November 11 – November 16 (2014)

RANDOM PIC OF THE WEEK

I found this pic in a bunch of photos my folks sent to me. Apparently when I first moved to L.A. back in 1987, I was so smitten with the “harsh winter weather of Southern California” that I took a dip in the pool in my apartment complex to prove that I could brave it. Seriously though, I’m sure this was a bit of a “neener neener” to everyone back home battling the snowy, blowy winter blahs.

As I started my star watching last Tuesday night, I started it with this tune…“Interstellar Man” by William Orbit! PERFECT stargazing music!

Monday the 10th – PALM SPRINGS HERE I COME! – It was an early Monday morning for me as I was up at 9:45 and headed to Marina Del Rey for an 11:30am session for US Airways (now called The New American). After the session I met up with my friend Christina from church who works about four blocks from where I was recording. We had lunch at a health food place (I did manage to find a steak and potato dish I loved!) and then I headed for home. But first I stopped at Foster’s Freeze in the Marina for a banana split for the road. YUM! I got back to my neighborhood and picked up my mail at my box, and took my newly purchased Elvis In Concert red satin jacket to the dry cleaners. I bought the jacket on eBay and it looks like it was never worn. However it reeked of cigarette smoke and that had to go! I tried airing it out by placing it outside for several hours, but it was in there but good! The tech at the dry cleaners assured me that the jacket would be fine and the color of the satin wouldn’t fade. I picked up an ink cartridge for my printer and then headed to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. While I was there I saw the cutest little black malti-poo named Dahlia. I thought she was named Dahlia because she was black (Black Dahlia?) but her VERY attractive owner assured me that it was just a coincidence. Then another attractive young lady came up with her dog so they could meet. Why do the hottest girls have the cutest dogs??? I got home just as Sara was finishing up walking Roxy, so I headed inside to catch up on e-mails. I took a dip in the Jacuzzi and grabbed a quick nap. Then I got up to write Wally’s Week, do some auditions, pay some bills, go through my pile of receipts, and continue packing for Palm Springs! Whew! I was making some Buffalo Mac to eat while watching another “Magnum, p.i.” episode and as I walked by the Puppet Room I spotted my cat Spooky sitting on the lap of Fats again. Fats is a replica ventriloquist dummy I purchased a week ago, and my cat Spooky loves to sit on his lap for some reason! But it’s cute how much Spook loves him so much!

Tuesday the 11th – HAPPY VETERAN’S DAY! – When I woke up at 1 I walked Roxy over to the groomer’s to get a bath before we left for Palm Springs. The past few times I was there I didn’t take Roxy because of the heat, but this time of year the P.S. weather is perfect! I drove over to Taco Bell and got some food, then went to Voicecasters to audition for a radio commercial for Best Buy. I stopped by the grocery store and got a few supplies for my trip, and then dropped by my mailbox to pick up my “Batman” TV series DVD set that was just released that day! Though it was Veteran’s Day, package delivery was still active. The day some said would never happen has arrived! “Batman” is out on home video! YAY! If you’d like to read a very good article about everything it took to get it released, check this out… https://www.wired.com/2014/11/batman-home-video-finally/ It’s been quite a sojourn! I went home to prep the house for Sara to house-sit with Spooky all week, and then I walked to Enterprise to rent the SUV for the week. If I go to Palm Springs by myself my Mustang suffices. But with Roxy I need to rent a slightly larger vehicle to accommodate all of her stuff and my stuff. I got back home, did some more work, then walked to the groomer’s to get Roxy. When I got back home I did auditions and finished packing. I couldn’t resist though! I just HAD to pop in my favorite “Batman” TV series episode as I finished packing to check out the high definition Blu Ray quality! “True Or False Face” has always been one of favorites, and it’s always fun watching my old pal, the late great Malachi Throne in action. We finished packing and I loaded up the Hyundai Santa Fe to hit the road. We had a great drive to Palm Springs, and Roxy is getting used to traveling now. Before she was tentative about it, but now she gets in the back and lies down for the entire trip. We left at 8:45 and got there at 10:20…pretty good time! The skies were cloudy all the way there, but like magic, the skies cleared up just as we headed into Palm Springs on Highway 111. The moon and stars started to appear. Nice! KTNN AM 660 was coming in loud and clear from Window Rock, Arizona, and the Native American music was adding a magical feel to our nighttime drive through the desert! First stop, as is tradition, was Denny’s to get some food to go. Then we headed to the Hyatt to check in. My friend Darlene was working behind the front desk, and Robert the valet remembered my name. When I pulled in he said, “Welcome back, Mr. Wingert!” WOW! I truly felt welcomed and at home! We got to the room and I moved the 3 foot by 3 foot ottoman from the front room of my suite, on to the balcony. That way Roxy could lay on that next to my chair as we watched the stars in the sky. It was very relaxing! I didn’t get to bed until 5am!

Wednesday the 12th – DESERT DESSERT! – After only four hours of sleep I woke up and decided to take Roxy out for a walk. As long as I was up, I decided to order breakfast from room service. I had a bite and went back to bed until 2. Then it was up and off to the Palm Springs dog park! Roxy ran around like crazy and had a great time. We headed back to the room to recalibrate, and then we walked down to Ruby’s to grab dinner on the patio. On the way back I, naturally, picked up a Dole Whip (fully Wally-ized) at Lappert’s Ice Cream. My pal Jasmin was working at the Hyatt when we returned, so it was nice to see her. I got to my room and headed to the balcony to enjoy my Dole Whip under the stars! After a quick nap, I got up and headed across the street to NYPD Pizza to get a pepperoni to go. I took it back to the hotel and sat on the upper deck around the pool to eat my dinner. I’m glad I did. The show in the sky was a wonderful accompaniment to a delicious pizza. About 20 geese flew overhead in full formation. I also saw several shooting stars. Amazing! There were a few clouds, but I could still see a ton of stars. I checked e-mails in the business office downstairs and headed upstairs to stargaze all night.

Thursday the 13th – STREET FAIR FUN! – When I got up at 3 my pal Kathylynne was just pulling into town. We took Roxy over to the dog park and let her run some more. But she seems more interested in the dog owners than the actual dogs themselves. Roxy made a point of going to every human there to get pets and affection. We headed back to the hotel and I grabbed a nap before the street fair. We enjoyed some delicious tri-tip Bar-B-Q for dinner, and of course I got my traditional kettle corn, fresh lemonade, beef jerkey and hand-made soaps. I also got a really nice gift for my mom and a personalized pillow for Kathylynne for movie nights at Planet Wallywood. We got back to the hotel and chilled for a bit, but then I was starting to get hungry again. So I went across the street to get a sandwich from NYPD Pizza. I came back and fed Roxy dinner and then we retired to the balcony to watch stars all night. But we didn’t see any. It was completely overcast all night, but it was still beautiful in its own way. The translucent cloud cover was really stunning as it caught the light from the city in different ways.

Friday the 14th – FINAL FRIDAY! – My pal Ron Chaney met us for lunch at the original Las Casuela Mexican restaurant. It’s the one Elvis used to eat at all the time when he lived in Palm Springs in the late 60’s. We had fun chatting with him for a few hours, and then we hit the dog park one final time. I got back to the room to grab a quick nap, and then we hit Ruby’s diner for dinner. Of course I got a Dole Whip on the way back to the hotel. Later that night, I had the best night of stargazing all week. The sky was totally clear and the stars were numerous and bright! Plus, there was some sort of marathon starting Saturday morning, so there were tons of climbers on “Mount Abe” outside my hotel room. I loved sitting there watching their LED flashlights make their way up the face of the mountain. The hooting of a distant owl, along with 3 (count ‘em!) 3 shooting stars made it one terrific, final night in Palm Springs! I LOVE THIS PLACE!

Saturday the 15th – PUPPETS AND PROFESSORS! – Right at 11am I sprang awake and threw my stuff into my bags. By noon we were checked out of the room and after gassing up at the local Shell station, Roxy and I were on the road at 12:30. I got back to LA by 2:15, and Sara followed me to Enterprise so I could turn my SUV back in. She gave me a ride to the dry cleaners so I could pick up my Elvis In Concert jacket. It came out perfectly! And the annoying smell of cigarette smoke was gone! Then it was time to hit my mailbox and pick up my packages. Not only did my “Avengers: Fifth Season” Blu Ray come in (just in time for my usual Saturday night viewing later that night!) but I got my lifesize Pinocchio marionette! Back in the early 90’s, during a trip to Disneyland, I saw a 3 foot tall fully-working Pinocchio marionette for sale in one of the stores. The price on it was about $1200 and at the time I couldn’t afford it. But I’ve never forgotten how cool it was. I recently found one on eBay for considerably more money, but I couldn’t resist. He needed some restoration work, but I’ve heard there isn’t many of the original run of 200 units still in existence. Plus, this one was #43 of 200, and apparently a very famous puppet maker named Bob Baker personally made the first 50 of these! It was a true collectible to be sure! Bob Baker Marionettes still exists in downtown L.A., and the seller of the Pinocchio marionette said that they can do the restoration work needed. And Bob will even SIGN it for me if I want! (I want! I want! I want!) So I need to call their studios and make an appointment to bring it over soon. I got home and Sara helped me unpack Pinoccho and get him hung up in the Chaney Room. It really is an amazing piece! I can’t wait to see him fully restored. It looks like he had gotten some time in the sun because his yellow felt hat was faded. But it would be easy enough to make a new hat I think! I also unpacked my luggage and grabbed a quick nap on the couch before movie night. We had a special guest for our screening of the Blu Ray of “The Nutty Professor” from 1963! Stella Stevens came by to hang with us and watch her co-star with Jerry Lewis. We had a wonderful time and my friend Larry’s young daughter Kathy especially loved meeting Stella. She signed photos for us and posed for a ton of photos. I ran to the Chaney Room, got out a pair of buck-tooth dentures and some horn rimmed glasses I had laying around, and put them on for a photo with Stella. In my best Jerry Lewis impression I said, “Uh, Miss Purdy, would you take a photo with me.” What fun! After Stella and her assistants Marci and Nava left, we put on the very first episode of the “Batman” TV series on Blu Ray. We were all blown away by the quality! When my guests left I sat on the computer doing some research for a gift I’m making for my dad’s 80th birthday. I also had an audition to do for the “Ellen” show. So I finished that and e-mailed it in. I popped the “Avengers” Blu Ray into my machine, made a huge salad and hit the hay to enjoy dinner and John Steed and Mrs. Peel in high def glory!

Sunday the 16th – WHAT TIME IS IT? IT’S TOOTH HURTY! – Around 2 I got up and walked Roxy, who loved lying in the sun getting some rays. Then we went back inside so I could do some paperwork and catch up on stuff. I organized all of my receipts from the week, paid bills and got ready for evening church. But as I was eating some frozen Milky Way bites, I felt something in my mouth that didn’t feel like frozen Milky Way bites. A piece of my tooth broke off! Luckily it was the tooth that my dentist is going to prep for a crown on Monday anyway. On my lower left, it’s the second tooth in from the back. I think they call it the six-year molar. During my last check-up a month or so ago, he discovered that the filling in that tooth had a small fracture. There was nothing to do with it except put a crown on it. Luckily it didn’t need a root canal! Even luckier, I had an appointment to have it prepped in less than 24 hours. I managed to extricate the piece of tooth from the chewed up Milky Way, washed it off and saved it to show my dentist. But the place where the piece broke off was now very sharp and jagged. I noticed that every time I moved my tongue to talk or swallow, it would drag across the sharp edge of that tooth and cause some discomfort. I’m glad it would only last a few more hours! I went to church with Roxy, and then came back home to relax with a nap on the couch by the fireplace. I got up and did some auditions (not fun talking when your tongue feels like it’s being sliced to ribbons every time it moves!) and then finished my bank statements. I did some more paperwork, had a bowl of Frankenberry (chewing on my right side only) and hit the hay to watch a “Magnum, p.i.” episode.
And how was YOUR week??!!

PIX FROM THE WEEK

11/11/14 was a great day! The “Batman” TV series was FINALLY released on Blu Ray! I couldn’t be happier!

This doesn’t look anything like the lead singer of U2! And why do they keep calling him Sonny?

At the Palm Springs dog park, several dogs relax and take a break between playtimes. They all moved so fast around the park, it was really the only time I could get a good shot of them!

A very touching sign in the memorial garden of the dog park. Kinda gets ya right here, doesn’t it?

At the Palm Springs Street Fair a youth orchestra wows the crowd with lots of great tunes!

Two rescue horses at the Street Fair are gorgeous and photogenic!

Back in the hotel room, Roxy is ready for a nap!

We found our buddy Larry Storch’s new star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars! Good job, Roxy!

Last Saturday night’s movie night was very exciting, as we welcomed actress Stella Stevens to Planet Wallywood! We screened her film “The Nutty Professor” in Blu Ray!