Our pal and longtime WJZ television producer Mark “The Blade” Brodinsky tells Nestor the “why” behind his “You Matter” message and movement at Pappas in Cockeysville on “A Cup Of Soup Or Bowl Week” at Baltimore Positive.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
life, talked, love, people, humane, years, animals, cat, blade, maryland, card, told, marty, good, matter, give, great, put, sat, jerry
SPEAKERS
Nestor J. Aparicio, Mark Brodinsky “The Blade”
Nestor J. Aparicio 00:03
Welcome home. We are back here at Pappus. It took a deep exhale, my yoga breath. I’m trying to sit up, sit back, fix my back. Back actually feels better. Thank you Dr. Steve for adjusting me at 721 this morning. You kidding me over here. We’re Pappas. We’re in Cockeysville what backfields this good at five o’clock. I tell you what it is our 35 hours 36 Right now, a 40 hours will be your five o’clock today. It’s all brought to you by our friends at the Maryland lottery at the 10 times the cash prizes. We had a 1010 out yesterday we somebody wants to dollars times 10s $20. So it’s a nice little when we had little haul over state state fair. It’s been a long week. I’ve learned a lot this week. I’ve met lots of new folks I loved Veronica land Davis from Hopewell I’ve just met the woman from Grace and omission on Monday was my she looked like my mother and she talked like my aunt, and she kind of stole my heart. So I’m gonna have to figure that out because I’ve always walked past the grace and oak mission down there on Gay Street and it’s a beautiful sign. But then there are people like I’ve been known for a while Marc Prensky is one of those guys. Marty bass once nicknamed him the blade he was the executive producer of Don and Marty for I don’t know how many years he is here now I’m gonna wear my wacky window nation at for you because you matter Marc Prensky and you have a movement you love animals as much as I love animals. I drag poor Johnny Rollo out last week or yesterday to state fair to talk about his work with with barks. And with show your soft side. You’re here to talk about be more humane and Baltimore Humane Society, which is where I’ve gotten both of my little lovebirds so my my cat has been obsessed with the board the light bright board that I have here. So she gets up and stares at all the lights. So I’ve taken it away because I’m doing radio, but she keeps sitting in the chair where I’ve been sort of rehearsing not screwing this up all week. And she’s been sleeping in the chair like the studio chair, like all week at four in the morning and I picked her up this morning and I put her in with my wife and she starts purring and she cuddles up. There’s nothing better than animals. Dude, how are you? I’m great. Used to be more than show animal. How are you everything good.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 02:24
I’m awesome. I was at the bark wedding. This past weekend. They had a canine wedding at the Lord Baltimore charity event. It was awesome. It was awesome. They married two dogs. And it was a it was a fundraiser. I think already Yeah, I think they already adopted but they wouldn’t.
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:42
It’s like Best in Show.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 02:43
It was it was a real wedding.
02:44
There was dancing. There was food that was it was amazing. Oh, well.
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:48
You’re here for a couple of reasons. And I was on your show. I’m going to fix your audio by the way, because your audio came back and put on the radio like we got to fix marks. Well, your professional I mean, tell me what you did and how I know you because anybody that ever listened to Don and Marty Marty used to give a shout out to the blade. This was the blade for many years right?
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 03:10
I still am the blade you are the point I’ll never not be the blade. But probably the blade through a couple of people. There are only certain people in my life special people who call me the blade. I allow you to do that. Right. So that was
Nestor J. Aparicio 03:21
the presence of Mark bland your reference or was it not?
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 03:24
It’s a longer story than that.
Nestor J. Aparicio 03:26
Okay, but you were more like a swimmer shot I I’m a sharp guy. Okay, you were swift army knife. Is that what it was something like that. All right. All right, go ahead.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 03:33
But then I had my own segment called Fly Friday. So I flew in the chopper so the blade worked really well to blade. You flew in the chopper for five years. I did fly Friday. We just go check out cool stuff. Every Friday morning. I produced it. I told him where to go. We’d go watch and make snow on the mountains. We flew to Atlantic City one time, we’d fly over schools get all the kids out there early for the letters of the school. We would do corn maze as we get people in their pools in the morning. It was a lot of fun. A lot of fun. It
Nestor J. Aparicio 04:01
was always funny because I would do the morning show in the 90s before J Newman threw me off and told everybody that could never be on channel 13. Again, it’s true.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 04:10
Shocker.
Nestor J. Aparicio 04:14
What was shocking is when I confronted him about it, he absolutely refuted it ever happened. Tried to shake my hand and pretend that my dying wife was thrown off the air because of the awful thing. But I’ve Marty I would do the things like in 94 567 I was the opening day your opening day guy and you put that little earpiece IFP was a call. I hated having I hated little thing in my ear. And Marty would always say don’t be nervous as a million people watching Well welcome back and he would do this whole thing make me nervous as hell because I was a radio guy and I monies were buckled already. And I felt that this week when guests have come who don’t normally do ready and they’re really nervous, you know, like really nervous and I’m trying I’ve had guests like knock downs. drinks before they go on to try and I’m like that’s the worst thing you can do because like I want you sober I want you here I don’t want you but it’ll make me nervous not to make you a bad gas probably. I don’t mind you did this every day guests were always nervous and you were like the frontline to try to unnerve them Marty would get me all gassed up the Marty with only a million people watch Welcome back we’re not gonna do but um you being the producer that show kind of got you ready for this right you’re doing you matter but you did the segments with be more humane you’re doing what I’ve done. I mean, this is who you are. I mean, you’re you’re a special dude. Mark.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 05:37
Thank you. Yeah, I went from TV into insurance. And then I was doing storytelling that’s I sat down with you and Jen when she was first go round right? 10
Nestor J. Aparicio 05:45
years ago, and you were picking people with really compelling stories and correct and survival story. Real Life ish. Not you know,
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 05:56
I was telling stories of courage, hope and inspiration. And you know what reality everyone has a story. Because everyone you’ll ever meet in your entire life is going through something. And your struggle will be your gift the world will fall in love with. So we want you to tell your story because everyone struggles with something. Say
Nestor J. Aparicio 06:10
that again. That’s pretty profound. Dude. Your struggle will be your gift look adorable fallen. Struggling my special Olympian. He’s coming he’s already got me on a webcam. He’s gonna let you know what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna sit here This is Danny look your video in May I’m gonna video you all right? Coming in here and Hi, Jack and Meet Danny Danny is good. We’re gonna get a bowl of soup. I’m gonna Danny’s my friend we’ve been friends for I’ve been knowing him since he was this big. You know, his struggle is my inspiration to you. Right? You know, right? I mean, whatever somebody’s struggling with, when you share that there’s a courage in that, in that, that openness and that transparency that if you’re human, you connect to that in the same way my wife put some tear jerker thing on on TV, and I get caught up in it. I don’t know these people or whatever. But when you tell a story, we’re all human. You know, there’s, there’s, there’s a connection made with that. And everyone has a story. Your struggle is what give me that again, your struggle will be your gift that the world will fall in love with your struggle will be the your gift that the world will fall in love with. Wow, what brought you on man, that’s profound. That’s deep.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 07:20
And that’s what I believe. And that’s why I did the storytelling and then it moved into this matter move on, I had a calling 2015. You know, you have to kind of listen to things inside of you, you’ve got to get quiet. And I just knew that I had this calling that I’m going to be committed to positively impacting the lives of a billion people. That’s my Y. Right? And the two most important days in your life are the day you’re born. And what they figured out why correct. So you don’t need to know the how to get to know your purpose. And a couple years later, I had a story about two women in a parking lot. It’s not a real story. It was the a mentoring session from this guy, Darren Hardy I listened to and he told a story about two women who meet in a grocery store, they move out to the parking lot. One woman struggling. The other woman had been given a gift. The day before she had in her purse. It was a card. And she hands the woman who’s struggling the card was two words on it. You matter
Nestor J. Aparicio 08:11
you matter. That’s what Mark Handys hands is out to everyone you matter. It is his movement, join the movement, snap and share and tag you matter. So you
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 08:20
can find new matter guy is the IG page. That’s the suit you want people to find you on Instagram with Instagram or my website is you matter mb.com
Nestor J. Aparicio 08:30
You matter me? Margaret insky okay.com Mark is the place you matter is this movement. But you know, you’re this guy, like I want to have you on anytime because I love you. And you always have something profound to say. But you’ve texted me like eight times a day and you’re like, I causes P more than me every email. You felt like you had to have a cause or community concern to be here. But the more humane thing is, I It’s been my cause over the course of time. And when I had John Rolla, Juan who went to the other State Fair, the one fairgrounds came over to Gainesville, and we drove all the way to Kingsville. I feel awful, but he came to Catonsville yesterday and did the dog thing. And it took him sitting next to me. First off, Mark Carroll kowski, from our little league team shows crazy day. It’s been a crazy week all the way around. But his inspiration for me was, I remember seeing his video about adopting a dog that made me and the more humane people I knew a little bit. They had asked me to do different things. And I always told them, If we ever get an animal, I’ll get it from you. And we went out to Nicodemus road in the spring of 2011. And I promised my wife that we were going to get an animal and I didn’t really want an animal. I mean, I was pretty on the record about that. And this animal changed my life like literally, Kitty and it’s gonna be you’re gonna make me cry. I’m at nine and a half. Don’t make me go over 10 That’s what the Andrew’s laughing gas people here for four o’clock. But we went out there and adopted her. And she lived six and a half years under our care. She died in Wembley weekend when the Ravens took the knee. And we didn’t make it 13 days and I was back at it be more humane. And we got our little bundle of love. So one of the most important things in my life is my kitty cat. And she came from be more humane. So like, you can have all the time in the world that you want to promote, be more humane played. And
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 10:29
we just became volunteers. My wife and I she has a dog as a rescue Ralph, he’s a little crazy, but you love him, right? And there’s nothing like an animal. And a matter of fact, this is what I say all the time, especially for dogs. A dog is as Gods spelled backwards. There’s
Nestor J. Aparicio 10:44
my little girl right there. I wanted to see her if you don’t follow me on social media. If you do, you’ll get enough. That’s not law. That’s my little girl she came from should be more humane. I was so distraught when we lost our first cat that I was out there for two days just laying the cages with these cats trying to figure out if there was a connection. And we wound up. I looked at dozens of cats. And it just it wasn’t it. We went back a second day, there was a bonded Mother Son pair that we were considering and and then after all this, we still were at like a despair level. And then I saw a cat in a little cage that they had just brought out it was a kitten. And look, she looked physically in the back like our other cat or the cat was dilute Dilaudid diluted, diluted Calico, so it’s grayish. And we saw this cat. And Jen’s like a kitten. And I’m like that cat right there. Let me go see that cat. And the cat had a cone on his head and she was this big and the comb was like this. And I pulled her out of the cage and I wanted to point her to make sure she was healthy. To follow the red dot. She followed the red dot but she I picked her up and she came out and she kissed me on the nose. She literally kiss my nose. She’s this big. And I’m like we’re taking this one. No regrets. You will never you will never regret the love you get of an animal. I promise you that
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 12:11
and you want to give back to them. It’s sad that they’re in these places, right? I mean, they’re being cared for the best they can but you can volunteer you can go walk them you can bring supplies there’s a ton of things you can do to help animals are basically in distress. The the reason they didn’t walkers is to get these animals out of the shelter every day. Get them out fresh air, because they get really stressed being in this environment. Listen to other animals cry and you you got to get back to them. They’re helpless. And where else in your life besides the child. Can you experience unconditional love? Period nonstop. It never ends as long as you treat them right, which I
Nestor J. Aparicio 12:45
choose from going home hang with my cat. Sorry, dad.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 12:47
I have a dog named Ali. He just turned 15 He’s one of the greatest gifts of my entire life. Mine and my family’s it just there’s nothing like it. And you think about one day when he’s not going to be here and your heartbreaks you you know someone loses and I can’t think
Nestor J. Aparicio 13:00
about that now don’t make me think about that. No, your will cry. So be more humane blades here to promote them. They do really cool they do the the black tie tail tat tail type thing that they do every year. They did that in the spring, I
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 13:14
think But yeah, if I was a spring event, uh huh. So they’re always looking to you know, they need funds just like every other philanthropic organization and so that and barks to the bark event. I don’t everything was donated this past weekend, to barks the hotel, the food, the DJ, I mean, it’s amazing what people will give back for animals. They’re important. They’re a huge part of our lives and you have to respect it and you want that like I said unconditional love besides a child where else do you get that?
Nestor J. Aparicio 13:41
Well every night from my my kitty Nala Marc Prensky is here he is the You Matter movement. A great guest here on a Friday. We’re Papist it’s a cup of Super Bowl. It’s crabcake row. If you bring us good thanks for the Maryland food bank. And we’ve been talking about the Maryland Food Bank all week and food. The abundance we have in this country in our society in life to take care of people I talked about wise markets and rural farms and these folks that sell us food and they are huge. I mean, just find out like leftover foods and I mean there’s not one pantry that hasn’t talked about their local why’s their local supermarket, pitching in and people pitching in Carmen del Cueto came on as well. I highly encourage you to listen to that segment because I learned a lot about what they can do with $1 and what you could do with $1 but we will love for you to bring out some canned goods. We have some in your pantry and put them in the pantry for 40 Today, a couple hours now. We’re going to have the folks out from you MCs food pantry and they’re they’re over there really close to cocoa is kind of our Morgan State. So we’re going to be giving the things here today to them. We’ve been doing this all week long and blade had me on his show about a month ago talking about this event but more talking about 25 years doing Baltimore sport Is radio and, you know, when I’ve run our piece, the piece you did with me last week and this week to kind of promote this and also give people a break from nasty Nester a little bit not, you know, talking about what I do and why I do it is what I talked to you about
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 15:17
my contribution. Yeah,
Nestor J. Aparicio 15:19
and how it’s changed. You know, like, that happened for me in the 90s. Like, I got invited by the block people 9293 94 I was doing their events, you know, the big event they do in March, and I was doing the table and learning about Ed block, being a trainer and taking care of people and compassion and, and banged up football players. And it was an award, you didn’t want to win the block award, because it means something really awful happened to you. I go back to his pictures. 9394 95 didn’t have a team here. Right? Then the team comes 9596 I was at at St. Vincent’s Center, which is out in North Baltimore County. And, you know, I saw these kids and realize that could have been one of them. And it freaked me out was like 9095 96. And I’m like, Alright, we’re gonna roll our sleeves up. We’re going to do the nice guy awards, we’re going to have route 52 charity for Adblock for years, raised hundreds of 1000s dollars for Adblock back in the day. But my awakening to that was, oh, that could have been made. And like that, you know, when you realize some of this when you were in your 20s, which is I where I was right? I mean, and I had this voice, and then all of a sudden, I could throw a party and there could be beer, we could give the money through it. Let’s do that, Steve, you know, and the nice guy awards were born. So that was 1996. So we’re like, this isn’t my first rodeo with doing this. But this week, specifically, given what the Ravens have done to me, given that I’m sitting here watching on a television radio row, watching people who do what I do for a living in the room that I did it in for literally look at it, Martin said, I’m supposed to be there. But I’m here and you would say to me, you’re not supposed to be there. Don’t take but but the notion that I did that for a living. And these SOPs and Chad’s deal with these clowns out knowings Mills with would pollute me in the league, and think that it’s going to wreck my career. And it’s designed to do that. It was designed to punish me, because I’m not humble enough, according to Steve Ashati that I’m here, doing something that feels way better to me. And like, all week long, I’ve gone home, I was like, how you doing? I’m like, I sort of did this to occupy myself, so that I’m not as pissed off as I am. Because I’m pretty pissed off, you know, this. But like, I this occupies me in the same way. And every year, there will be somebody promoted to charity. Right? So the whole idea to do this here locally. And the feedback I’ve gotten has just been, this is where I’m supposed to be. Right? I mean, that’s what you told me a month ago. This was the base. I love the
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 17:58
podcast to thank you. And I really appreciate your comments saying that you got to talk about who you are, why you do what you do, not just what you do, right? Because we’re all miracles masterpiece and heroes inside. And what you’re doing is giving back to other people this week, so why would it make you feel good? How could you leave this week master and go, Oh, that just occupy my time at Vegas right now a bunch of you’re gonna walk alone, you’re gonna walk away from this with your heart full for all the people that you talk to who are trying to give back to other people because that’s my whole concept of this You Matter movement. There was a was a philosopher and psychiatrist years ago, William James, he said, The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated. It’s not a wish or desire, it’s a craving, you got food and water, you have to have to live, you got shelter, you have to have it over your head. And
Nestor J. Aparicio 18:44
then a lot of people this week don’t have that, that I talked about, like literally a lot.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 18:47
And that’s a challenge for people, right. And the third thing though, is to feel that you make a difference that you matter the first without the first two, you’ll die physically, that the third you’ll die inside, right? And that creates a whole other problem. So this movement I created I have these cards out to people all the time. It’s amazing, just randomly Right? Or someone that gives me service, you give them a card, they look at it, they always flip it over because they think I’m trying to sell something right? I’m not. But you can’t imagine the look in their eyes when they see those two words because it’s a craving we have inside of us. It’s in our DNA. You can’t not feel that I took this global to France and Italy last spring and same same reaction. I had the words in Italian
Nestor J. Aparicio 19:29
they’re like, no matter where you get my translator I had the French
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 19:32
made in French and Italian I think my buddy Rob Commodore for coming up with that idea. How does Rob do it? He’s awesome. I see
Nestor J. Aparicio 19:40
his podcast Yeah, get
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 19:41
your chiseled, chiseled Yeah,
Nestor J. Aparicio 19:43
he was always a Lister his brother Yvonne I’ve known the Commodore me East Baltimore man as legit over there
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 19:49
my boy Mark pallet because in my mastermind group, he’s a huge sports fan loves the
Nestor J. Aparicio 19:55
world’s going on. He’d be pissed off about the ravens and like all this super old nonsense. Since you When I got together the Orioles changed, it wasn’t a great. I was listening to you and me last week and there’s no reference to hate the Orioles. That’s before it was a little stale like but it was. Right exactly. And I’m like, you know we didn’t get to talk about that. So let’s talk about that you’re I mean, you spent a lot of nights your nickname is the blade I’ve already brought up Mark blancher there’s a whole baseball thing there right it’s
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 20:24
it’s the greatest one of the greatest loves of my life is baseball in the Orioles. I mean, I’m I’m elated. I can’t wait for the season to start. I went to 20 games last year just watching them you know reignited, right? I’ll listen to every game, watch every game and then all of a sudden this happens. What am I wearing? Today? Right? I don’t want that if I hadn’t had the shirt. I
Nestor J. Aparicio 20:44
know it was gonna be under the Oreo. We haven’t Adley rutschman Jersey here and a gunner Henderson it’s it’s almost like a shrine they have here and apice you know, like they got the whole thing going on here. Just ready to make it happen. Everything’s here except the championship now but the owner part, the RIP game piece. The local piece. The pitcher you know, being two days later, they’re spending 17 million this year making sure that like, we have what we need in October.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 21:13
It’s amazing not have amazing one ace makes the entire rotation stronger. You bring in one person. Everything blows up. I mean, it’s been 40 years. I can’t I was 18 years old. Last time we won the World Series. That was fun one it was a you want to get back to that right? You want to feel that again. You
Nestor J. Aparicio 21:29
make me want to call Rick Dempsey’s which made me Well, we really are. It’s been a great sports here, right like me to division wins mean, I said to Luke and I had Ron Cassie out and receive was out at Coco’s on Wednesday. I’m like, we’re, we’re in a renaissance right now. And it’s gonna affect the city in a way, right, it’s gonna lift the city in a way. And we talked about the harbor and all these other projects that are going on. But this hope of a new baseball owner and at one times getting people downtown drag making people come downtown wheeling people downtown, because they want to be a part of something and I can’t wait for that I’ve you know, the whole free the birds movement, and like all the things I did are waiting for this moment to say, show me how good it can be maximize this asset for on behalf of everyone, instead of what they’ve been for 30 years, which is minimizing their asset for their own whims. You know what I mean? Like that’s really what it’s been. Because the Orioles were only great because people shared in it. Like, who made the magic happen Mark burtynsky, you made the magic happen. Right, right. Literally, you made the magic happen. That when it gets back to that is when we’ll all feel it. You know, you’ll you’ll feel like you went to 20 games. But when you go down there, it’s going to be more vibrant. It’s going to be better than it’s ever been because these people are going to care about I believe that I’m I’m committed to them spending one point a billion dollars and let John boy run off into the sunset and eat his filet mignon or whatever you’re going to do that imbibe it for that for the same reason that his old man bought it, they bought it because I think Bloomberg these people are in it because they want to see the city get lifted. They want to be city champions, not ego champions. I believe that because
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 23:14
they love Baltimore, how much does Bloomberg give to Hopkins? I mean, billions so they love the city they do want to see they want to see the city thrive and fly this beast was investment over
Nestor J. Aparicio 23:24
a Morgans incredible to there’s a lot of money coming into the city transportation, a lot of things. Red Line, we’re at a place of progress. But to our point sports is where maybe you feel it even more than you should, to some degree sport
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 23:39
sports is community. That’s the greatest thing about it. Whether you are a fan of the of the actual activity or not. It’s community it’s bringing everybody direct, right? Exactly. Every everyone like after 911 everyone’s focused on the same thing. What
Nestor J. Aparicio 23:53
else makes you high five someone in life? Correct? Right, right. Margaret eskies. Here you matter is his movement. You could join the movement. You could find him on Instagram find him br o DINSKY. AKA the blade and how many years were you the blade? How many years did you work at Channel 1315
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 24:12
years?
Nestor J. Aparicio 24:13
15 years? And when did you leave
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 24:14
2001 full time in 2003. Part time, I worked with Jerry GATES I worked with Jerry Turner, my internship at a Towson really I was Jerry now I wrote for the six and 11 newscast while I was still interning. They had me start writing for the 611 and I’ll never forget this first story ever wrote the 11 o’clock news. Jerry Turner comes out of the studio afterwards about a deer like in Minnesota or something that cops are chasing all around. And he comes out and he he gets right in my face. He goes, son, everyone in that studio was laughing at that story you wrote you got it kid. I immediately went up. I called my mom like Jerry Turner just told me I got one of the great I still remember I get chills.
Nestor J. Aparicio 24:55
Telling me that’s that’s your gift today. Everyone has
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 24:59
a story Right. Everyone has a story. I can tell you so
Nestor J. Aparicio 25:03
you know, John beuran Obvious. Oh, yeah. John, don’t listen to this. Okay, so 1988 You had a promotion? Do you remember your promotion? First, so you want to be a sports guy? You You’ve obviously Chris Ely was the I do remember was the winner, right? So in the spring of 1988, I had a beautiful girlfriend. Hi Sandra, who encouraged me. The promotion was write down and 25 words or less on a note card. Why you want to be a sports guy. And you guys picked like three dozen people to come in and read off a prompter about a Sugar Ray Leonard fight and Moeller. I knew two or three of the people that were picked. Because I was working with the paper at the time I was doing the scoreboard page and I was covering high school sports. By the way, Tim rip Miller was here. Derek Miller’s father Parkville 1989. She was on my all Metro team that was the guy talking to me. We came on the father of a girl who’s been listening to me for 32 years he lives in front Parkville lives in Shrewsbury here having a beer at Pappas and donating to the Maryland food bank. So that’s how far back we’re going I was covered in high school softball 8889 and my girlfriend time encouraged me to write this she you could do it you know, so I wrote a little thing. Hey, I do the scoreboard thing for the evening sun and I want to wink and like that like Job urine, right? So when I came over to do my audition, it was I mean, I had a suit on and like I’m trying to like and I look 12 years old, right? I flip 12 Right. But I came in and I really wanted cherry Turner to be my foil. You know the other person on the thing, but I got JB JB made me you know, JB was trying to, you know, like calm me down a little bit and it seemed me a little bit, but I want to Cherry no offense John, you know, you’re from San Francisco. I’ve gotten to know you since I think Moeller got our Sanders. I think his was out. You know what I mean? And Moeller got to do his on TV. I never they never call never called me back. So I all I have is the audition tape and I put the audition tape up on Facebook. Thank you to Greg Landry Towson transfers for taking what were those tapes call like I say that it wasn’t like a VHS was like this gigantic
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 27:27
that really beta tapes? Like they were Betamax DVD. Yeah, I forgot
Nestor J. Aparicio 27:32
gigantic tapes. Right. So Greg Landry has resurrected that from your tasks and transfers, but I was so disappointed I didn’t get cherry cherries a legend man he’s always out there by the boat to legend dying on New Year’s Eve that night. Oh my god. Like I threw a party in my house. It was 1990 91 like in that range. We throw a party on New Year’s Eve the night the Jerry Do you never forget where you are with Jerry turn and die
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 27:56
now and Jerry and our legends I mean they have the highest rated local newscast and the country in the country that country nobody and Jerry’s 11 o’clock numbers the ratings Nobody could touch it he got bigger numbers and Cosby did isn’t
Nestor J. Aparicio 28:08
amazing Marty still on the air every day and in even Turkey to last year. Like it’s that industry has been ravaged people like you good people like you. They could have us for the rest of your career. Because you matter had been kicked out like to some degree. But it must have been the best time of your life. No offense to what you’re doing now. The people that work for me, me Ray Bachman Oh, he came on the show. Last Pappa Stanek Glenburnie said it’s the greatest job ever working in media in that era. And I have a whole bunch of old sports writers they call John Eisenberg was the papists and Parkville he called it the glory era of media. Right, right. It was like, it didn’t feel like a job for any of us, right.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 28:51
Our morning show was radio on TV. It was all about ad lib. We did the news that the weather did the sports but mistakes were opportunities for ad libs. We just had a great time. And we were entertaining people and we were touching line number one and number one by a longshot and it was a talk about show Don and Marty talk about show everybody talked about them when my first daughter was born. I was only producer them was even on the air yet. Oh my god. I mean, she was more popular than I was. Sophie it was it was amazing. People come up to us from all over the place. I mean, it was the show.
Nestor J. Aparicio 29:20
Mr. Martinez, I love him and don don sat with me and ravens games that told Chet steel threw me out. So Don sat five feet behind me for 20 years until Chad steel threw me out my wife out specifically. And I you know, I grew up watching that show. I grew up in the 80s I would leave this is true. I would leave work at six seven in the morning. I worked out the overnight shift the evening sun put out the evening so we get off six seven in the morning. I would get my car and five at one North Calvert street right on the backside on Guilford. Sometimes my window be bashed in, sometimes it would and I got in it. And I would listen to the grease man, all the way back to Dundalk and I was really hungry and sometimes it was early enough I hit Denny’s for Moons Over My Hammy, right there in front of the Kmart but a lot of times I’d go to McDonald’s get a big breakfast or whatever. And I would come home and I would go to my house on Kane Street. And it was 749 in the morning and Donna Marty put me to bed. Everybody else is getting up. Is he gonna hop on today give me 101 I’ll be like turn the air conditioner off. I want to get some sleep I’m gonna wake up I’m gonna go see rush at the Capitol center and review it tonight. I’m adding it was a that was a great light but that time and the largeness of media and television sort of early cable but yeah, I mean, and it launched what you’re doing right like every morning you were doing you matter story with Don and Marty or there was there was always something for be more humane. Our
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 30:55
show was so popular because you got to know the people who were doing the broadcasting. We talked we talked about our lives everybody wants to know your
Nestor J. Aparicio 31:01
urine baba booey Yes.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 31:05
Got that right. Barbara
Nestor J. Aparicio 31:06
is easier he’s doing you matter. He’s doing it for be more humane something about be more humane one more time in case you just got in the car and are listening because we love our animals. You bought
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 31:16
them our Humane Society you can you can volunteer you can donate matter. Animals matter. They mean everything. Unconditional Love. I mean you can volunteer your time. You can make donations you can go and spend time with the animals you can adopt supplies adopt an animal my my youngest daughter Emily is not from dolphin be humane. She’s in College Park right now our final semester of Maryland and she and two of her roommates are going to foster a dog this weekend. Fostering fostering foster can foster too you don’t have to adopt you can foster until animals adopted or just give them a break from the shelter. It’s a couple of weeks with you and your house getting him relaxed. And forester thanks
Nestor J. Aparicio 31:51
for mentioning that. Christina Calabrese, John Keller, they foster dogs all the time. And they love fostering dogs. They don’t have children. They love fostering dogs.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 32:02
It’s a great thing to do. And like I said, dog is just God spelled backwards. And if you want to, if you want me to make you cry, because you said you’re looking for that, right? Okay, go ahead. All right, I’m not looking for that. Well, my You Matter movement. So I’ve been giving out these cards to people for the past five years, I got bigger ones to postcards,
Nestor J. Aparicio 32:22
I’ve been given these cards for five years.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 32:25
Like I said, you can imagine the reaction of people when you hand it to them. And so I got a quick story. As part of my book, I’m publishing my
Nestor J. Aparicio 32:32
book. So I would have known this, I would have gotten a cup of Super Bowl, and I would have sat here and said, Mark told me a story and let me eat. My wife said you’re not eating enough. This week. I’m like, that’s because I’m only talking and we’re doing live radio. So give me your story. I want to hear it for sure.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 32:45
I got my you matter book sharing gonna be published by June. And so I give these cards out. Like I said to everybody, well, a couple years ago, I do this at a grocery store. So I get this email that day. Now you can see my email is not on the back of the card. This woman had to search me out after I handed her the card. So I sit down, it’s a Sunday afternoon and says, Hi Mark, I’m sure you interact with tons of people daily. But on Sunday, July 31, I rang you and your girlfriend up at Trader Joe’s, as you left you asked me my name, introduce yourself and handed me your your your MasterCard, what you didn’t know is that I have been in a really just bad place lately. I’m not where I want it to be in my life at this point. And I recently started over both in my personal life and in school. It’s been hard, really, really hard. And lately, it’s all I’ve been able to do to just get out of bed and just show up. I spent a lot of time questioning why I’m sticking around what the point of it all was. I needed the interaction we had today, I needed to be reminded they had worth and a purpose needed a reason to keep holding on. I read your card and just cried in my car when I got off of work. I haven’t felt like I really mattered for a while now longer than I’d like to admit. So your words just really struck something within me. I don’t know if you hand out these cards to everyone. Or somehow you sense that I just needed some kind of sign. But thank you so much. I’ve been struggling to simply get through each day. You’re incredibly kind gesture meant more to me than you know. Thank you so so much. You just may have saved a life today. I got the email, I emailed her back. I said I’m here for you, son of the suicide hotline didn’t know what was going on. Few months later. I’m thinking about the book and I reached out I found her email. And I said I want to check in how you doing. Hi, Mark, I appreciate you checking in my life has drastically improved. Honestly, I’m in such a better place. It’s almost unbelievable. If you’d asked me over the summer, I didn’t think I was going to make it to New Year’s a seemingly small gesture from you probably saved me. Heart, your card has stayed in my wallet since that day. I made a lot of decisions over the past few months to better my life and to work hard and surrounding myself with people who support me. It’s like night and day. I’m currently training to become a volunteer EMT firefighter. I’ve changed work environments. I change the people I surround myself with and so many other things. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows all the time, of course. But I’ve realized that there are things that are worth hanging on for. You bumped into me on one of the very worst days in a very dark period of my life. And gave me a reason to look around and see the good. And I’m forever grateful to you and appreciative of you for that.
Nestor J. Aparicio 35:22
So you just don’t know card, right? Just a little card, right? Know what
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 35:24
people are going card, right? Just a little card, just two words. The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated. You never know where people are in their journey when you meet them. You look at someone and you’re like, Oh, they’re doing fine. Or they’re mean or what I’ve given this to people who were not really being nice to me. And you watch what happens when they look at those two words. They’re not being nice to you, because they don’t feel appreciated. Something else is going on in their life. It’s never the problem is never the problem. It’s always three layers below that. You don’t know where people are. Why wouldn’t I do this? Right? Why would not? It’s it’s something that I believe in and but the animals too, right? It’s the same thing. Animals matter. Humans matter. Everyone’s got a story and everybody matters. Mark rudensky
Nestor J. Aparicio 36:07
Make connections around here and trying to get me over the 10 cry limit here this week. You matter is the movement we are at Pappas, the soup matters here. This cup Super Bowl, the Maryland Food Bank is the beneficiary. Danny’s over here challenge out he stopped working and record me they brought him some food. Fred’s here for Special Olympics. I can’t wait to get Danny on. Danny take your time. I don’t want we’re not in any hurry, brother. It’s all good. I’m on Danny time. I’ve been on Danny time since I met him 25 years ago. That’s my dude. So we’re gonna have some other folks stop by catch lips gonna be here. Want to shout out Tim Rick Miller here for his daughter. I can’t believe she’s not 17 anymore, but was 35 years ago. So she’s 50 she’s like me well. So she’s teaching. She should hook out and come out here and hang out. page turner from the Red Devils. Robbie’s first base. John brothers from T Rowe Price. They’re gonna have some stadium naming questions for him. Sherry Bailey, who says she’s fun was gonna come down to three o’clock hour from Leyland’s gift. Andrews laughing gas, I’m gonna cry in the four o’clock hour. And then Kathy Thompson is gonna be here to pick up the Maryland Food Bank haul for the UMCS food pantry. I am giving out a Maryland lottery scratch offs. Danny’s now 18 He gets one. Fred’s gonna get one. Everybody that’s going to Tim’s gonna get one everybody’s getting. You matter. Right? You get one. One for you guys like Oprah. You didn’t work with Oprah channel. 13. Right.
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 37:37
I just misters a couple years late. I did interview for her show, though. But she wasn’t there that day. Gayle King was they flew me to Chicago. I had a connection when an interview to be a producer. Oprah was not there that they had been there. I would have had a job. I know 100% When she found out from Baltimore work to Jay Z and we connected because she’s Oprah. Why would you want to work with me? Why would you want to work with Oprah? Exactly. We would have we would have I would have been working there but it’s everything happens for a reason you get gone by Gayle King. Pretty much after she read my my show ideas right? ideas with you for the show. And then you
Nestor J. Aparicio 38:14
wouldn’t have been any help that Oprah or anything doing all these teardrop workers trying to be good guy. I mean, gosh, Thanks, bro. Hey, you better I appreciate you.
38:24
This is for you. I
Nestor J. Aparicio 38:25
don’t want to gifts
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 38:26
for doing all you’ve done this week. Yeah.
Nestor J. Aparicio 38:30
Something for you to have Hold on. What do you give me a book? Is it a book? It’s a book. It’s a book. All right. I shook it up. You know, I don’t get a whole lot of gifts. When I get gifts and packages, the first thing I do shake it. You know, that’s what everybody does. I appreciate everything
Mark Brodinsky “The Blade” 38:45
you’ve been doing love life. There you go. Was this your book? My book. That’s the book I thought you would enjoy the coffee table you in everyday
Nestor J. Aparicio 38:51
life is laced with special occasions, not just here. There are now in them but everywhere and all the time grabbing hold of the simple ideas like winning a front row ticket to the grandest adventure at all. So come along, savor the journey. feel the sun on your face and the wind in your hair. be thrilled when you make a new friend be swept away. If you found a new love, laugh and cry at weddings dance tonight at every anniversary, cherish your family your work roll around on the floor with the kids and your pets. Look forward to your birthday mornings and with every sunrise start your life anew for it’s true, the more you love life, the more it will love you right back. There you go. And I appreciate that. That will go on my coffee table book. And I’ll be sure to not spill coffee on it any royal farms or anything else. All right, I am Nestor we’re gonna take a break. We’re gonna come back we’re at Pappus and Cockeysville. I wouldn’t say don’t go to Bel Air or Parkville or Glen but just don’t go there today looking for me. Come here looking for me and bring me some canned goods for the Maryland Food Bank. My thanks for the blade for hanging out. My thanks to everybody for coming out supporting us this week. For all we’re doing. It is crabcake row. It is soup or Bowl week. So come and To take advantage of that
