel was open 24 hours, but when we got there we discovered in horror that they actually closed at 11pm. During the time of the 2020 scamdemic they shortened their hours (as did a lot of stores) but the internet never apparently never got the memo. We went to get some food at one of the only places that was still open in Sioux Falls at that hour – yup – the good ol’ Fry’n Pan! After some good Midwestern food I drove them downtown to their hotel, dropped them off, and then headed back to my room by the lake. Whew!

Thursday the 26th – “CON MODE – ENGAGED!” – My sister called to let me know the family was meeting at Cracker Barrel for lunch, but I had other lunch plans a few blocks away with my radio pals Maguire & Smith. Over the past year or so my folks had begun separating all of the photos they had in their archives with the intent of disseminating them to my sisters and I. Each of the three siblings had a box in my dad’s office emblazoned with our names written on a Post-It. When I looked through the box during my visit to Sioux Falls late last year I couldn’t believe my eyes! There was GOLD in there! Photos I had never seen before! The box included every school picture I had ever taken, candid pictures of me around the house, pictures of my ex-wife and I, pictures of my son and daughter – PURE GOLD! But I didn’t want to risk shipping them through a shipping service as the possibility of something going wrong was too great. The box was too big to fit into my luggage, so I had to leave them in the care of my parents until I could formulate a plan to get them to my home in L.A. safely. But now, since I had packed two big suit bags for a two week trip, I had an idea. If I could ship out all of the dirty clothes I had accumulated up to this date through a shipping service, I would have enough room in one of the suit bags to bring the photo box home with me. PERFECT! During some downtime in my hotel room, I extricated all of the pertinent photos and packed them away. I put the remnants which were more relevant to my sisters in a separate box. I dropped that box off with my sister at Cracker Barrel, said hello to everyone, and went to my lunch meeting with my pals. While we were dining at Buffalo Wild Wings the sky opened up with one of those famous 15 minute South Dakota thunderstorms. The storm was so severe that all of the TVs in the restaurant lost their satellite reception for a time. After lunch I dropped over to dad’s apartment to visit with him for a while. I picked up a few supplies at Walmart, and then headed back to my room to relax. Mark & Connie had been spending the afternoon darting around Sioux Falls seeing the sights and enjoying the local cuisine. Later in the day I picked them up at their hotel and headed over to Ruby Tuesday. There we met up with dad, the Maguires and Scott Smith. It sure was fun to have a wonderful dinner with good friends, and the fun conversations we had certainly served to lighten the dour mood of the past week’s affairs. In fact, some of our conversation was downright hilarious. We all met at B&G Milky Way for ice cream after dinner, and then I dropped dad at his apartment. I took Mark & Connie back to their hotel downtown and decided to stop in to see if any of the Voices Against Cancer crew were there yet. I ran into some of the volunteers who were busy at work preparing for the weekend. It was great seeing everyone again, particularly since I hadn’t been able to make the event last year. With two canceled flights during last summer’s “flightmare” fiasco (remember THAT!?) I was unable to get out of Los Angeles for the VAC event. I got back to my room to relax, but now it had actually turned cold! Welcome to South Dakota weather, where if you don’t like the weather – wait 10 minutes. It’s really true! I napped all night, got up in time for breakfast, and then headed back to bed to sleep for a few more hours.

Friday the 27th – VOICES AGAINST CANCER: DAY 1! – Since I slept in most of the day, I was feeling pretty good. I got ready for the “castle soiree” at Dr. George’s house with great anticipation. First, my daughter Lacey would be going with me as my assistant. Second, I would be bringing Cookie Monster along for added fun. And third, it’s always a great time hanging out with everyone at Dr. George’s “castle on the prairie.” When Doc and I first hatched the scheme for Voices Against Cancer back in 2019, he was wondering how he was going to lug some of the bigger items in his collection all the way to a convention to have them signed. I urged him to hold a private soiree at his home the night before the convention and invite the actors to attend, along with some of the sponsors of the event and the honor families. This would give some of the kids who were unable to attend the convention a chance to have some private hang-time with their favorite actors, get some photos with them, and have some stuff signed. Plus, since the actors would be on-site, he could have them sign the things in his collection as part of the deal. Because so many collectibles are donated from various sources for the silent auction, there’s one whole side room that’s solely dedicated to just having the actors sign their relevant items. When I left the hotel to begin the evening I was feeling a bit hungry. I stopped at the Wendy’s drive-thru to get a quick sandwich. Then I hit the Hotel On Phillips in the downtown Sioux Falls area to congregate with the rest of the gang to catch the bus out to Dr. George’s castle. I finally got to meet Matthew Wood in person after about a year! He’s best known as the voice of General Grievous from “Star Wars,” but he’s also the main sound mixer for Lucasfilm. He was scheduled to be a guest last year, but like me, had all his flights canceled during the “flightmare.” Last summer he and I worked together remotely for a Voice Over piece on the show “Andor.” Before the session ended I said, “Hey Matthew, where are you going to be on July 21st? Sioux Falls, South Dakota by chance?” He said he was and he was looking forward to it. But then everything melted down. We worked together on another project a few months ago and once again I asked, “Hey Matthew! Are we going to try it again this year?” He said again, he was looking forward to it. But since he was working out of his studio in Marin County, and I was working out of my home studio, this was the first chance we had to actually ‘press the flesh.’ As a last minute replacement for the ailing Michael Bell, my old pal Kerrigan Mahan had been summoned to Sioux Falls. I hadn’t been informed that Michael was sick, nor did I know that his replacement was Kerrigan. He walked past me and I said to myself, “That guy looks like Kerrigan Mahan.” IT WAS! We ended up hanging out together most of the night and catching up on the latest happenings. As I stood in the hotel lobby, I looked up to the second floor landing and saw my old pal Tom Kenny. I rushed upstairs to give him a hug and thank him for attending. He went on to tell me a horror story about the flight snafus he endured to be there, including being rerouted to Minneapolis and being forced to drive the rest of the way! UGH! But despite all this, Tom was his usual jovial self. Tom was about ready to go into a side room to do an interview with one of the local TV stations; KELO-TV! This was the same station I used to work at when I lived in Sioux Falls (though I worked on the radio side of the station). After Tom’s interview they called me into the room to chat with them for a while, and Cookie Monster and I had a great time goofing around with the crew. Lacey arrived just before we boarded the bus – so we got on board and hit the road. It sure was great seeing the crew again as it had been 2023 since I had been with everyone. When I got there I was directed to the Silent Auction Room. I had a few items that needed to be signed! One of the items was a gorgeous Riddler/Batman piece that had been painted by a local artist, and was signed last year by my pal Roger Craig Smith, who played Batman in “Arkham Origins.” But since I was unable to make the trip from L.A. last summer, it had remained without my signature for almost a year. I reconciled that post haste! One of the little honor kids who has been at the soiree every year I’ve been there, is named Haley. She’s usually pretty reserved at this event, but when I brought out Cookie Monster that all changed! She rushed over with a huge smile on her face and embraced him. Then embraced him again. Then embraced him again! She couldn’t get enough of Cookie Monster! Seeing her enthusiastic smile made the hassle and expense of getting Cookie to Sioux Falls worth every bit! Cookie interacted with a lot of other people as well, and we all had a blast. Since they were coming in on later flights, headliners Dr. Peter Weller, John Boyega and Michael Rooker all arrived at the castle later in the evening. What a great celebration – and we could tell we were in for another amazing weekend! On the bus ride back Lacey and I were talking about Haley’s remarkable reaction to Cookie Monster, which up until tonight, seemed totally out of character for her. I thought it might be nice to get her a few plush Cookie Monster toys…but I had no idea where to get them at that time of night. Within minutes Lacey pulled up a page on her phone and showed it to me. “Walmart has four of them,” she said. WOW! Modern technology! I made a point to hit Walmart on the way home before they closed to get Haley a few Cookie Monsters of her own. When the bus got back to the hotel downtown everyone discovered with horror that the hotel was on generator power. Apparently a section of the downtown area had lost power (a storm?) which meant no excess power to charge your phone, emergency-only lighting, and worst of all…no hot water in the rooms. EEK! I skedaddled off to Walmart to pick up a few Cookie Monster plushies, and then headed to Boss’ Pizza to pick up some food. Since it was Friday night they had extended hours, so I didn’t need to be in fear of them already being closed for the night. I got my pizza and headed back to my room. As I ate my pizza on the deck I watched another brilliant thunderstorm light up the western sky. Once I got inside the storm settled in overhead, and it was as violent as it was beautiful!

Saturday the 28th – VOICES AGAINST CANCER: DAY 2! – About a half hour before the 605 Pop Culture Con opened to the public I arrived and purchased tickets for Lacey and her family. Once she, her husband Andrew, and my grandkids Natalie, Devin and Elliot arrived, we all went in to walk the floor. It was my first chance to show Natalie Cookie Monster, and she was utterly enchanted! I sense a future puppeteer in the making! At one of the tables she found a hand-knitted Labubu (what the heck is a Labubu?) that she just had to have. Apparently Labubu is all the current rage. Cookie Monster came out to play with some of the attendees, and we all were having an amazing time. I showed Natalie how Cookie worked, and she took great delight in running around with the puppet and chatting with people in her best “7 year old Cookie Monster” voice. She didn’t want to put him down! Yeah, doll. I get it. I really get it. The local Sioux Falls cat rescue called Cosmic Cats had two see-through tents set up, each of which contained a few adorable kittens. As we are all animal lovers, the kids wanted to go into the tents to play with the kittens – one dollar for five minutes with the kitties! FUN! (Lacey ended up adopting one of the kitties!) In addition to the headliners of Weller, Boyega and Rooker, the big draws were Tom Kenny and Matthew Wood! My grandson Elliot had a Funko Pop he wanted Tom to sign, so I bought him an autograph ticket. But all this fun and frolic was making us hungry. I remembered that the hotel next door had a great little restaurant, so I notified Mark & Connie and we all walked next door to eat. Oddly enough our waiter was named Bruce Wayne! When I told him he was waiting on the Riddler he couldn’t believe it. I even recorded a phone message for him. Once we got back to the convention Elliot took his place in the very long, and very slow-moving line for Tom Kenny (Tom LOVES to chat with his fans!). Meanwhile, I was on a mission. When Lacey was about 4 years old, she and I sat on the couch at my parents’ house and she interacted with my first Cookie Monster puppet. The photos of that interaction are featured on my Muppet Replica Resource page. Well now that Lacey’s daughter is a few years older than she was when those pictures were taken, I wanted to re-enact that scenario with 7 year old Natalie and my new Cookie Monster! That way I can juxtapose the set of photos together. Ya know…it’s a generation kinda thing! (I’ll be posting them soon!) So Mark & Connie snapped away as we did our best to position ourselves like the original photos that my dad took back in the 80s. By the time Elliot had gotten up to Tom’s table, Lacey had clocked his wait at 3.5 hours!!! But hopefully it was well worth the wait. Indeed, Elliot really enjoyed meeting Tom. As did everyone else who met him. Lacey and her family went home to pass out from the day’s intense activities, while Mark & Connie and I went to eat dinner. Mark was determined to visit a local Culver’s, since they don’t have the chain anywhere in Los Angeles. Being from the Midwest, Connie had eaten at a Culver’s several times before. But this would be a new experience for Mark. And the food IS quite yummy! My dad loves their chili, so I just had to try it. As we were leaving I asked Mark how he liked it. He said he thoroughly enjoyed his ‘605 Pop Culver Con.’ Mission accomplished! I dropped them off at their hotel downtown, and then (you guessed it!) I headed to B&G Milky Way for a strawberry/vanilla twist cone! Thoroughly exhausted, and with a full tummy, I got back to my room. I went out to my balcony to relax and enjoy the approaching evening. But the lakefront was occupied by a ton of kids and their parents. There must’ve been some sort of club or team that was staying at the hotel. The noise coming from below was far from relaxing. Plus, some of the kids were throwing rocks at the area ducks who like to swim on the lake. That made my blood boil! I attempted to call the front desk to have them rightfully chastise the kids. But nobody answered. Luckily, one of the idiotic parents FINALLY saw what was going on and stopped them. Took them long enough. Ugh. I thought about going down to the beach, sitting right in the middle of them all, lighting up a stinky cigar, and watching them all disperse. However, I saved my cigar for after a nap. Once again I was on the balcony late at night enjoying “smokes ‘n’ Cokes” and watching yet another thunderstorm blow in from the west. When it got incredibly windy I decided it was time to go in and call it a night. I remember being awakened at 3am with something that sounded like a bomb going off overhead. Oh yeah…South Dakota thunder.

Sunday the 29th – VOICES AGAINST CANCER: DAY 3! – The con didn’t open until 11 so I had a little extra sleep-in time. I met up with Mark & Connie and we walked around…albeit slowly. I didn’t have Cookie Monster with me, and I didn’t have my grandkids with me, so it was generally more relaxed. But overnight I realized (in horror!) that in all the hubbub I had forgotten to get my grandson Devin something! I had gotten Natalie a few Labubu toys, and I had bought Elliot his Tom Kenny autograph. I had fully intended to buy Devin a lightsaber he had his eye on, but by the time we were done playing with the kitties in the tents, his dad had already bought him one. I hastily texted Lacey to see what else Devin had his eye on. She sent me a photo of a large Kirby plush that he had been looking at. Now that I had the photo, I was on a mission! BAD GRANDPA for letting that slip my mind in the chaos! But luckily I found the exact one he wanted and I grabbed it! The vendor even gave me a few bucks off for paying in cash! When lunch time rolled around we went to the neighboring Holiday Inn to eat. They have a restaurant adjoining the hotel that’s similar to a little sports pub. We dined on lots of cheesy, potato-ey food (as if we weren’t tired enough) and headed back to the convention. Luckily, the pace was a lot slower than Saturday. I got a chance to chat with Sylvester McCoy (one of the Dr. Whos), Dr. Peter Weller, and David Patrick Kelly. I’ve loved DPK’s villain characters in virtually every film I’ve seen him in (especially “Dreamscape!”). But he’s a very nice guy, and quite brilliant. In addition to being an accomplished musician, he’s also a celebrated Shakespearean actor. Luckily, just an hour before the show closed, my buddy Dave got back in town and hit the convention. He was dying to meet Sylvester McCoy, as he had never met a Dr. Who before. We got some fun photos and bid everyone farewell for this year’s event. I went back to my room, cleaned up and hit Godfather’s Pizza for one final family dinner before my flight left for L.A. the next day. Lacey and her family were there, as were my sister Bonnie and her family, and dad. Natalie was sitting on my lap and we were talking, and she threw her arms around me and said, “Don’t go!” I brought up a photo of my cat Spooky on my phone and said, “You see that little guy? That’s my 20 year old cat, and he misses his daddy.” I was really looking forward to getting back home, but I would really miss my daughter and her fantastic family very, very much. I was really enjoying the new “grandpa” thing! I gave everyone a big group hug and bid them farewell. I reflected back upon sitting on the plane on the 18th heading to Sioux Falls. I pretty much had resigned myself to the fact that I was heading into a sad situation; I’d probably be with my mom during the last few days of her life, I’d go into funeral mode, and then into convention mode. Never in my wildest imagination did I think that I would see my daughters Lacey & Molly again, and become instant grandpa to boot! How God works is wonderful, and His miracles will never cease to amaze me. The events that transpired were nothing short of an answer to a long-held prayer! I’m so glad we’re back in touch again, and I never want it to end. I gassed up the rental car for its return to the agency on Monday. I returned to my room and started packing furiously. Again, I prayed for on-time and safe flights. Honestly, in this day and age, you can’t ask for anything more. My pal Dave came by to pick up the autographed Sylvester McCoy photo I bought for him. I wasn’t sure that he would make it back in town in time to meet Sylvester in person, so I hedged my bets and had a photo signed for him on Saturday. We enjoyed a final round of “smokes ‘n’ Cokes” and he went on his way. I packed some more and then hit the hay.

Monday the 30th – ON-TIME AND SAFE! – When I finished packing up some final things I checked out of my room. I was SO ready to get back home! I picked up some KFC for dad and I, and then headed to his apartment for lunch and some final conversation. But first I stopped at the UPS store to ship Cookie Monster back home. He had a busy weekend, and I’m sure he’ll enjoy the restful 4 day trip on his way back to Los Angeles! Dad and I enjoyed our lunch, and I decided to stop by my pal Maguire’s radio station to say goodbye to him and Smith. At 1pm I checked into my flight and everything was on-time…so far. I turned my rental car back in and headed through security. The flight to Phoenix was a bit bumpy, but overall it was fine. On the ground in Phoenix it was 114 degrees, but since it was humidity-less, it felt pretty good (compared to the weather I endured over the past week!). Certainly a lot better than the unrelenting wind and humidity of South Dakota! The flight to Burbank was short and sweet. On the way into the city I stared out the window and got a stunning bird’s eye view of the landscape. It was amazing! But I was sad to see that the areas affected by the recent fires were still barren and devoid of life. Once I landed I phoned my assistant Emily and she came to pick me up. When I got home Spook was bright white and clean. Emily had just given him a bath, but through all of the ‘trauma’ Spook had begun shedding. So there was cat hair everywhere! Oh well, it was good to be home. I settled in, took a nap, did some work around the house, and did some organizing and unpacking. I was too exhausted to start back with my WOGs (walk/jogs), but I had really missed them!

Tuesday July 1 – “HEY IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK HOME AGAIN!” – There was lots to do; check emails, finish unpacking, and get organized. I drove to my box to get some packages, and my dirty laundry had arrived safely. I also received a vintage alarm clock that I found on eBay that was the exact same model I had back in the early 80s! Complete with glow hands! I also received a GORGEOUS, vintage Laurel & Hardy swag lamp. I’ve never seen one like it, and it had no markings on it indicating that it was officially licensed. So if this is a bootleg, it’s a beautiful one! I met my pal Sara at Paty’s to enjoy a salad (I had been eating HORRIBLY the past few weeks) and catch her up on all the events. She followed me home to trim Spook’s nails, which were getting long and curly. I went out to the grocery store to restock the house, since a lot of the supplies I had in the fridge had gone bad. I got back home and did some auditions and work around the house. It may take a while, but slowly but surely I’ll get back to normal. I took my first WOG in a few weeks, and then edited some videos. Lacey had told me that she doesn’t have any of the videos or photos that we took back in the early days, so my new mission is to supply her with copies of photos and videos from my plentiful archives.

Wednesday July 2 – BACK TO THE GRIND! – After reconciling my personal bank account statement, I worked on the computer for a bit, and then paid some bills. I met my pal Chris Malmin at Paty’s for lunch and told him all about the trip to South Dakota. He’s originally from Sioux Falls too, so he totally understood all that I encountered and endured. I mailed off my bills, and then came home to do some work on the old family home movies for my daughter Lacey. The best way to get them to her is probably going to be on a flash drive that I’ll send through the mail. There are way too many videos and photos to send on-line, as it would take forever for them to transfer. I relaxed for a bit, and then recorded my daily auditions. I took my WOG, and edited some photos for the upcoming three-week edition of Wally’s Week(s)!

Thursday July 3rd – CONVERGED! – The maids arrived around 2pm to clean up Planet Wallywood before the 4th of July weekend break. I transcribed all my hand-written notes that I made during the trip to South Dakota to the computer document for Wally’s Week. When the maids left I hustled to the local hardware store, as I remembered that they sold a nice selection of swag lamp chain in the back of their store. Swag lamps are so retro that I really don’t think many places still stock the chain and hooks needed to display them properly. But this one does, thankfully! Not only did I find the exact chain I needed, but I was shown a kit called…you guessed it…swag lamp hook kit! WOW! I got back home and my gal Angi was sitting in her car parked in one of the parking spaces at my complex just down the road from my house. She was on the phone, so she told me to pull in front of my garage and wait, and she would walk over to me when she was finished with her call. As I sat in my car in front of my garage I listened to some tunes. Bachman Turner Overdrive’s “Takin’ Care of Business” came on. Just then I spotted Angi in my rear view mirror getting out of her car and approaching me. She had just come back from a shoot, so she was all made up and looking hot in a black skin tight dress. I laughed to myself and said, “Now THAT’S the kinda business I want to be takin’ care of!” She opened the passenger-side door and got in. She kissed me and said, “Hi!” Just then there was a large CRASH on the roof of the Gray Ghost! We were both shocked and I said, “What the heck was THAT?!” It literally sounded like a body hit the roof of my car. Fearing that my car may have been seriously damaged, I cautiously got out to survey the situation. But it was nothing more than a branch from one of the overhead trees and some tiny acorns. All that noise was made from just those?! My mom would always ask me, “When am I going to get to meet Angi?” But every time I planned a trip to South Dakota Angi was always booked on a gig of some kind, so she never made it back with me to meet the folks. And since I’ve known Angi mom was not in ‘travelable’ condition, so unfortunately, she would never make it out to L.A. again. But after thinking about the timing of the “branch incident” for a while, Angi and I thought that it might have been mom making her presence known with sort of a “nice to finally meet you” thing. After all, anything less than a loud, obvious presentation like that may have been too subtle and gone unnoticed. Plus, what are the odds that the branch didn’t fall to the left of my car to the pavement below? Or the right of my car? Or the front or back of my car? Why directly onto the roof? And what are the odds that it would have happened right at that specific time? Why not a few minutes before or after I pulled up? The chances of a direct hit on my roof at THAT particular time are really pretty slim considering the layout of the surrounding landscape. I had been told by many people to be on the lookout for signs now that mom has gone on to greater glory. Angi and I sped off to my box to pick up a few packages. One contained Cookie Monster, who arrived safely back home after his four day journey from South Dakota. And the other was a new book co-authored by my pal Tyler St. Mark called “Laurel & Hardy: After the Laughter.” I’ve been waiting for this book for quite some time and I can’t wait to read it! Angi and I had a great lunch at Paty’s on the patio and it really was great to be back home. We returned to Planet Wallywood and I showed her photos and videos of my trip. She also had been on a lengthy sojourn; visiting her dad in Florida to help with a relative’s move. Plus she caught herself a little bug and had been down with the sickness for a while. We sat and exchanged stories of our adventures. Though the past few weeks our paths were vastly divergent, it was nice to have a convergence point with her again! Later I relaxed and, still feeling a bit exhausted from my trip, decided to skip my WOG for the night. The fireworks around the area had begun with gusto, and I could hear them exploding all over the area well into the wee hours. I stayed in bed and slept for a full 12 hours!

Friday July 4th – CHAIN OF FOOLS! – When I got up around 11am I was hungry and confused. Had I REALLY slept that long?! I guess my body needed it. Since I had the whole 4th of July holiday to myself, and I wasn’t at all tired, I decided to start in on a few projects. The Laurel & Hardy swag lamp that I recently purchased on eBay was GORGEOUS, but the chain on it was badly corroded. Since I picked up some new chain at the hardware store the day before, I decided I’d undertake the arduous task of removing the old chain, link by link, with two screwdrivers. Pretty low tech, but effective. The hardware store guy tried to tell me how to remove the plug on the electrical cord so I could just snake the cord through the chain. But the cord and the plug were vintage (probably about 60 years old at this point!) so I didn’t want to risk screwing it up beyond repair. Each link that had been integrated with the cord had to be removed. Luckily it was only about every third link. It took a while, but I was pretty proud of myself when all of the old, corroded chain had been removed. Now to put the new chain on the cord in the same way. It was time consuming, difficult and tedious – but very satisfying once I got it finished. I’ll install the hooks and hang it in the Tranquility Zone on Saturday, just in time for this month’s observance of “Laurel & Hardy Theatre.” I worked around the house the rest of the afternoon, and toward later afternoon I made some hot dogs on the grill. I got into bed and enjoyed my dinner with an episode of “The Incredible Hulk.” I only have about 4 left in the series, and then I’m done. But of all the weird things – in the episode I was watching one of the characters mentions fireworks on the 4th of July. A very odd coincidence. By the time I fell asleep again it was 6:30pm, and I slept until 11. My hours were still very, VERY screwed up. Since the weather had cooled considerably I opened the windows and heard fireworks until the wee hours again. I started in on writing Wally’s Week (which was going to be a days-long task) and did some work around the house. Later I took a nice WOG, and spent some post-WOG time outside in the anti-gravity chair thinking, meditating and enjoying a nice cigar. The sounds of fireworks booming in the distance were occasionally punctuated by the sound of a distant train blowing its horn. Nice! Very tranquil!

Saturday the 5th – GETTING THE ‘HANG’ OF IT! – It was fun regaling my stylist Andie with the stories of my adventures from the past three weeks, and she was so moved by the stories she actually teared up a few times. After a touch-up on my color I headed to Paty’s to have lunch with my friend Edi on the patio. It was fun catching up after so long of a time, and the weather was absolute perfection. I got home and immediately started on the Laurel & Hardy swag lamp project. I marked where the two hooks would go. Luckily one was directly into an overhead stud, but I had to install a toggle bolt in the other hole so it would stay seated in the drywall. It was a messy job! I hung the lamp and turned it on to see how it would look in the Tranquility Zone. It was perfect, except for one thing – light leakage on the top and bottom of the lamp. If I was going to use it as a practical lamp the throw of this light would be ideal. But I wanted to use it more as a decorative piece, and I needed to minimize the light leakage from above and below. I went downstairs and found some thin, black foam board. I cut out two circles that would fit snugly into the top and bottom of the shade. After some further customization, the little discs fit into the shade perfectly and eliminated the light leakage from the top and bottom openings. It was a considerable amount of work, but it was worth it. It looks GREAT! I rested for a while and tried getting my usual schedule back on track. I got up and took a nice WOG. It was a beautiful night, but as it gets deeper into summer I have to be aware of walking into spider webs as I WOG. Even though it was the middle of the night, I saw one of my neighbors who was out walking her Corgi named Ruffles. It was fun petting Ruffles and chatting for a bit. Then I came back inside and continued working on Wally’s Week. As dawn approached I made my usual Chef Boyardee pizza-in-a-box and donned my Laurel & Hardy pjs for my “first-Saturday-of-the-month” tradition – “Laurel & Hardy Theatre.” I dug out my “40 Shorties Fez,” (a Sons of the Desert fez that contains the titles of all their short talkie films) and drew out the first film of the night – “Chickens Come Home!” However, I made one change to my usual routine. Ordinarily I like to put lots of ice cold Diet Pepsi in one of the Laurel & Hardy mugs my mom made me in her ceramics class back in 1974. But now that she’s passed I think I’ll retire them from use and put them both on permanent display with the rest of my Laurel & Hardy collectibles. That way the chances of them getting damaged during use will be eliminated. I would have hated for them to have gotten damaged anyway, but now that she’s gone I feel that I should retire them for good. I have an alternate set of those mugs that I bought on eBay several years ago, and the paint jobs are wonderful. They were obviously done by a professional artist, and done in a monochrome paint scheme. There’s another set on eBay at present that has a pretty nice paint job, so I think I’ll buy those as the new alternate set of mugs. And of all strange things, in “Chickens Come Home” Ollie’s wife catches him holding a fur coat which actually belongs to his former lover, who has resurfaced in an attempt to blackmail him. To cover up, he explains to his wife that it’s a Christmas for her. She says, “But honey, it’s only July!” Of all the weird things…again! The second film I drew from the “40 Shorties Fez” for the night was “One Good Turn,” which is another classic. Earlier as I was setting up my Tranquility Zone for the evening’s event, I noticed that I wasn’t getting any power from the outlets in my west wall. This was odd, because the overhead track lights that are plugged into that outlet were working fine earlier in the day when I was installing the swag lamp. Could I have blown a fuse? Boy, it’s always something.

Sunday the 6th – UTTER COLLAPSE! – As is usual on one of my “comatose Sundays,” I slept most of the day. I did get up for a little while later in the afternoon to continue writing on Wally’s Week and do my auditions, but then it was back to bed. I was even too tired to go on my WOG, so I took another night off. But it sure did feel good to collapse for a while. I’m sure this week I’ll be back on my regular nutty schedule and normalcy will return.

And how has life been for YOU!?

PIX FROM THE WEEK

Those crazy South Dakota storms, enjoyed from my balcony on a summer night.

After dropping Mark & Connie off at the Hotel On Phillips downtown (the headquarters for the Voices Against Cancer operations) it was fun running into some of the amazing volunteers who help make the whole thing a success. (Can you tell by our faces that it was hot and humid outside?)

Maguire, his wife Patti, me, dad, Mark, Connie & Smith all enjoy some much-needed, post-dinner laffs.

Back to the amazing B&G Milky Way for dessert! Yes, ice cream DOES solve everything!

We’d better finish up our ice cream before the next South Dakota thunderstorm rolls in!

I never thought I’d run into my old pal Kerrigan Mahan, but there he was! Amazing!

Cookie has some selfie fun with VAC volunteer Missy.

Once at Dr. George’s castle soiree, my daughter Lacey rubs shoulders with the great Tom Kenny!

Cookie entertains Dr. George’s daughter and her friends.

The Seventh Doctor, Cookie and I marvel at Sylvester McCoy’s namesake shirt!

The festivities continue!

Ahmet Best is also known as Jar Jar Binks. But Cookie Monster wanted to meet COOKIE JAR Jar!

So Cookie Monster and Spongebob walk into a castle on the South Dakota prairie…

One lucky little girl got to hear a rendition of “Happy Birthday” sung by Cookie Monster, followed up with a plate full of cookies!

Honor child Haley offers Cookie his favorite – a chocolate chip cookie! But Cookie Monster is under strict orders not to eat any cookies until the kids have all eaten their fill!

My awesome partner in the Voices Against Cancer Initiative, who puts on an amazing ground game in Sioux Falls, Dr. Lou George!

And joined by our pal (and expert photog) Mark Fullerton!

Upon arriving at the 605 Pop Culture Con, my granddaughter (and future puppeteer) Natalie, my son-in-law Andrew, Lacey, and my grandsons Elliot and Devin take to the convention floor! This photo will always be one of my all-time favorites!

My brother-in-charms Dr. George joins the family for a fun foto!

THE DOCTOR IS IN! The Seventh Doctor, and his assistant Ruth, sign a photo for my pal Dave. “Dr. McCoy” was utterly delightful!

Dr. Peter Weller (Robocop and Buckaroo Banzai) and Paul Blake (Greedo) have a chat with Cookie, as Natalie looks on.

My granddaughter Natalie’s 2025 Cookie Monster adventure

Cookie loves Natalie…

…as much as Natalie loves Cookie.

I’ve officially lost my job. Natalie takes over as C.M. and entertains Haley.

Fast friends!

Careful with that lightsaber, Devin!

Sharing some laffs with Doc and Natalie.

I believe that Natalie actually believed this was Rapunzel. Ahhh the innocence of a child.

My old pal Tom Simmons (we were in “Grease” together at the Community Playhouse, and he donned the Superman costume when I went out as Batman) arrives at the 605 Pop Culture Con.