The Maryland Crab Cake Tour has traveled to virtually every community in Maryland at some point since its inception but there’s no place like home. Nestor finally gets current Dundalk High principal Paul Satterfield to drop by Costas Inn and give him the facts on his ultra modern high school and post-COVID life and learning for kids this century in East Baltimore.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
years, teachers, kids, stan, school, work, owl, good, don, people, journalism, principal, parents, high school, colgate, class, life, crab cakes, sing, day
SPEAKERS
Paul Satterfield, Nestor J. Aparicio, Stan Jablonski
Nestor J. Aparicio 00:00
Welcome back at W n s t, Towson Baltimore and Baltimore positive we are positively at Costas and we’re in Dundalk, MD establish your 1971 I was established here in 1968 stands a little older than me. We’re doing the Maryland crabcake tour matter family good Maggie to bring some crabcakes in this segment. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery. We have a $2 winner here at Costas in the back. So I got the not three cheers but two cheers back there are fans of winter nation 866 90 nation if I weren’t sitting with the principal of Dundalk high I would put the wacky hat on but I don’t want to look like the class clown around here. Also our friends at Jiffy Lube multi care I get my oil change that the Jiffy Lube should say Right? Oh, I get my oil changed at Jiffy Lube America Boulevard. Everybody’s nice to me over there. And I appreciate that. Pete and everyone Media Works everybody for the sponsorship as well. And that led Rascon Rascon global empowering people to choose their financial future. He joins us each and every week. Luke is in Owings Mills, we got football going on. We have many buys real buys la games figgy pudding, turkey, stuffing, gravy, all that stuff going on and I’m going to be Pappus next week in Parkville. First stop there. We’re going to be Coco’s laurelville. We’re going to be a gertrudes at the BMA with Dan Rodricks on the 30th of the month and then we are at Hollywood casino and Perry Ville in the first state fair and Catonsville on the fifth and foreign daughter and curio wellness. I just did a cannabis facility tour last week at Tony and we’re gonna be up there on the 15th of December, and we’re going to be face to end the year on December 28. So the Maryland crab cake tour is going everywhere. But it’s starting here in Dundalk. Paul Satterfield is the principal. That’s an AL Not le that’s the like different kind of principal at Dundalk high school, my alma mater. I am a proud Dundalk high Hall of Famer. I will sing the Dundalk Hi alma mater before this is overstand you’ll have to get involved blocky as my high school friend. Stan has traveled the world lives in Chicago, his mother’s here in Dundalk. He takes care of her and comes back does not bring me P quads pizza,
Stan Jablonski 02:02
which makes me hungry now.
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:03
I thought you’d love me if you love me brought me peek. I got you a crab cake, Costas.
Stan Jablonski 02:08
Oh, you want for sure. So stance
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:11
dad was a 30 year science teacher. That was a biology which was in chemistry. Yeah. So I had George Schulman come by and educate Luke and I about the periodic table of elements and m equals was it I don’t know. You went you took the class some DC school something squared equals MC squared. That’s the George wood
Stan Jablonski 02:31
physics though.
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:32
Yeah, I didn’t come on now. I went to Dundalk high. I was. Yeah. Nobody confused either one of us from your principal. You weren’t hard charge back then. But George V dash, let me get in and out of there with you know, the music appreciation program. Would you like to hear some music? Yes. I’d appreciate that. You know, next thing you know, you know, we’re crossing pomp and circumstance. It’s undocumented. Paul Satterfield has been the the principal at Dundalk high for three years. I’ve been trying to get you on. Now. We had a plague. When did the new school open? Because like I was inducted in the Hall of Fame. I guess it was eight. That was 1717. It was 10 years ago. Unbeliev. It’s been 10 years. Yeah, it feels like 10 minutes, man. Now so you’re the principal there. You don’t have any so you never walked in the old building?
Paul Satterfield 03:20
In the old building? Yeah. From different meetings and just haven’t seen it for a long time. Yeah. I actually worked at Hollister 20 years ago when my son was born. And
Nestor J. Aparicio 03:28
was Calvin stayed in there then. No, no, he was already gone by then. Okay, by then.
Paul Satterfield 03:33
So um, yeah, I worked there. And then it was around different parts of county and then was able to come back.
Nestor J. Aparicio 03:37
What was your original your math teacher, especially teacher? What
Paul Satterfield 03:40
were your special education studies?
Nestor J. Aparicio 03:42
Okay. All right. So but you were always on a track to be a principal or No, I
Paul Satterfield 03:46
wouldn’t say always. But yeah, I definitely want to do some leadership kind of things. So I was an AP for a long time about 1718 years. So Okay. Very school. I was at Kenwood to start just, you trade. Right on? Yeah, right now Kenwood Eastern bridge, you know? Hartville and then I came out here, man, you’ve
Nestor J. Aparicio 04:02
been on Eastern County. Yeah. So you’ve seen some changes, right? As tremendous change? Yeah, over a couple of decades. So you come into this. I Dundalk job is not you know, it’s too big to this to new, you know what this is about, but telling me the benefits of a new school from Southern your dad would be in your mom as well both teachers the benefits of if Mr. J would come back right now his pop and teach biology chemistry at the new Dundalk High School. How much different that would be than those black things. We had their bottles and the smells that came out of the chemistry department.
Paul Satterfield 04:45
I mean, it’s gotta be the space you know, everything’s like open lots of windows, lots of light. The technology is all there you know, you can connect your computer to the screens and projectors.
Nestor J. Aparicio 04:53
Take it over computers and square like I don’t know how to handle that and
Paul Satterfield 04:56
the kids have computers so they like you know, connect and projects. Didn’t work up to that kind of thing. It’s I keep
Nestor J. Aparicio 05:01
telling my kid who lives in Dundalk lives here in Colgate. If he ever had grandkids who said I would I even begin with a child to educate. I’d start with a pencil and a pen and they look at me like I’m a Martian right?
Paul Satterfield 05:16
Now, I don’t know what I’m telling me when I was teaching, it was just transparency. He’s seen this. I’ve seen it change. I haven’t actually taught under the, you know, I’ve been as administrator. So it’s yeah, it’s just a tremendous amount of change in a short period of time.
Nestor J. Aparicio 05:28
And how do you how does education cope with that? On a broader scale?
Paul Satterfield 05:33
You know, I think it has to be a balance, you know, you have all these lights and whistles, and it’s different modes of presentation, but you still have to have that personal connection, you know, between students and teachers. So you’re here sitting talking about all the people you knew and other people who made difference in your life. It’s the same now like, Oh, my God, make connections. They’re the ones who are able to teach. They know, it doesn’t matter what the technology,
Nestor J. Aparicio 05:52
you know, Don molar, who was the AP reaction, he was a guidance counselor, 1982 and his role in helping me formulate thoughts for Baltimore positive, but I mean, I ran into Nancy Grasmick last week, right? I mean, it’s, you know, like, Nancy has done education, all of her life. The center at Towson University is named after her, and she grabbed me pulled me up and she said to me, you stand for integrity in the community, you have you and I’m like, Whoa, like that’s something to say to a Dundalk high grad like that. The journalism the background, Don Leifert Susan Monday, Joyce Bucha These are names of people who were colleagues of Stan Stan just stand and I’ve been close friends for 30 years. All these years he’s never lived here. I mean, and only see him at squires pizza John’s or Costas or in Chicago with his family picks me up at the airport or whatever, but you have these relationships with people, but the teachers whether it was George showing coming back recently, we lost a fantaisie Mr. Stayed in my and when Mr. Stadium came people drove from all over the state that drug city that day, just to be in a room with him because they the taught them in 1979. And the stories that teachers have of this, I worry about the vocation, you know, for for what your be, what compensation would look like and stance, parents making life here in Dundalk making a life as a teacher and trying to recruit to keep good teachers because, I mean, it’s the foundation everything I’m about a period period having great teachers at Colgate elementary at great teachers Colgate Elementary to
Paul Satterfield 07:32
it’s it’s crucial, you know, you just need that to for the country, for the community here in general, like education is so important. You know, we’re not going to be able to move forward as as a nation, if we didn’t provide that well for
Nestor J. Aparicio 07:46
you and getting teachers at Dundalk high and seeing you were once in that pool of being a teacher. What are you finding from young people? Because I think people have been through the plague people that have been through all of this. We’re just, I don’t know, like if I find the 25 year old person, that’s a first year, second year teacher, and my roommate was a teacher at stricker. In the late 80s. I lived on King Street. My friend, Jim Stein, was from IUP. He was a Pittsburgh kid went up, and he was teaching, you know, sixth grade special ed at stricker in the late 80s. And I think he got spit out he didn’t because he didn’t stay in the profession. And you know, Don’s daughter, Jen Lynch, in the profession very involved in it. You know, I’ve talked to a lot of people, teachers associations, as well, Cheryl boste, has been on the program many times, just talking about the recruitment of people from other states to come here and how Howard County would compete with Baltimore County and mega Baltimore City. We’ve talked so much I had song you sang Lisa’s on at length, just trying to talk about getting our best people. Mr. Joe Blonsky, misses your Blonsky his parents to dedicate a life yourself to this craft. And you sit here and say you’ve been doing this for three decades. It’s a it’s your life’s work, but you want to see it. Absolutely. As a journalist, it’s over for me. You come to me tell me that Sophie wants to be a journalist. That’s it, don’t do that. There’s no profession be like me telling you, I want to be a steel worker Bethlem steel, like literally, teachings, not that way. We’re always gonna have teachers here, but it’s how they’re treated. How how they feel about it, how the school is, you know, I mean, right? Yeah, there’s
Paul Satterfield 09:27
all kinds of factors, you know, and with safety concerns in society, and all those kinds of things. People need to be able to trust to send their kids to school, no doubt, it’s a safe place and a place where they get what they need out of it. So it’s something we all share responsibility for. You know, my fear is that 2030 years from now that it’ll all be online. You know, we did that through the plague through COVID. And it wasn’t good for kids. But you see, more and more kids are trying to opt out or what do
Nestor J. Aparicio 09:53
you see in that because I mean, you you are seeing children coming into your school. You’re now you’re three months into another calendar year. So if you’re a ninth grader, you’re 14 years old, you were 10 years old when mom and dad put a mask on you for two and a half years. You didn’t go to school for that period of time. I guess you were in fifth sixth, seventh grade. I mean, you are really at that. And we I saw these reports, Fox 45 is always doing some smear job on a city and they’re in their curriculum and this and that, but I look at this and say, what what does it look like in your school? I don’t, dare we say lower our standards. But are we doing our ninth graders doing things differently? The ninth graders were 10 years ago?
Paul Satterfield 10:36
I think so it’s a struggle for them. Yeah, that time they missed a really hurt some of their development academically, socially, those kinds of things. It definitely is different. You know, we have an increase in class cuts or students not attending school. Although we improve much from last year, we increased our attendance rate, I think like 8% over the course from previous year. So we’re making gains, but it was a struggle, getting kids
Nestor J. Aparicio 10:58
to school, I’m struggling. To to school.
Paul Satterfield 11:06
Right here what it’s like if you’re homesick, and you know, a four day weekend or something like that, it’s hard to get up and go to school the next day, it’s hard to get up and go to work the next day. So if you miss a year, two years during this COVID time, you didn’t have to, it takes a while
Nestor J. Aparicio 11:19
I wasn’t. I mean, you know, I wasn’t either. I was one of those guys, you know, Nestor doesn’t apply himself. You know, like, you know, I bring home the midterm reports. My parents were old school, my parents were born in 1990. So my parents would call them deficiencies, and I’m like, it’s just a midterm report. It’s not even bad. It was like, pass fail or whatever. But like my parents were sticklers about grades and stuff. And I often didn’t measure up to what I could have done right at that point in my life, because there were distractions everywhere. I can’t imagine, Stan, you can speak to this. When we were kids, we were on the air. And you might be younger than us. I’m 55. He’s older than me. But like, I guess, our era for all of us as growing up. When calculators came, there was just this built in thing that you could cheat, right? Like, you know, on a math quiz, right? I mean, just in general, did you need to know your times tables now? I had Miss Johnson. Like, you know, it was almost like I went to like a Catholic school. I mean, she was like, on me what the rule are about three times three is nine and 12 times 12 is one. Like I knew we did our times tables to 24 in sixth grade at Colgate because she was just like a maniac. I mean, she was not a curriculum teacher. She was not cutting out. She was a serious lady. So I was always prepared in that way. But I often think like when you can look things up when you could buy you can buy term papers on the black market. 1984 Right, like, you know, get away with things I used when I was in my chiropractor the other night, Dr. Steve and his wife, Allison reads 15 books a month. I mean, she’s like, crazy reader. And we were talking about reading grapes of wrath that used to be and which ones we really read Moby Dick, and which ones we just got the cliffnotes to write all we had to cheat 94 was cliffnotes Right? Like these crazy things I can’t imagine. Take home a book and read it do a book report. All these things were the internet. Ai God AI This is new for you. Right? So I’m just thinking to myself, short cutting and short circuiting and my devious Dundalk minds at work here of like how I could be a 15 year old again. But I mean, there are there are very few barriers for someone our age to raise young people in an environment of education. I just think it’s tough. That’s one of the reasons I brought you on as the same how is it different? What are these challenges? And all I see when I go to Dundalk is this beautiful school that looks like a museum that Stan and I are gonna get the tour one day you know,
Paul Satterfield 13:48
it’s good stuff and we got lots of things going on it’s I guess making things relevant to kids and seeing where they are something that it’s concrete where they see what how they can benefit from it. Why
Nestor J. Aparicio 13:58
is this going to help me Yeah, you
Paul Satterfield 14:00
know what I mean? You even talked about that when you were in school you know somebody giving you a purpose or saying hey, what direction sit down what direction do you want to go in life? You know, that kind of thing. Just try to steer you so taking that time to make a personal connection identify what somebody’s talents and skills and interests are that’s the thing and then how do you take the curriculum that we have and make some kind of connection to those you know, that’s where the the secret to the success really is standard.
Nestor J. Aparicio 14:25
I went there we had a radio station and Tom plaster still on all the time. I did not get my start there but Mike bro Hart and I did text each other this morning. And he’s made a life with Eric noise all those guys, but we had like the drafting department down there. We had we had the Gifted and Talented program at Dundalk high. I’ve talked at length about that. That it was like a you know a seed school kids would come in from Perry Hall. Loch Raven Parkville Chase Essex was a magnet to come down to Dundalk high now We’re going back 40 years to that. Specialty because Patapsco has like a whole arts they are a specialty thing, right?
Paul Satterfield 15:09
Yeah, we don’t have mag. We have internal Magnus. We don’t bring on students from outside for our magnet programs, but we basically have every kid that goes into lockers in Dundalk these days, except for we do have an ESL program. So students who are in the local high schools who don’t have these all programs English as a second language they do. I’m familiar with
Nestor J. Aparicio 15:28
that. My brother was born here and went to Venezuela. My brother came back and was a part of the Esau program at Essex Community College as an adult as a young adult, many years ago, but I’m so important. I mean, especially we were, you know, he’s in Chicago. I’m telling you to speak in Spanish and you know how important that is and not just Spanish but when they opened Colgate Elementary, which is another thing you should see me now, Dundalk elementary has been completely redone to Oh, yeah,
Stan Jablonski 15:54
it’s brand new school. It’s nice. You’ve been in No,
Nestor J. Aparicio 15:56
I parked my car there at the Heritage fair this summer. And I’m like, Oh my God. They did Dundalk Elementary to Colgate opened about two and a half three years ago during the play. And I sat here many times with Johnny to give him a hard time about when you open it and when we don’t when we get get Colgate open. And I went there and very much like Dundalk. It made me cry. There were pictures up of kids I knew and sort of It’s a museum. It’s it honors the history of Colgate Elementary, but I went through there and and and I looked and everyone there look like me. And in 1978 I assure you, there were three Hispanic for Hispanic kids three in one family and me the Flores family on Eastdale Road, whose father was Colombian, Mr. Luis from Colombia, and then me we were the only Hispanic people there were and the principal Colgate and her name escapes me she’s a lovely lady. She said to me at the time is a big number 61 63% of their children are Hispanic heritage and parents first language Spanish and in many cases, parents who don’t speak English. So that’s a whole different thing when and that’s something that Dundalk I promise you was not an issue for Miss Johnson at Colgate elementary 1979 We have a different population. Here we talk he and I talked so much about the point and this big exhibit down at the Museum of the industry honoring Bethlem steel and I’m really honoring Dundalk and honoring our our workforce here all those years. It’s changed who we are who Dundalk is, is changed, right?
Paul Satterfield 17:33
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. We’re at 45% Hispanic and high school.
Nestor J. Aparicio 17:37
Really? My people? Yeah. Oh, man. I’m telling you. Listen, you don’t know this. But I should tell you it’s kind of dangerous at times. Because I was told that LLS people that my ego small and all that. But like I always thought like if I had to give a graduation speech at Dundalk, high, that would be something you know, if I ever had to write a graduation speech, what I’ve learned since night, what have you learned since 85? Do you have to go back and give us good? You’re doing pretty good. When we’re talking about you traveling the world standard bonds keep but what would you what would you if you said you you come get the speech? You’ve been all over the world, what would you tell these kids
Stan Jablonski 18:14
get comfortable for? They could take a while to go over everything. But you know, one thing I was gonna mention about the online though is, you know, my one of my daughters is a first year second grade teacher. And you know, that interaction with kids and that social interaction. I don’t think that’ll ever go away. And I think it’s critically important, and especially for the younger kids, but but
Nestor J. Aparicio 18:34
even kids learning online at home, that’s not normal. That’s not normal. No,
Paul Satterfield 18:39
no, not at all. It doesn’t serve you well, later in life, you have to be able to communicate and work with other people.
Nestor J. Aparicio 18:45
What do you see from people who have these challenges at your school? I mean, we just gone through isolation, but you’re also talking cultural differences with Hispanic folks. I know I’m one of them. And I’m a child of a broken family. That was there were a lot of problems in my family, just because half of it was Venezuelan, and half of it was Gringo, East Baltimore, and like that was just that there were communication, synapses, you know, just in general, and that was in the 70s. But I would say for you with kids being sheltered, stuck at home, trying to learn online maybe having language barriers, in the case of this community specifically, what do you see from things that could be overcome but things that are challenges right now for a 1314 15 year old child? Right? Definitely
Paul Satterfield 19:34
like problem solving those kinds of things. If peer conflicts how to you know work your way through that without escalating to something else, or having you know, just withdrawn and being like, it’s too much for me I’m just going to withdrawal from and beating myself you know, and stick to my cell phone those kinds of things because they miss some of that social and
Nestor J. Aparicio 19:51
I guess a cell phone gives you a whole world Yeah, like they can just die. You can disappear we all disappear into our phones. Let’s be honest, right? Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, man,
Paul Satterfield 19:59
you know, if you You’re in a meeting or if I sat here and started reading, I’d miss whatever you were saying and everything else going on, you know, so if you’re doing that in class, you’re missing things. But it is it’s an easy escape to avoid, you know, social pressures or, you know, the work it takes to develop relationships or work through problems. You know, those are certainly concerns, I’d say without the language barrier. Um, you remember being in high school like what I could get over on my parents, I’d get over on it. Right, right. So like, if I’m speaking
Nestor J. Aparicio 20:30
as a Dundalk Hall of Famer, I will admit this, but you know
Paul Satterfield 20:33
what, I’m going to plead the fifth on stuff on the radio
Nestor J. Aparicio 20:37
shows wrong, we made some wrong decision. Absolutely. Like, I made decisions together, as I
Paul Satterfield 20:42
remember, I made wrong decisions as an older person, but, you know, like, you know, you’re trying to get on any team does. So with the language barrier that can really be taken advantage of if the parents don’t speak English, but the student does speak English and Spanish. They can take advantage of a whole lot more like Hey, Mom, guess what this happened? And well, yeah, they called and told you this. Translators on time. Yeah, well, I can hire Spanish speaking teacher I do. Yeah. And so on. A couple of my administrators speak Spanish as well, which I did
Nestor J. Aparicio 21:12
a prank on your staff a little because I did ask you about the workforce and what you’re finding and, man, if I go through, if I were to die an hour from now, and you were to say, name, the 50 people in your life that really shaped your life, Oh, my God. 35 of them would be teachers and then and a lot of them would, would come from Dundalk or would come from Dundalk Community College. I mean, one of my partners in the businesses Dundalk, community college, professor of mine from 1985. So teachers have always held a special place in my world. I hope that they still do and you know, in the in the light, I know they do for my son as well. And I think the people I know who are teachers feel that Luke Jones, who’s my employee, my reporter, was a fifth grade school teacher, I took him out of the teaching profession to do this lousy journalism thing where he gets it go out there when he’s Mills get treated poorly. But, you know, he, he comes from that background as well. And he always tells me how he’s been at it for 15 years, but he lives in Shrewsbury. So he taught kids kind of sorta in that community, and now he’s like, out at a bar, and like a, you know, a kid will come up, because it’s been that long, and these kids are 2425 years old. They call them Mr. Jones. And you’re gonna mean and that there is something that that that, I guess secretly I wish I were a teacher at one point, you know what I mean? I always thought it’d be cool. My dad always wanted to be a teacher, you know,
Paul Satterfield 22:38
there’s nothing better than in a lot of ways it was stressful as it is and sometimes not compensated as well, although that’s improved over the years. Cost of living, though, with everybody is, is a challenge throughout. But, uh, yeah, I mean, it just, our staff is just fantastic. I mean, their hearts and their ability to work with kids through traumatic situations through you know, a lot of kids out here struggling a lot of adults who are struggling, you know, the country’s has, has a lot of issues economically, socially. There’s a lot going on. So, um, kids are hurting, and they need adults in their life to care and work through them. There’s kids who’ve missed school for, you know, a parent has cancer, or a parent can’t take care of one of their children, because they’re both working, that kind of thing. And we’ll have kids who come in late, you know, so trying to really be there for them not just as a support, but allowing them to make up work out after time, or staying with them after school where they can get the learning they need. Just all kinds of things that I think that people are just really willing and open to provide whatever is needed to help kids you know, make
Nestor J. Aparicio 23:41
you familiar with that, right?
Stan Jablonski 23:42
Oh, yeah. I was thinking even, you know, you look at the influence from our high school, you know, and I was a son of a science teacher and I love science and was motivated by it and develop relationships. And I remember Mr. Hunt that he was another chemistry teacher back in the day and you know, he was an American Indian, and he had these canoeing trips, and we do canoeing trips with them as well. And, you know,
Nestor J. Aparicio 24:02
that whole science department do was you know, Mr. ERBE or
Stan Jablonski 24:06
Mr. Hall and there was a great group of guys and you know, and it motivated us as a kid not you know, what happened with you, I’m sure with, you know, with your writing and the English Don lifer,
Nestor J. Aparicio 24:16
who was one of the great influences in my life and we shared a friendship with with Don Mohler, we lost on life about 15 years ago. Don was an actor you know, Tom was a movie he’d been in movies he fought in Vietnam but don you know blood baseball love the Orioles went to an oral game with on love Steely Dan, but like, you know, all these years later, he was the first journalism teacher I had first class he taught he told me I could be something that I could be a journalist and here I am all these years later. You know, I people believe in me, they’re, you know, just like the all the way through whether it was I love telling I’ve told this story, but since you’re the principal Dundalk, I’ll tell you the story. So Old Dundalk. I meet Stan in summer of 82. And this is how I met Don Mohler that might working for him came my little Delvalle Avenue letter came. My parents and it had my marching orders for 10th grade I went to ninth grade and Hollenberg it at holla bird the day that you pick the electives was a blue form that from the county and instead you’re going to Dundalk, I pick the class is speech. Biology, what track you’re going to be on. This is 1982. Right? I circled journalism because that’s all I ever really wanted to be. I was a kid. And that day, Melissa Beijing’s father, a guy named Marty bading was our substitute teacher. He was just a sub teacher. He’d be spitballs paper football, the whole deal. You’re of the era you know what I’m talking about. So Mr. Beatty was out there. He said journalism. He’s like, I work at the paper. I can get you a job. I’m 3014. You know, whatever you I’m like, Mr. Beatty. I want to be a sports writer. Like like John Steadman, I read the news American every day. I’ll get your jobs on. So I filled my form out. The paper comes in August. No journalism for me. They put me in some art appreciation. Some my parents put me in my brother’s Malibu, we went down mill, Del Valle Avenue. 11 o’clock in the morning, school is not in session. It’s August. My father marches in, I want to see somebody you know, my boy is going to be in the newspaper journalists. So my dad takes me down. And Don molars, the guy there. He’s the front. He’s the gatekeeper. We’re gonna let me see what I can do. You know, Don, so he puts me in, and I needed a typewriting class. So Don reworks, my whole schedule before he knows me, this is 9082 and puts me into a type writing class. And in the first period journalism is first period Don molars class, I’ve done life, it’s class. So I get into type writing class, and I get in, I want to learn how to type show, right? Problem is you can count my fingers, and I don’t have 10. I only got nine and I’m missing. You know, this was my Colgan elementary pick trick here scare the girls away. So I’m missing a pretty key finger for the T and the y and you know, like, and Mr. Politeness came and put a sheet of paper over my hand. This is when you had ribbon. You made a mistake. You had to go. This wasn’t this was old school. He put the white paper, ditto paper over my hands. I couldn’t see my fingers. And I didn’t cry. But it was close. I mean, at least the Deemer weren’t in class, I would cry. But I went back down to the office. Mr. Waller, you you gotta get me out of this class. I can’t type look at my finger. says Look, man, I got you in this class. I will figure it out for you. Come on, we’re gonna figure it out. Only thing I can put you in is horticulture. I had Eve Wallace’s horticulture class for a semester. And I learned how so photosynthesis work. This helped me the cannabis facility. I’m not gonna lie to you. But growing plants, I learned and all these years later, my wife plants things. And she’s like, amazing. I know. I know nothing about biology. I know nothing about chemistry. God knows nothing about physics. We’ve already proven that. But I did learn how to grow a plant. So I learned all of these. But the journalism part of my journey and being there at Dundalk and having a newspaper that we put out at junior press when went down to there excuse me, Minuteman Press America Boulevard. I was in charge of laying it out. Then I got a job at the paper. And I was encouraged on Moeller told me that I was going to be the next Chris Thomas. So there was this encouragement from these, these teachers who I it was an unlimited amount of encouragement that I felt that I hope that every child in your school can feel hope so
Paul Satterfield 28:55
that’s our goal. Why
Nestor J. Aparicio 28:58
didn’t you know that’s why I proudly wear this shirt. Now, do you still make the kids sing? The Alma Mater?
Paul Satterfield 29:04
No. Those days have been passed for a while. Could you make
Stan Jablonski 29:07
me feel better? Because he’s gonna sing it? I don’t remember it. So
Paul Satterfield 29:12
we do still have the horticulture program. And even with the new addition that we’re gonna have put on as big as we are. We’re getting another addition another year. They’re going to add horticulture back in together as a greenhouse. But
Nestor J. Aparicio 29:22
what else do you have there? That like that that project lead the radio station anymore? Right? No,
Paul Satterfield 29:27
but we have morning announcements is on video. So we have a whole like video room. And that Chris Wojcik I think he was one of the teachers I was going to try take out your time. So if you come out again, we’ll you know, we’ll definitely have you remember
Nestor J. Aparicio 29:39
our morning announcements. Do you remember anything specific about our morning announcements? No. So Mr. Douse GPD. Three, we just lost Mr. Dash. He would come on in the morning and have his and he had a very pronounced voice. He spoke like this. He was a very very educated man, George V. Dallas. He would laugh at me he would be chuckling at my making fun of him. But he would every morning we would have me or Ingrid costard or rule or somebody who’s doing a morning announcements. And so it was always like, you know, I was practicing do all this, he would take the mic, and it was always one of those little things with a little thing on it. And he was talking to it. And we’re in the office, you had to be all official because it was the principal’s place. You didn’t look like a principal man, you have to call your principal. But so so he would hit the thing. And he would say, Good morning, and have a better day. So so so if you want to get a tagline like yeah, you need to come up with something like ain’t the beer cold or like Chuck Thompson thing, you know what I mean? But he said, Good morning, and have a better day, every day of my life. So you don’t remember that? No. Penny tension in high school digit. Blonsky probably see his father he was on like scholarship is old. He knew he couldn’t get kicked out. It’s all man talk there was
Stan Jablonski 30:59
a tenured student.
Nestor J. Aparicio 31:04
My high school friend, Paul Satterfield is the great principal Dundalk High School where I am a Hall of Famer. So I went down and 17 when my mother died, I cried, I gave a really awful speech. It’s good. It should have been better. I didn’t sing the alma mater because I got off the clamped. And I didn’t do any of that. My name is in the Hall of Fame there. And I’ve never seen it, because it was there. Yeah. So I got to come down and see the school again. I want to do it for some good purpose. So like when we’re doing something charitable, your community or when we’re kicking Patapsco his ass, whatever, you know, when we’re doing something important. Now, the other night we were playing football and that’s one thing that gets to me. Stan, you live in Chicago, and I know you’re on Twitter and you have beloved friends. Anytime Doug loves football program. And you should be I mean, you’re a football alum. You played on the team. I
Stan Jablonski 31:53
didn’t play on the team. The team has been doing great. And they’ve they’ve had some really good teams, the last Sophia state championship
Nestor J. Aparicio 31:57
back when my wife was fighting in 15. In November of Venice time, November 15. My wife was really really sick. And we live two blocks from the football stadium downtown. And my wife had just gotten out after a second transplant. She was she needed help. I was her caregiver and she really needed care. But she’s like, I’m okay for a couple hours. You can walk over to the game. So I walked over to the game that night. We got our butts kicked by Damascus. It was the Jake funk 12 touchdowns, 400 yards from scrimmage. He plays in the NFL. He’s played for the Raiders. So he was on that team that night, but my wife and I went down to Annapolis when we lost the Mirbeau you were the principal there right
Paul Satterfield 32:37
now I came I came right out. I
Nestor J. Aparicio 32:39
arrived in January after that. Okay, so I lost them. Bet with Brandon Scott. You know, we were up to God. That was ish talking him on text at halftime. I’m like you get together for the victory photo after the game then we things went sour. The other night. I was home and someone on my timeline because I mean, I have 800 people my time line from Dundalk, right? Somebody said anybody got a Dundalk score? And I went to Twitter and I saw that we were sadly eliminated. But what would you tell them about the Dundalk football program? Being that he’s an alum played there. I wrote about the team back in the 80s. We were not a football school. We were a good basketball school. We were a great baseball school. Our baseball team won the state championship in 83. We were really good baseball school. And we were always a three a not a for a not a bigger, you know, we didn’t have the highest population. So we didn’t play like Perry Hall. There were a couple schools that were a lot bigger than us. But we were in that next tear down. But our basketball team fought with Randallstown and Woodlawn for dominance. Our baseball team. I want to say we didn’t have appear in the county but we’re really good baseball team. But in the in the modern era since the Ravens came here. We’re football school right yeah.
Paul Satterfield 33:55
Yeah, it was always strong always competitive brings out lots of crowds. But you know, baseball is still strong. And even with changing population we talked about earlier like you know, we have a lot of Hispanic students who are playing baseball and things like that. So baseball and soccer to be one of the regional championship this year. Boys Soccer Sure did. All right. Another team that has like a variety of countries represented and obviously has Dundalk, you know, born and bred and Dundalk as well so it really you know, heterogeneous group. It’s really like positive I made a lot of gains. I think we’re really going to continue to get better in that regard. We’re going to be a powerhouse in soccer. Awesome years.
Nestor J. Aparicio 34:31
This is Stan, I got to ask you this. Tell him about your background and biology in your old man. You went to marine biology school, right. Wilmington. Correct. I
Stan Jablonski 34:39
did. I went to North Carolina Wilmington got a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. So in
Nestor J. Aparicio 34:45
your life, have you seen an owl? A real owl in the live in the woods at the zoo? Have you seen an owl in your life at the zoo I have at the zoo the wild there? They’re hard to find man Okay, I’ve seen one and All in my life, like in the wild wild in the wild. I was driving on 795 was going to ravens practice one day. It was snowing lightly so the trees were white. And I was on the on ramp on the mall. And I looked up and there was an owl and I saw an owl in the snow. And it was the damn this because I you know just I’ve never seen one I’ve never seen one since I’ve seen I had never seen an eagle in my life until I went to Montana in 1994. And then I went back to Yellowstone about six years ago my wife we saw a couple of bald eagles. Now I have seen dozens upon 1000s of bald eagles because we see them at the Conowingo lightheartedness, their huge eagles were nesting behind. Mick falls Iron Horse tavern, right on crumble Bridge Road, there were dozens of them nesting for weeks last February along the river way, juveniles dozens of the most the most I mean, my whole life I hadn’t seen one. So I’ve only seen one owl in my life. My wife and I moved out by my radio station up above the Loch Raven reservoir, right. So we moved out there and my wife is in love with nature because we live downtown. She wanted to have a fire a grill outside wanted to feed animals have birds all that so we have all of that where we live. My wife downloads the app that checks out plants when she’s out she identified plants. Then she downloaded the thing that can tell you what birds flying in the air. And when you hear the bird oh by the column, that’s a cardinal, you know, you know that’s a thin sheet, whatever it is, right? So she has the app on the thing. And last year, we’ve been living out in the woods for five months. And she hears something and she’s like, What, stop, stop, stop, stop as she go to the window. She holds the thing up, hits the thing. And I hear who who
Stan Jablonski 36:58
great horned Assam
Nestor J. Aparicio 37:01
great horned so we’re in the darkness. Couple weeks ago about a month ago. I got one the windows were open is right time of the year and it was real close. And then we got to back and forth. Okay. So I don’t know anything about owls. I’m a Dundalk, OWL Hall of Famer. I’m going to sing the alma mater. And I don’t know anything about owls. I always thought No offense. They were kind of like sissy birds. You know what I mean? Like they were the smart birds. And we all we always a cartoon with like, you know, a monocle or you know what I mean? Or like a wisdom hat or a graduation cap on an owl, and all of our stuff that had all of our alumni stuff is our what does this is there an owl on here? Yeah. Give us a little ferocious this out. Right, like so this owl is ferocious. So I’ve seen one owl I’ve heard a couple in the wild. And then my wife always says to they’re the most ferocious, nastiest, they they they’re they they’re there. They fly without sound. I don’t know what how do you? What’s the word for that? When they when they attack? You can’t hear them and other creature can’t hear them. So they kill upon sight. They’re nasty. Owls are nasty. I didn’t know that. Did you know that growing up? Yeah,
Stan Jablonski 38:19
they’re very quiet. They’re well, they’re nocturnal. But yeah, they’re very quiet. Yeah. They kind of glide they glide down, right.
Paul Satterfield 38:26
I think they’re, I would always
Nestor J. Aparicio 38:28
think we’re not like the Falcons or the Eagles or these other. You know, birds. Owls are cool. Now I
Paul Satterfield 38:36
don’t think they mess around. They’re not like soaring
Nestor J. Aparicio 38:38
students that I didn’t know how cool it was to be an owl. Not that I ever wanted to be a patriot or a pointer. Or a clipper or my son’s a Perry Hall Gator. You know? No, I’m not you know, but I thought owls were sissy birds. I didn’t know that they were ferocious. Good. I want everybody to know that. So this song that was the is not was the is the alma mater. Do you need me to come and teach the kids? Might?
Paul Satterfield 39:08
I don’t know. Yeah, you’ll have to I mean, the band plays it for graduation every year. Who do do they
Nestor J. Aparicio 39:14
do? So the band knows the band. So it is a part of the reason why we’re so Mr. Miller was my my, we had a thing called Jazz Band, jazz rock. But another thing I transferred into because I didn’t want to go to real school. Back in the day, I don’t want to tell you Curt Schilling’s wife, Shonda shelling, and you think what you want about Kurt, whatever. I do, too. But the Shonda was one of my best friends growing up in high school. She married Curt Schilling. She was my ride to school every day. And I just got to tell you this because you’re the principal. We didn’t make it the first period a lot of times and we stopped at Burger King Chrisann, which is a miracle of art. I just want like a priest. I want to tell you 40 years later that I I didn’t do the right thing. But whenever I was in school, which is 99% of the time I will tell you this that was true, because I wasn’t I did not get an A in journalism, but I got, you know, I’m doing okay in life. So Mr. Miller was a stickler about this. So anytime and Stan wasn’t paying attention, but anytime there was an assembly, anytime there was a gathering of the eighth, ninth grade, 10th grade 11th grade, anytime there was something in the auditorium at all, he would make everybody sing it. It was a part of like, so there were 10 times a year, where even if he didn’t know how to sing it, even if he just wanted to make fun of like, standard people around you were singing it. So it will sound familiar to Stan when I sing it. But you don’t know yet. So if I say to you let each fellow join our chorus. Yeah, you would say I have no idea. Echo far near. So anyway, you’re gonna do it. Yeah, I mean, I do it all the time. I didn’t do it when I was inducted into the Hall of Fame. So I really felt because I was crying. It was a mess. My mother died. My cat died. It was bad day. And it wasn’t like being at the real high school and you’re gonna see that when you go to the real high school, but I can’t believe you don’t know. Like, we have a proud alma mater. Everybody in the school 1500 kids at the time. All were subjected to it a million times. I know why everybody else hated it. But I learned it. John Allen was in a band that he didn’t know it. And Zach kowski is in a band and refused to sing it with me.
Stan Jablonski 41:32
I don’t know the only song I keep when I went to Purdue for grad school and I keep remembering hail to the old golden black so that’s a
Nestor J. Aparicio 41:38
different you know that one?
Paul Satterfield 41:39
Oh yeah. That there fight one football hail hail to Purdue. See,
Nestor J. Aparicio 41:44
okay. So this is let each fallow John chorus ACO for any we will ever seeing in trials and will always jeer march on Dundalk. March right onwards. We reach our post and cheer from each good fellow means we have not lost. So there.
Paul Satterfield 42:13
That’s good. Good. It was
Stan Jablonski 42:17
good. But you know what it sounds like is that song from dirty dancing?
Nestor J. Aparicio 42:20
It’s the same tune. Yeah,
Stan Jablonski 42:22
sounds very similar. You
Nestor J. Aparicio 42:24
know, Maryland, my Maryland so Christmas? Yeah. The second verse in the next day with Paul Satterfield is the principal of Dundalk high, he gives it up for the kids takes care of the teachers tries to keep the parents satisfied whenever possible. And the community as well. And this is still a really bonded community,
Paul Satterfield 42:42
right? Yeah, absolutely.
Nestor J. Aparicio 42:45
It’s a good place to fish people, the alma mater. I’ll do the second verse when I go shock. You’re singing alma mater with me. Chuck’s here from drugs city. Look at this. I heard you saying I had to walk over all right. Was I Okay. All right. Thank you. Do I make it to Hollywood? No, I’m sorry. Stan japoneses my high school buddy. He is here. Take care of mom. And any pizza with meeting crab cakes with me. I you know I didn’t tell Maggie to bring me crab cakes. So this is the only crab cake Torstar we didn’t actually have a crappy but I Oh, you want it? Alright, good. Good. Thanks for making he take care of the school get standard tour. Yeah, listen, anytime. I’ve had a lot of people reach to me like Stan. And you would agree to this right? All of our people that we know loved on doc and loved on doc. Hi. We’re all proud of being I mean, I don’t know anybody that hides their Dundalk that I know. That’s my age of us. We’re proud of being from here. And there have been so many people that have been in contact with me because I sing the song and goof off and people will see this. Let’s say I gotta get down here and see this new school. I don’t seen a new school yet. And you’re one of those people and the night I was in there I was so it was just trippy. I don’t know your put me in the hall of fame. I was emotional. It was my mother wasn’t it was awful. But it was beautiful. But I want to go back and just like, Ah, this is where they teach science. This is where Mr. J’s class would be. Look at this. What would your dad make of this? I think it’s it’s gonna blow your mind, dude. Like, it really will blow your mind. You go in there. And everybody knows this. And they reach to me, but they don’t. In the modern era High School. They don’t their walk in, right? Like, you know what I mean? In the old days, like, oh, I want to see Mr. Stock and or Mr. J, you just walk in Mr. J, come on in. Hey, this was my old student. You know, like, I did that because I love my teachers. I always went back to school. I went back to my elementary school and back to my middle school. When I was in high school. I was a visitor because I love my teachers and I miss them. And I missed being in the hallways with them every day for you for a long, long time. I missed the structure of all of it. But like people can’t do that. Now. You should do something where I bring some alums back because I think you’d be blown away if we did an alumni out there to just come back and see the new school and gave it the right reason and had some crabs pass. Is there some afterward? I bet we get hundreds of people that want to get down there. And I think that that would would help you for whatever you’re trying to be good for the community to make the football games better whatever it is, because there’s a lot a lot of people that say to me, Hey, you began a new high school. I’m you know, and I’m like, Well, why don’t we invited when? Right. So that’s my ask, can we make that happen? Yeah, I think we’d do that. All right. Paul Satterfield took some time. It took me a year and a half to get him over here. He is the principal Dundalk high where they do things and they should be teaching the alma mater, Stanford and things with me. Thanks for coming in. Today, he didn’t know he didn’t wake up. Come on here and give me was it m equals was it just
Stan Jablonski 45:37
jumped MC square?
Nestor J. Aparicio 45:38
What does that mean? in English?
Paul Satterfield 45:41
It’s that relativity it’s one of those Yeah, one Oh, sign Stein thing I think I
Stan Jablonski 45:46
don’t have any hair so I don’t look like Einstein.
Nestor J. Aparicio 45:49
The Queen this dude, what did they teach you?
Stan Jablonski 45:50
That’s physics. You know, I was a chemistry undergrad so I can look it
Paul Satterfield 45:55
up on AI now. You don’t need to memorize it.
Nestor J. Aparicio 45:57
It’s all Greek to me. That’s why I want the guy Yasser, some cotton babies the other day. All right, we’re stepping out and take a break. We had winter here today was a $2 winter but I brag about all winners. Mail a lottery presents our our tour. We’re doing the Maryland crab cake tour. today. It was fried shrimp and what else did we get there at a Greek salad the Greek sound? The crab soup tour today. I did the crab soup today of
Stan Jablonski 46:17
great crabs here. Their crab cakes are very good. Have you had the crab Imperial here? I’m not a big crab Imperial fan. But the crab cakes here. Very good.
Nestor J. Aparicio 46:25
I like the crab and pure on the mushroom the mushroom cap. That’s what and the secret weapon here. If I’m really being honest, it’s the cream spinach. But don’t tell anybody get the cream spinach. We’re cast is brought to you by the Maryland lottery. I’ve given some of these away. We’re going to be let’s see. Papist Parkville next Tuesday. That’s before Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving. We’re going on the road. We’re going to be Coco’s on Wednesday, the 29th we are going to be at the top of my head gertrudes at the BMA on the 30th of Dan Rodricks for his show, Baltimore, you have no idea that’s almost sold out. During the big night on the eighth. They’re the first we’re going to be at Hollywood casino in Perry Ville. We’re going to scratch off to get away from the Maryland lottery, everyone we’re going to be including state fair in Gainesville on the fifth and Farr and daughter in Timonium on the 15th of December and fade these on the 28th That’s our last show ever at the old Lexington market and families are moving into the new market in January so we’ll shed a tear we’ll have a crab cake or about a dozen of them. I’m a cost it’s all brought to you by our friends at window nation, including our friends at Raskin global with the cool crab claw and Jiffy Lube multi care from Dundalk to your community. We are wn st am 1570 Towson Baltimore signing off from Costas. Stay with us at wn st.
