May 13 – May 19 (2019) – Wally On The Web

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

This dog is for the birds! Literally!

As I continue writing the script for the Labor Day radio show I’ll be doing in my hometown for my upcoming class reunion, I’m thinking about all the great old 70’s songs we used to play. I brought up “Ariel” by Dean Friedman at movie night, and a few of my friends had never heard it. I guess it must’ve been more popular in the Midwest and on the east coast. I think this song is really cool, and very catchy.

Monday the 13th – AN APPLE A DAY? – Knowing that I had to be up early for an appointment with my doctor to complete my physical at 9:30 kept me from sleeping soundly. So I sprang awake at 6am and just decided to stay up and work on my kid’s books until it was time to go. Once I got there the doc said everything was looking pretty good. He said he’d like to see me lose about 10 pounds (I agreed) and watch what I ate (I didn’t agree). He started in with the times of day it was ideal to eat, and the best kinds of foods to eat at certain times. I didn’t even start with how my schedule isn’t like everyone else’s and not everyone lives the daily schedule of a doctor. So I just vowed to do my best. One thing he said that I think I WILL start doing, is watching portions. Instead of having two handfuls of Gummy Bears, just have one. Instead of ordering a large pizza, order a small. That may work. He said, “So, you don’t smoke, you don’t drink and you don’t do drugs. Do you exercise?” I pulled up the gown to show him my legs and said, “Doc, I didn’t get these tree trunk calves by sitting around and watching ‘Friends’ reruns.” I told him I was a big fan of long, brisk walks. I’m also going to try and do that more as well. But as I left the appointment I was mostly glad that the physical didn’t involve any rubber gloves and Vaseline, or any turning of my head and coughing. I got home and started designing a rough logo for my kid’s book series, which I’m going to be showing around at the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas soon. But I was starting to get pretty tired, having not slept well the night before. I dropped down on “The Most Comfortable Couch in the Universe” and slept all afternoon. I got up later to continue writing on my kid’s project, I did an audition, and typed out Wally’s Week.

Tuesday the 14th – A COMPELLING CASE! – At noon, I was awakened by the sound of my dog barfing. I sprang from bed to attend to her. A wonderful start to a new day. But it was one of those “hadn’t had enough to eat and my stomach’s empty” type of barfs. I got her some food and after that I was pretty much up for the day. I got a message from my pal Kyle at Plastic Depot that my custom-made Plexiglas case for my Rowlf the Dog replica was ready. I did an audition and then headed over to KFC to get some lunch (with no potatoes – to watch my carbs). I picked up the case and it was gorgeous! I went to my mailbox to get my mail, and then headed home. I unloaded the case and the stand and put them up in the Tranquility Zone where my Muppet replicas live. I put on my walking clothes and went over to CVS to get some prescriptions filled. I walked by Kit Kraft to get some holographic paper to put up as a background behind my Mahna Mahna replica. I walked to Enterprise to reserve my SUV for my upcoming trip to Palm Springs, and then I headed home. I couldn’t wait to start setting up my new Rowlf case. It was beautiful and fit perfectly into the space I had available for him. Like my late contractor Terry Crisp used to say, “Measure twice, cut once.” His words were very useful, as I poured over these measurements many times to make sure they’d be correct. I attached some new lighting effects to the area and then went downstairs to record some auditions. But I was pretty beat so I ended up napping until 2am. I got up and fed the kids, compiled my travel list for Palm Springs, worked some more on the package for my kid’s book, and did some writing on the radio show I’ll be doing in my hometown over Labor Day. Busy day!

Wednesday the 15th – THE LURIES AT LANCERS! – About mid-afternoon I had lunch with Edi and Elliot Lurie at Lancers in Burbank. It was fun catching up with all their news. I went back home to meet up with my new house sitter Ariel to show her the ropes for my upcoming Palm Springs trip and Las Vegas trip. When I go to Palm Springs I’ll have Roxy with me, so she’ll only have to stay with Spook while she watches Planet Wallywood. But when I got to Vegas she’ll have both Roxy AND Spook. I walked over to CVS again to get some prescriptions filled that were unavailable the day before, and then I came home to do auditions and take a short nap. I got up later to do some writing, a little organizing for the upcoming Licensing Expo, and then I hit the hay.

Thursday the 16th – BUSY, BANGIN’ DAY! – The first stop of the day was Voicecasters in Burbank for an audition. Then I went over to Bang Zoom to do 3 more hours’ worth of recording on the digital assistant project I’ve been working on for several years. We wrapped at 6 and I stopped by my mailbox to get my packages. I got home and fed the pets, did some auditions, recorded this month’s voice tracks for the station in my hometown that I do imaging work for, wrote some more parts for the presentation we’re showing around at the Licensing Expo, and then I grabbed a short nap. I got up later to continue writing, I paid bills, ate a little something and then went to bed.

Friday the 17th – AND NOW FOR MY NEXT IMPRESSION…! – I was awakened at 11 by intense ringing in my right ear. It’s very annoying, and I couldn’t get back to sleep. So I stayed up. I did some work and then headed out to get some lunch. I stopped into my dentist’s office to get a dental impression made for my implant crown. I can’t believe in two weeks all that dental/oral surgery madness will be behind me! He removed the little cap that’s in the implant currently, screwed in a little post called an abutment, took a cast of my teeth, took the abutment out and put the cap back in. When they make the cast and send it off to the lab, the technician will build my crown around the abutment. So when the tooth is cast in porcelain it will fit over the abutment perfectly and can be attached permanently. On the wall next to the X-ray machine there was a sign that said, “Before your X-ray, make sure to tell the doctor if you think you may be pregnant.” I said, “Hey doc, that reminds me of a little dental humor. What’s the difference between a pregnant woman and an abutment?” He said he didn’t know. I said, “You can UNscrew an abutment.” I thought he was going to fall over laughing. He said he wanted to use that line at the next dental conference. I told him to feel free with my compliments. I headed home, got my walking clothes on and walked over to Voice Trax West for an hours’ worth of voice tracking for American Airlines. I walked back home, got cleaned up and got ready to go see Yacht Rock Revue at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood. My pal Officer Mark and his girlfriend Connie, and his friends Mike and Amy all met at my house at 7:30. My old pal Amy from the days at 94.7 The Wave also came by, and we all caravaned over to the local subway station. It was much easier to take the subway into Hollywood than hassle with driving and parking. We got there in just a few minutes, the station where we got off is just a block from the theatre, and it was golden! We even had time to grab a bite before the show. It was a good show, but unlike the past Yacht Rock Revue concerts we’ve seen, there weren’t any special guests; like Elliot Lurie of Looking Glass, Peter Beckett of Player, etc. The band is very, very good. But I really missed those moments hearing the actual voices who made some of those great songs hits. But we had fun nonetheless. When I got home I was totally exhausted from the day so I crashed for a while. I got up later and did some work around the house.

Saturday the 18th – 50 YEARS IN THE MAKING! – It felt good to sleep in, considering the very active week I had. I got up at 2 to let the maids in so they could clean the house. Then a guy named Jacob came by to “location scout” Planet Wallywood for an upcoming interview I’ll be doing for a documentary. He was blown away by the enormity of the collection, and we agreed that we’d have the crew come by in a few weeks to do the interview. I went to the grocery store in the Gran Torino to pick up some supplies for movie night. It was sprinkling a bit, but luckily I have a great hand-wax job on the exterior so the water just beads up and runs off. We watched the Blu Ray of “Apollo 11,” a newly released compilation of some of the 65mm footage they shot 50 years ago during the mission to land a man on the moon. It was nothing less than stunning! When my guests left I grabbed a short nap, then got up to work around the house, I made my traditional Saturday Night Super Salad and watched a VERY funny episode of “SNL” from the fourth season with Eric Idle as the host. I had remembered seeing that episode when it aired back in 1979! It included the “opium den” writer’s room scene, as well as Dan Aykroyd’s “Save the liver” bit as Julia Child. Classic!

Sunday the 19th – BAD NEWS SUNDAY! – When I got up at 4:30 I quickly realized I should have stayed in bed. Some friends who were going to meet me in Palm Springs for my upcoming vacation wrote to say they wouldn’t be able to make it after all. Then my seamstress texted to say she was having trouble creating the products I needed for the upcoming Licensing Expo in Las Vegas. The fabrics I selected for the products weren’t cooperating, apparently. While walking to church with Roxy I was thinking of just canceling my trip to Palm Springs so I could stay here in L.A. and handle things. But when I got to church, strangely enough, Pastor Louise’s message was about how we need to take time to relax and check our heads from time to time. I got the message. I decided to keep my Palm Springs plans intact. After church Shirley and I drove to Bob’s Big Boy to get dinner, and then I took her to her home. I got back to Planet Wallywood and napped for a bit. I got up later and did my auditions, and started in on a new kid’s story which I had started concocting over dinner with Shirley. I worked around the house for a bit and headed to bed. It’s going to be another busy, exciting week ahead!

And how was YOUR week?!

PIX FROM THE WEEK