Living, loving and lifting Baltimore City life

She came from New Jersey to do television news at WJZ and never left Baltimore. We catch up with our defending champion of loving city life Meghan McCorkell of Live Baltimore, who educates Nestor at Faidley’s on the Maryland Crab Cake Tour about the whys and ways that the city wants you back as a resident, tax payer and stakeholder in the next round of Charm City and the revival of urban life.

Summary

Meghan McCorkell’s Introduction and Personal Background

• Nestor Aparicio introduces Meghan McCorkell, Executive Director of Live Baltimore, at Faidley’s Seafood during a crab derby broadcast.
• They chat about:
  • Nestor’s need to cut back on fried foods.
  • Meghan’s Jersey Shore roots and required fandom of Bruce Springsteen.
  • The messiness of eating crabs on camera; Meghan prefers not to be filmed covered in crab shells.
• Meghan describes moving to Baltimore 15 years ago, falling in love with the city, and ultimately choosing to stay and buy a home here.

Meghan’s Career Transition and Live Baltimore’s Mission

• Meghan outlines her journalism path:
  • Worked behind the scenes as a producer, including in Columbus, Ohio and Washington, DC.
  • Transitioned from producer to on‑air correspondent in DC, a highly unusual route in local TV news.
  • Spent 16 years in journalism overall.
• Facing a contract decision at WJZ, she considered moving to New York to continue journalism.
• A chance happy hour conversation through the Pratt Contemporaries (philanthropy group for the Enoch Pratt Free Library) led to her becoming communications director for the library.
  • Built the marketing team from roughly 1.5 people to 9 staff.
  • Won three international awards and “library journalist” recognition.
• She later moved to Live Baltimore, seeing it as another form of storytelling—telling the positive stories of Baltimore and its people.
• Live Baltimore’s mission:
  • A 25‑year‑old nonprofit (with roots about 30 years back) focused on attracting and retaining residents in Baltimore City.
  • Originated from neighbors worried about the city’s population decline.
  • Today has 11 full‑time staff, and Meghan sits on the mayor’s cabinet.
  • Population growth is a major priority because more residents mean more resources for the city.

Live Baltimore’s Programs and Community Engagement

• Homebuyer support & education
  • Live Baltimore runs three free trolley tours per year:
    • ~500 prospective homebuyers attend each.
    • Coach buses visit ~18 neighborhoods in a section of the city.
    • Followed by homebuyer workshops (budgeting, what income and savings you need, etc.).
• Down payment & closing cost incentives
  • Acknowledges that saving for down payment and closing costs is one of the biggest barriers to homeownership.
  • Baltimore offers multiple incentive programs listed at livebaltimore.com, e.g.:
    • Baltimore City Employee Grant (Meghan personally used this to receive $5,000 toward her own home).
    • First‑time homebuyer programs.
    • Vacants to Value and other specialized grants.
• Buy Back the Block
  • Live Baltimore’s program to help long‑time Baltimore City renters become homeowners in their own neighborhoods.
  • Over the past three years, more than 200 homebuyers have purchased homes through the program.
• Customer service & education
  • Free virtual homebuying classes almost every week.
  • Free, one‑on‑one customer service for people considering a move or purchase in the city.
• Connection to Enoch Pratt Free Library
  • Meghan still champions the library:
    • Notes presence of social workers and nurses at branches (e.g., blood pressure checks, basic health guidance).
    • Praises Pratt as a national model for innovative library services.
  • Frequently refers Live Baltimore clients with broader needs to the library.

Baltimore’s Attractions and Meghan’s Personal Favorites

• Meghan’s “sell Baltimore” highlights for visitors:
  • Waterfront city feel (Inner Harbor, harbor views) – especially meaningful to her as someone who grew up at the beach.
  • Constant festivals and events:
    • Kinetic Sculpture Race
    • Flower Mart (Live Baltimore staff went; all got lemon sticks)
    • Events in Patterson Park
    • “Brew at the Zoo,” Preakness‑week activities, Orioles games, etc.
• Fort McHenry
  • Meghan serves on the Friends of Fort McHenry board.
  • It’s one of her “must‑see” spots, especially:
    • The short film that ends by raising the screen to reveal the flag, which she notes makes everyone emotional.
• Creative Alliance
  • She praises Creative Alliance in Highlandtown:
    • Marquee Ball (this year’s theme: “Heroes and Villains”).
    • Live music, interactive movie nights, and resident artists.
• They both emphasize:
  • “If you think you’re bored in Baltimore, you’re not trying hard enough.”
  • The city’s cultural scene, neighborhoods, and constant activity.

Baltimore’s Birthday Bash and Live Baltimore Events

• Baltimore’s Birthday Bash
  • Annual party thrown by Live Baltimore on the last Friday of July.
  • Branded as “the best party in Baltimore”:
    • Draws 1,000+ people.
    • Tickets are relatively affordable:
      • Early bird general admission: $55 (on sale in May).
      • Price increases after May.
    • Rotates venues each year; this year at the War Memorial with special permission from the mayor’s office and War Memorial Commission.
    • Features:
      • DJ, dancing, drinks.
      • Local food and dessert vendors providing “birthday bites.”
      • The mayor joins Meghan to sing “Happy Birthday” to Baltimore and blow out the candles.
      • Surprise performances.
• Good Neighbor Ticket
  • A $125 “Good Neighbor” ticket:
    • Includes VIP access for the buyer.
    • Also funds a ticket for a deserving community member or neighborhood leader who otherwise couldn’t afford to attend.
• Past & future venues
  • Baltimore’s Birthday Bash has already been held at Lexington Market (prior to its renovation and reopening), among other notable city locations.
  • Meghan is thinking ahead to the city’s 300th birthday (Baltimore is approaching 300 years), planning even bigger celebrations.

Community Impact, Volunteers, and “Owning” the City

• Volunteers:
  • Many Live Baltimore volunteers are past program participants who received grants or support.
  • Some have been volunteering at every trolley tour for over a decade, paying it forward.
• Residents:
  • New homeowners often stay connected with Live Baltimore and the broader community.
• Meghan and Nestor talk about:
  • The need for more “apostles” and “cheerleaders” for Baltimore.
  • How Live Baltimore and its alumni serve as visible advocates for city life.

Nestor’s Relationship with Baltimore and Future Plans

• Nestor:
  • Currently lives in Baltimore County but strongly identifies with the city and has deep emotional ties (e.g., decades of Preakness coverage at Pimlico).
  • Expresses a desire to move back into the city.
• Meghan:
  • Encourages him to explore incentives on livebaltimore.com when he’s ready.
  • Jokes about holding him to living in Baltimore City by “this time next year.”
  • Points out that:
    • Live Baltimore offers first‑time buyer, Vacants to Value, and other incentives.
    • They can help him navigate options and neighborhoods.

Broader Baltimore Pride & Side Topics

• They discuss:
  • Preakness temporarily running at Laurel Park and the anticipation of its return to a redeveloped Pimlico.
  • The difference between truly being “in Baltimore” (city lines vs. county/suburbs).
  • Safety perceptions about Lexington Market, with Nestor pushing back against negative narratives.
• Lighthearted bits:
  • Crab derby results and who won.
  • Nestor’s past on‑air stunts (e.g., picking March Madness against a Capuchin monkey, broadcasting from a hotel bathtub).
  • Meghan’s most extreme TV experience: walking onto an icy lake in a dry suit and falling through as part of a rescue demonstration.
  • Jokes about crab hats, picking crabs on camera, and “bougie” concerns about getting messy.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Live Baltimore, Baltimore City, home buyers, trolley tours, neighborhood ambassadors, home buyer incentives, Baltimore’s Birthday Bash, Fort McHenry, waterfront city, community engagement, population growth, Enoch Pratt Library, creative Alliance, Baltimore events, city life.

SPEAKERS

Nestor Aparicio, Meghan McCorkell, Speaker 1

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Nestor Aparicio  00:00

Welcome home. We are W, N, S T. Am 1570 to Baltimore. We’re Baltimore positive, positively here at faidley’s seafood. Megan McCorkle is just a little bit late for the crab Derby today. She missed out on next year. They may have you. MC it Okay, perfect. We’re here. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery. I have Maryland treasure scratch offs giveaway. This has been a particularly lucky batch. Also our friends at GBMC, who’ve I got my blood work back last week, and it’s I need to make some slight lifestyle changes on the fried foods,

Meghan McCorkell  00:37

less crab feasts for you or

Nestor Aparicio  00:40

like them, but I think I need to go broil. I need to have a little bit more cucumber salad, less of the french fry.

Meghan McCorkell  00:47

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I guess we could all use that.

Nestor Aparicio  00:49

I wanted the french fries and gravy pizza. John, so bad. Also, our friends at foreign and Durham are there the comfort guys, 410, 367777, Zach was buying last week. We did the show at Planet Fitness, and we’re gonna be doing the show at fishmonger’s daughter in Catonsville a week from now, on Thursday, and Damien’s running around here trying to make the Lexington market homestead good. Nancy came by, and she is as as witty as ever, and give me a hard time in the crab Derby, but these are the joys of living in Baltimore. So make it mccorkle’s Here. CEO president, what is your

Meghan McCorkell  01:23

executive director? Is my title?

Nestor Aparicio  01:25

Executive Director, Baltimore’s

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Meghan McCorkell  01:27

biggest cheerleader. There we go.

Nestor Aparicio  01:28

All right. So

Meghan McCorkell  01:30

easy

Nestor Aparicio  01:30

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and Shane and for an ears Jersey girl should have brought you to Springsteen the other night. That have been your Springsteen person, right?

Meghan McCorkell  01:36

Oh, yeah, of course.

Nestor Aparicio  01:37

Oh, look at her. Yeah.

Meghan McCorkell  01:38

I grew up in the Jersey Shore. So, like, you’re required we, like, you know, are born Springsteen fans.

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Nestor Aparicio  01:43

I offered you a chance to open crabs here. You did you decline that?

Meghan McCorkell  01:47

Um, yeah, you know, it’s, it’s a little messy for on camera. You

Nestor Aparicio  01:51

gotta be local. Well, come on, you live Baltimore. Now, you better open.

Meghan McCorkell  01:54

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I’ve been here over 15 years. So now I’m, you know, I, I’m a Maryland

Nestor Aparicio  01:59

is there anything that I could do to entice you to sit and eat crabs with me? Or would you just not do that?

Meghan McCorkell  02:05

I

Nestor Aparicio  02:07

have you done it

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Meghan McCorkell  02:08

a few times. I like the it’s such a great community thing to do. So, oh yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  02:15

okay, all right,

Meghan McCorkell  02:17

crabs and beer on in summer, yes, but maybe not on camera, maybe not dressed like this, just like this, to get it all over me, I need a bib.

Nestor Aparicio  02:26

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Oh, you’re not bougie like

Meghan McCorkell  02:29

No, no

Nestor Aparicio  02:30

jersey. Girl, I

Meghan McCorkell  02:31

am, but I just don’t want lots of pictures me covered in crab shells.

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Nestor Aparicio  02:35

I had Ivan Bates here at a crab at ease. I can’t believe you signed me up for this. My daughter’s gonna love that I liked the crab

Meghan McCorkell  02:42

hats. No, yeah, that was

Nestor Aparicio  02:43

all right. So top down, we’ll get to your soiree that I’m coming to July 31 July 31 and you know your work at W Jay Z as a journalist who asked questions your aspirations to be an executive and leave the journalists think smartest thing she ever did. And then your time at Enoch Pratt famously getting people to read and read up. You made this move in the live Baltimore on like, a personal level. And I don’t know you all that well, but I see you out like with animals and friends the live Baltimore spirit. There is something about like, live Baltimore. That should be my job is Baltimore pod. I’m from around here. I’m done dog like you sort of swam into this in a weird kind of way, and you embody this promotion of Baltimore that you signed up for. You know,

Meghan McCorkell  03:34

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listen, I moved to Baltimore about 15 years ago, and I really fell in love with this city, and so it is great for me. Now, professionally, I just get to try and make other people fall in love with the city that I fell in love with. I decided to stay in Baltimore and decided to buy my home in Baltimore because I loved the people and I loved this city.

Nestor Aparicio  03:53

I wasn’t to be Denise Koco when you came here, right?

Meghan McCorkell  03:55

Oh, no one can be Denise Koco’s Koco’s daughter. I want to be her best friend.

Nestor Aparicio  04:01

But did you listen Marty and I? Marty was supposed to come by last week. Couldn’t make it. I had VIV by last week. I have not talked to Sandusky. I’ve had shoe on at length, and he’s doing the same. He’s still storytelling. He’s taking what he did. Well,

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Meghan McCorkell  04:18

that’s what we do too. So I like to say that we just get to tell all of the best stories of Baltimore, because essentially, at live Baltimore, we always say the people of Baltimore are our best asset. They are our best storytellers to tell other people why Baltimore is such a great place to live, and so we still do storytelling. So I look at what I do now is really an iteration of what I did as a journalist.

Nestor Aparicio  04:40

Did you ever envision you wouldn’t be a journalist, but you do it. I mean, the 15 year ago version of Megan that came here, where did you work for your ear? Did you work in pigs knuckle, Arkansas? And do that whole

Meghan McCorkell  04:49

I was around, I was in Columbus, Ohio, and then I was in Washington, DC, before that. So

Nestor Aparicio  04:53

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did

Nestor Aparicio  04:54

nothing before Columbus, though, no,

Meghan McCorkell  04:55

I was in DC. I was

Nestor Aparicio  04:57

so you never did like, what Viviana did we. Run out to like, broken pelvis

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Meghan McCorkell  05:02

someplace

Nestor Aparicio  05:03

was

Meghan McCorkell  05:04

still, you know, Columbus is a bigger market. It is a bigger market. And I loved Columbus. I had a really,

Nestor Aparicio  05:10

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really great time there. That’s not, that’s not a starter set.

Meghan McCorkell  05:14

I had a very non traditional way into journalism. So I worked behind the scenes for a long period of time, and then I transitioned to on air.

Nestor Aparicio  05:21

You’re a producer person.

Meghan McCorkell  05:22

I was a producer to start, and then I transitioned to on air in DC, which is very, very rare. People don’t do that normally. You have to go and do the tour, but I was able to transition on air in DC. So a lot of people would ask me, like, how can I do that too? I’m like, no, no. Like, that’s not the normal path. And so I was fortunate that that was my path.

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Nestor Aparicio  05:40

Okay, so I you, it was a phase for you. Wasn’t like, did you get into producing the ever on one day I’ll be, oh, they’ll give you the mic. Or were you that? Or

Meghan McCorkell  05:51

I won an Emmy producing so, like, I was a really great producer. I loved doing it. I loved being in control of the whole show and storytelling. It just, there was just an opportunity to go. And so I transitioned from being a local news producer at a bunch of different stations in DC to actually being a Washington correspondent for one of the bureaus. And so it was a very different transition for me. And so it was a new challenge, honestly, for me, once like, I sort of master something, I want something that’s a new challenge. And on air was a new challenge. That’s

Nestor Aparicio  06:25

your thing. You’re so I just saying, like, for a guy like Marty to have done this thing, and it’s changed dramatically over all these years. I’m of that era where, and I’m 57 I know I look younger, playing younger, and shaved up nice, but like, I think I’m going to do something else with my life at some point. I already have right like, I’m not taking sports calls today. I’m here talking to you, and I even did a crab Derby here today. But like, I don’t know what else I’m qualified to do.

Meghan McCorkell  06:54

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I knew either.

Nestor Aparicio  06:55

I mean, you’re at the top of your game at Jay Z and like, you made you hit the exit button. You know, in the middle of your life, in the middle of this career that you’ve been very successful at, you hit an exit button. And I’m sure you run with other people live Baltimore, that we’re all exiting and doing our side hustle as AI is coming along right like but I just find it to be fascinating when people exit journalism, where they take their thing as I’m studying, you. Megan,

Meghan McCorkell  07:23

well, I spent 16 years as a journalist, so I was in for a very long time, moved to a bunch of different cities, told a lot of different stories. And honestly, I was interviewing up in New York at that time because my contract was running up with WJZ, and it was time to do something different. And so the idea was I was not going to stay in journalism in Baltimore City, so, but I loved Baltimore City, so it was either move to New York City and keep my journalism career going, or I randomly, this is so small tomorrow. I was at a happy hour. I was part of the philanthropy group for the Pratt library, the Pratt contemporaries, the young professionals. And I was having a drink with someone who worked there, and I said, Hey, what are you guys doing about that communications job? And they said, Oh, did you want that? Do you want that job? Are you interested in that job? And I said, Oh, I don’t know. I was under contract. And so they were like, well, just even if you’re even a little bit thinking about it, just give me your resume, and we’ll see. And that kind of changed, that one little happy hour kind of changed the trajectory of where I

Nestor Aparicio  08:18

was a

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Nestor Aparicio  08:18

library spokesperson.

Meghan McCorkell  08:20

I went to, yeah, I was the communications director for the library for eight years, and I started as, I think it was me and one half of a person. So she worked part time in programming and part time in marketing, and from there, we built like a powerhouse marketing covid

Nestor Aparicio  08:35

too.

Meghan McCorkell  08:36

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By the time I left, we had nine people in the marketing department, and we had won three international awards, and we were named library journalists, and

Nestor Aparicio  08:44

John is

Nestor Aparicio  08:45

showing up with will and doing

Nestor Aparicio  08:46

stuff.

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Meghan McCorkell  08:47

I know, I know. I mean,

Nestor Aparicio  08:48

but we

Meghan McCorkell  08:48

built something really beautiful there, and I’m really proud that team still is there intact. Works super, super hard. I get to go over and visit that

Nestor Aparicio  08:55

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going to the gala.

Meghan McCorkell  08:56

I’m sure some of them will, yeah. I mean, we’re still so supportive of each other. I still talk to them. They still talk to me. And obviously, the library is a huge part of Baltimore City, and what makes Baltimore City so great. So it’s wonderful. I have people that come to live Baltimore, and they have questions, they have needs, and I refer them to the library a lot. I always say, you know, there’s social workers in the library. There’s nurses in the library. It’s right around the corner. I’ll show you how to get there.

Nestor Aparicio  09:20

My dad would say, go to library and look it up.

Meghan McCorkell  09:22

Yeah, but the library is so much more now. I mean, there’s

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Nestor Aparicio  09:25

like,

Meghan McCorkell  09:26

social work students that are there in a partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore nurses will be there to take your blood pressure and tell you that you have to stop eating french fries. I mean, there’s a lot of resources at the library, and the Pratt library really sets the national model for everything across the country. So they have such innovative programming there. You would think, I’m still the spokesperson, but

Nestor Aparicio  09:47

Matthew

Nestor Aparicio  09:47

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McCorkle is here on behalf of live Baltimore and Enoch Brad and Baltimore, and being in the city, we’re less in the market. It’s all brought to you by our friends at the Maryland Well, you know you’re one of my favorites, but just in a general sense of what live ball. Baltimore is I always find it fascinating that like you, wound up in this role of this spokesperson for Baltimore on all things, what is lit Baltimore, give everybody the like, elevator speech for this, because we’ve all seen, I love city life.

Meghan McCorkell  10:16

Yeah, like city life. Everyone loves our shirt. She

Nestor Aparicio  10:19

told me she was giving me a shirt. Where’s my shirt? You have

Meghan McCorkell  10:21

to buy it. You’re gonna have to pick dope. Pay double. It’s we sell them on the Etsy store. So I know we sell them on the Etsy store, and all the proceeds go to the work that we do at live Baltimore. So it’s

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Nestor Aparicio  10:31

a great cause to your Gala, though, right?

Meghan McCorkell  10:33

Whatever you want. You can wear a sports jacket over

Nestor Aparicio  10:36

it.

Nestor Aparicio  10:36

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Fancy schmancy

Meghan McCorkell  10:39

is a nonprofit. We are actually this week, celebrating our 25th year as a nonprofit in Baltimore City, and our mission is to attract and retain residents here

Nestor Aparicio  10:50

Malley. You know

Nestor Aparicio  10:52

what?

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Meghan McCorkell  10:52

It started 30 years ago, and it was a group of residents that said, hey, the population is going down in Baltimore City. We’re concerned about that, and we need other people to know what a great city this is. So it was literally neighbors that came together and said, We need to come together and let other people know what a great city this is. Five years later, they officially formed a nonprofit, and that’s when the structure happened. And today we have 11 full time staff members I sit on the mayor’s cabinet. I mean, population growth is a huge priority for this administration, but it’s a huge priority for the city, because

Nestor Aparicio  11:25

any county, by the way,

Meghan McCorkell  11:26

as we bring in more people, you know, it means more resources here in Baltimore City, and so we focus on that. We do a lot of resources for home buyers. So if you’re out there and you’re thinking like, maybe I want to buy a house, but I’m not sure how to do that. We host three trolley tours a year. So those are big free events where, like, 500 prospective home buyers show up and we put them on coach busses, and we tour them through a dozen and a half neighborhoods in a certain section of the city, teach them all about that section of the city. Then they come back and they do home buyer workshops. So if you’re thinking about buying a house, how do you budget for it?

Nestor Aparicio  12:06

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What do you need to make in your life?

Meghan McCorkell  12:08

Exactly. And so we do that three times a year, completely free. And we also help people with home buyer incentives. So one of the biggest barriers to home ownership is just being able to save the amount of money for that down payment and for your closing costs, but Baltimore has unbelievable programs that will give you money towards your down payment. And so you go to live baltimore.com and you look up our incentives, and it’s lists of programs that you could qualify for. When I worked at the library, I qualified for the Baltimore city employee grant, and so I got $5,000 towards the down payment of my house when I bought it. So there are so many resources out there, and live Baltimore will help you navigate all of those. We have. Our website is a great resource like, say, you’re looking to figure out like, what neighborhood is for you. We have individual pages on all the 279 neighborhoods in Baltimore.

Nestor Aparicio  12:59

So

Nestor Aparicio  12:59

those are the ones on the Oriole city connect jersey.

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Meghan McCorkell  13:01

Yeah, I know we have been, we actually been working with the Orioles I’m in the past couple weeks, because they are bringing in different communities on Fridays, community Friday and so we are helping connect them with our neighborhood ambassadors, so they can round up the people from that community and bring them over to those

Nestor Aparicio  13:17

game Megan mccorkle’s here, live ball. So what’s your favorite part of Baltimore? Like, What? What? When? If you were to meet somebody like me from out of town, and I’m flying in from Tucson or Bemidji, wherever, Jersey, whatever, and you say, All right, I’m gonna show you around for a day or two, this or that, or make you fall in love with Baltimore. What? What are the your go choose to win them over.

Meghan McCorkell  13:42

Well, first of all, we’re a waterfront city, and I just think being on the water is so beautiful.

Nestor Aparicio  13:47

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Take it for granted.

Nestor Aparicio  13:48

We do

Meghan McCorkell  13:48

take it for granted. But, you know, I grew up at the beach, and so that’s so I’m used to being near the water when I was a little kid. So that’s what attracts me to Baltimore City, because the harbor, like the water, just feels like for me. Yeah, it’s beautiful. There’s also, I mean, there’s always something to do on the weekends. So if I am showing somebody Baltimore City, I’m probably looking up like, what festival is happening? Is it kinetic sculpture race? Is it something in Patterson Park? Is it a friend,

Nestor Aparicio  14:15

my kid and his wife went around with the little lemons and the little, little

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Speaker 1  14:18

lemon

Meghan McCorkell  14:18

sticks,

Nestor Aparicio  14:19

little lemon sticks.

Meghan McCorkell  14:20

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We took our staff to flower mart. Every single one of us got

Nestor Aparicio  14:24

lemon

Nestor Aparicio  14:24

brew at the zoo next week.

Meghan McCorkell  14:25

Yeah. I mean, there’s always something. Um, yes, okay, good. Well, we’ll both be

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Nestor Aparicio  14:31

there. I’m really excited. So we just mentioned three of the next four weekends. I know Preakness

Meghan McCorkell  14:38

we’re about. I know Preakness is coming up. I mean, there’s that’s what I mean about Baltimore.

Nestor Aparicio  14:42

Yankees are playing the Orioles right now.

Meghan McCorkell  14:44

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Well, I mean, listen, I always say, like, if you think you’re bored in Baltimore, you’re just not trying hard enough, because there’s always something to do. One of the stalwarts, like, the place that I always take people, is Fort McHenry. I’m on the board of friends of Fort McHenry, so I’m a little biased, but I just love it there. It. And my favorite

Nestor Aparicio  15:00

share

Meghan McCorkell  15:01

is to go, but it’s also to go into the fort and watch the movie. You know, they have the movie, and it gives the history of Fort McHenry. And, oh my gosh. So then

Nestor Aparicio  15:12

I go in there. I when I bring a tourist, like my friend Todd came down for filling his wife, and they’re artsy, and they’re, they read books. They’re, you know, I drove them in on a Sunday morning, but I just drove him in. It was very Chevy Chase. It was like, it’s the Grand Canyon, all right. And we make

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Meghan McCorkell  15:31

the circle, we go right back, you go in, and you have to, so they show a movie in the movies, like 10 minutes, and it tells you all about Fort McHenry. And then at the very end, the screen of the movie goes up and there’s a big picture window, and it’s out to the flag. Everybody cries, everybody cries. And you sit there and you like, watch your like the people you brought because everyone gets really emotional

Nestor Aparicio  15:55

this week at the derby when they interview the derby fall,

Meghan McCorkell  15:58

yeah, and

Nestor Aparicio  15:59

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then it

Meghan McCorkell  16:01

makes people fall in love, right there, I know, but even if it’s not your hometown, I mean, it’s like one of the birth places

Nestor Aparicio  16:07

your hometown now it

Meghan McCorkell  16:08

is. Now it’s one of the birthplaces of America, and so it makes everyone feel this really special connection to what’s

8

Nestor Aparicio  16:14

Megan

Nestor Aparicio  16:14

McCorkle, so take me down to the fort. Now, I’m crying.

Nestor Aparicio  16:18

I

Meghan McCorkell  16:19

8

know, I know.

Nestor Aparicio  16:19

I’m on the water. I’m on the water.

Meghan McCorkell  16:21

Yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  16:22

okay,

8

Nestor Aparicio  16:22

and you

Meghan McCorkell  16:22

gotta eat, well, you gotta ride the water taxi. That’s

Nestor Aparicio  16:25

like the

Nestor Aparicio  16:26

8

Baltimore accent,

Meghan McCorkell  16:27

yeah, no, we have a I love riding the water taxi. I think that’s so super fun. And there,

Nestor Aparicio  16:33

I agree with that. I live downtown for 19 years. I didn’t ride it even 19 times, but every time I wrote it because you’re always in, like, we walked, yeah, so if we’re going to Fells Point, we would walk from downtown. We walk everywhere went. We walk,

Meghan McCorkell  16:48

yes, and

8

Nestor Aparicio  16:49

we could get there quicker walking. But on a day like today,

Meghan McCorkell  16:51

you got to, oh,

Nestor Aparicio  16:52

man, the water

Meghan McCorkell  16:53

8

taxi is offering a new thing where you can actually charter the water taxi and, like, have a party on the water taxi. Yeah, you can have all of us. They’re offering like, 20% you go to our Instagram page, and they’re offering a 20% discount to live Baltimore customers who want

Nestor Aparicio  17:10

to charter you.

Nestor Aparicio  17:11

And I should do a new show for live Baltimore where I just bring you on for an hour every week, and I just say something, yes, and I’m like, Hey, I was over the pension of the day. Let me tell you about the pantry, yeah, and the pool, and they had the spa, and they, you like, you know, everywhere. Well, I mean,

Meghan McCorkell  17:26

that’s my job.

8

Nestor Aparicio  17:28

The current thing going

Nestor Aparicio  17:32

on

Meghan McCorkell  17:32

places I know. I mean, we there’s so much in Baltimore going on. And I was at the creative Alliance a few weeks ago for their marquee ball. Have you ever done that

Nestor Aparicio  17:41

8

I know about

Nestor Aparicio  17:42

you

Meghan McCorkell  17:43

have to go. It’s so amazing.

Nestor Aparicio  17:45

I almost went to Willy Wonka year.

8

Meghan McCorkell  17:47

Oh, this year was heroes and villains.

Nestor Aparicio  17:51

I know it’s theme. See, I know

Nestor Aparicio  17:52

a little bit about

Meghan McCorkell  17:53

8

it. And creative Alliance, in and of itself, is just an amazing organization. I mean, you can see music acts, they have really fun movie nights. Lisa was trying to

Nestor Aparicio  18:04

drag me out. The interactive movie night. John Marsh almost dragged me out. Or was it Boogie Nights or Pulp Fiction, one of my classics, one of my and

Meghan McCorkell  18:15

then they have resident artists that are there, like people who actually live in the creative Alliance,

Nestor Aparicio  18:19

some Hispanic folks do on my side of town too.

8

Nestor Aparicio  18:22

Oh, my

Meghan McCorkell  18:23

God. The art that they create there is unbelievable. You should just go visit on a random day.

Nestor Aparicio  18:27

They were doing their masks during the pandemic. I did a whole segment on special masks that were being so during when we all needed them, we’ll never need them again, hopefully not. What’s your big Soiree? You got a July

Meghan McCorkell  18:41

8

we, we,

Nestor Aparicio  18:43

I really want to come to this thing.

Meghan McCorkell  18:44

Okay, well,

Speaker 1  18:45

you’ve

8

Nestor Aparicio  18:45

made this thing feel like Cinderella’s Ball,

Meghan McCorkell  18:47

because it is. It’s the best party in Baltimore, like bar none. And I’m not the only one that

Nestor Aparicio  18:54

says

Nestor Aparicio  18:54

8

that’s been here maritime magic. And I know you’ve been a maritime magic

Meghan McCorkell  18:57

I am. James will forgive me, because I’ve

Nestor Aparicio  19:01

been

Nestor Aparicio  19:01

saying maritime Magic’s the best party in the city

8

Meghan McCorkell  19:03

now, now, now, well,

Nestor Aparicio  19:06

other than the party I throw on Fourth of July,

Nestor Aparicio  19:07

I’m

Meghan McCorkell  19:08

8

on James’s board for friends of Fort McHenry, so he’ll forgive me, but we broke Baltimore’s birthday party. It’s called Baltimore’s birthday bash. It happens the last Friday of July every year, and it is we draw more than 1000 people. It is really affordable. The early bird tickets, which go on sale this coming Friday, are $55

Nestor Aparicio  19:29

take my credit

Nestor Aparicio  19:30

card

Nestor Aparicio  19:31

visa right here.

8

Meghan McCorkell  19:32

I’m getting you a VIP card. So it is a great party. It’s a very Baltimore party we host in a different place every year. This year, we’re going to be at the War Memorial, and we’re super thankful to both the mayor’s office and the War Memorial commission, because they don’t normally host events like that at their venue, but they have let us do it for like, just one special night, to be able to have DJ and dancing and drinks, and we have local food. We have local um. Dessert vendors, and they do little birthday bites. And then the mayor will come, and he and I are gonna sing Happy Birthday to Baltimore City and blow out the candles. And then we always have surprise performances. So July 31 Baltimore’s birthday bash. Everyone will talk about it on August 1. So if you’re not there, then you’re not there. I

Nestor Aparicio  20:18

think next year we should shut down the market and have the party right

Meghan McCorkell  20:21

here. They actually already have done

Nestor Aparicio  20:22

8

that.

Nestor Aparicio  20:22

Let’s just throw the party right here.

Meghan McCorkell  20:24

So Baltimore. So I’m thinking four years ago, before Lexington market, when it was renovated, before it opened to the public, Baltimore’s birthday bash was held here. So we’ve already checked Lexington market off of our list. I’m looking at the next two years now, and I have ideas. We’re almost at so this year is,

Nestor Aparicio  20:42

I don’t think you lack ideas. I

8

Meghan McCorkell  20:43

never lack ideas.

Nestor Aparicio  20:44

So you’re an idea woman.

Meghan McCorkell  20:46

This is the 297th birthday, which means we’re coming up on 300 for Baltimore. So we really have to, like, think about what’s going to be super special for our 300th birthday.

Nestor Aparicio  20:56

8

Listen, if you need me for any,

Meghan McCorkell  20:58

okay, perfect.

Nestor Aparicio  20:59

No one loves Baltimore more than me. You You know this. You know that.

Meghan McCorkell  21:03

I know,

8

Nestor Aparicio  21:04

even though I live in the county temporarily,

Meghan McCorkell  21:06

I know I’m like temporarily, I know a little bit

Nestor Aparicio  21:09

Well, so is mayor Scott me. My Place sold quickly, and I had a quick I was not against living in the city.

Nestor Aparicio  21:18

8

There’s

Nestor Aparicio  21:19

now this conversation really helped me, in a lot of ways make because when it comes time to make a decision to move, I’m going to call you and say how much free money and give me to move back to Baltimore, because you can do

Meghan McCorkell  21:33

that goat live baltimore.com. And look at what incentives, incentives, the incentives to move back. So there’s first time homebuyer, there’s Vacants to Value. There’s so many programs. We run a program called buy back the block, which is for people who are currently living in Baltimore City to help them buy a piece of their city, for people who are long time renters that thought home ownership was not accessible to them, we are making it accessible. Over the past three years, more than 200 home buyers have become like home buyers here in Baltimore City through this program, and it’s so amazing to see.

Nestor Aparicio  22:05

Do

8

Nestor Aparicio  22:05

you go sometimes these people, when you put them in houses?

Meghan McCorkell  22:08

Oh yeah, take a picture. We talk to them. So you know what? People love live Baltimore, so much that if they get a grant from live Baltimore,

Nestor Aparicio  22:15

they’re wearing the shirts.

Meghan McCorkell  22:16

8

But very often they will come volunteer at our events. Most of the people that are volunteers at our big trolley tour events are people that have been customers before, and they talk about like it meant something to me, and so I want to mean something to somebody else, and that’s why I’m here. And we have volunteers that volunteer for more than 10 years. They volunteer at every event, and it’s because they care about Baltimore, and they got help from our organization, and they want to do that for

Nestor Aparicio  22:40

somebody else. We need more accolades and apostles for Baltimore, more more people to stand on the stoop like Megan McCorkle, does it live Baltimore and encourage folks to live in Baltimore. For anybody out there considering a move, that’s really where you come in. Right parties are nice. It’s like all that, but like, the real function of what you do is, hey, you’re thinking of moving to Baltimore. Call me. That’s just

Meghan McCorkell  23:00

go to live Baltimore. Calm. And all of the resources are there. We teach virtual classes almost every single week, so you can log on right from in your pajamas on a Wednesday night and learn about all the things you need to do to buy homes in Baltimore City. You can come to a free trolley tour, or you can just call us up and we provide free customer service for you.

Nestor Aparicio  23:16

All right, when you’re ready to have people like me, you know that Baltimore people, you know what I mean, like and ask them their 10 favorite things. I’m ready to help you out on the Nestor, I will get in your car and you take me three to five things, and then I will show you my Baltimore.

8

Meghan McCorkell  23:36

Perfect. I love it. Yeah. Everyone has their own Baltimore. I think that’s the beautiful part. Everyone has stuff that’s really personal to them that they love. You can fight forever with people over what’s the best restaurant in Baltimore, but that’s because there’s so many great things to

Nestor Aparicio  23:49

love me, your families I’m not gonna argue

Meghan McCorkell  23:51

against. Yeah, nobody would.

Nestor Aparicio  23:53

8

Chris, maybe fishmonger’s daughter,

Meghan McCorkell  23:54

I know. Well, we’ll see. We’ll see. Damien’s

Nestor Aparicio  23:58

gonna come on. Her mom’s already yelled at me today. Actually, your mom was very pleasant to me today. I must have, must be on her good list, or it’s been a while since I’ve seen her. But I brought her over. She stares at me, setting everything up. And she came over and gave me what for, listen. And I said, Listen, Nancy, i i Every person I do the show with, whether it’s Ivan Bates, Luke comes down, whoever it is, mayor Scott, whoever’s standing here, I’m looking at Nancy with her smile. She said, Well, when they took my picture, they wanted to make sure my hair. I think it turned out all right.

Meghan McCorkell  24:30

She looks beautiful. Local celebrity, everyone

8

Nestor Aparicio  24:33

knows, ageless, just like the crab derby. I tried to snooker you in on that.

Meghan McCorkell  24:39

I know next year, I’ll come

Nestor Aparicio  24:41

11

Meghan McCorkell  24:42

8

racer crab next year,

Nestor Aparicio  24:43

we had too many politicians and police officials. Everybody was late because they’re all working.

Meghan McCorkell  24:48

Oh yeah.

Nestor Aparicio  24:49

We had

8

Nestor Aparicio  24:49

State’s Attorney, police commissioner, Councilman

Meghan McCorkell  24:52

the crab derby.

Nestor Aparicio  24:53

Shalanda won.

Meghan McCorkell  24:55

8

Oh, good for her.

Nestor Aparicio  24:57

Go partnership, friend of mine. Yeah, she won. On. I tried to help her.

Meghan McCorkell  25:01

Was it all other boys, and she was the only girl who won.

Nestor Aparicio  25:04

She was the only girl.

8

Meghan McCorkell  25:06

That’s what it was.

Nestor Aparicio  25:06

Well, it’s just like the derby. Cherie DeVoe,

Meghan McCorkell  25:08

Yeah, same.

Nestor Aparicio  25:10

8

I’m not gonna talk about them,

Nestor Aparicio  25:11

just saying,

Nestor Aparicio  25:12

so you’re not all romantic about the Preakness because you’re from Jersey. You’re romantic about like Springsteen and Bon Jovi, well,

Meghan McCorkell  25:19

I mean, that’s what I grew up with, but I do love the Preakness. I’ve been to the Preakness a number of

8

Nestor Aparicio  25:24

times.

Meghan McCorkell  25:24

Really interesting. I was there last year. I’m excited for it

Nestor Aparicio  25:28

to come back with Damien, Bill and doing and Nancy, a million years ago, doing a crab derby. Everybody should have a hat like this, you know, for right? I mean, it’s,

Meghan McCorkell  25:40

8

yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  25:40

it’s freaking Preakness week.

Meghan McCorkell  25:41

I know

Nestor Aparicio  25:42

the street should be line the Clydesdale should be up here serving me pub wise.

8

Meghan McCorkell  25:46

It’s such a strange year to not have practice right now, but we’re going to be, I mean, imagine next year. Next year is going to be such a celebration as we welcome Preakness back home to a brand new Pimlico. It’s going to be really exciting.

Nestor Aparicio  25:56

I’m going to Laurel and a couple of my friends. Like, really why I had Donna brothers on this week. I had Dick Girardi. I have Randy Moss on tomorrow. I’m like, whatever you NBC folks do, don’t say we’re in Baltimore. Say you’re not in right? I mean, they’re not in Baltimore,

Meghan McCorkell  26:15

yeah. Well, the same thing happened to the Belmont, right? It was in Saratoga for a little bit.

Speaker 1  26:19

8

You can be

Nestor Aparicio  26:19

in germanium and still be in Baltimore, but you can’t be in Laurel and be in Baltimore.

Meghan McCorkell  26:23

Yeah, we’re a little bit far.

Nestor Aparicio  26:24

I mean, like, if you’re an Ellicott City,

8

Meghan McCorkell  26:27

Columbia, you ain’t in Baltimore. I’m live Baltimore, so I’m a Baltimore purist. We have do City Lines. That’s once

Nestor Aparicio  26:33

you hit hailstorm, you’re gone,

Meghan McCorkell  26:35

you’re gone, you’re

Nestor Aparicio  26:35

8

out.

Meghan McCorkell  26:36

Yep,

Nestor Aparicio  26:37

ain’t Baltimore Holland.

Meghan McCorkell  26:38

I know if you live in Baltimore County, you don’t count

8

Nestor Aparicio  26:40

Highland town, ain’t Dundalk on, you

Meghan McCorkell  26:43

know? Town? Nope. Yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  26:45

yeah. I

Meghan McCorkell  26:46

8

live right near Highland town. Go to the Highland town Wine Festival

Nestor Aparicio  26:50

everywhere

Nestor Aparicio  26:50

your life. You live jersey. You just want to be in East Baltimore, just where I can’t I am, you know?

Meghan McCorkell  26:55

I know now I’ve found my way here.

8

Nestor Aparicio  26:57

Well, we’re here in the west side of the east side of the market. We’re on packet Street. We’re here at beautiful fadeleys. Come on down somebody, somebody who is from the county, said to me two weeks ago, is it safe to go down there? I’m like, I come down there. All. What’s wrong with you people?

Meghan McCorkell  27:19

I mean, look around, look around like

Nestor Aparicio  27:21

we’re

Nestor Aparicio  27:23

8

gonna work at that fox 45 telling those stories.

Meghan McCorkell  27:26

I never get there. But

Nestor Aparicio  27:27

well, we, we just need live. Baltimore is here. Megan’s bringing you back to the city. There’s a million reasons to come back to the city. And I really do hope. And this is my little Baltimore soul coming out. I got 38 Preakness press pass is sitting at home from all the years, all my memories out there. I just want to go out there for the Preakness, when they get it fixed, and whatever it’s and stand there and maybe have a tear in my eye like the like, you know, like the old Native American did back with, don’t pollute the waters and say they brought it back. You know what? I mean,

Nestor Aparicio  28:00

it’s

8

Meghan McCorkell  28:00

gonna happen. Household numbers have been going up in Baltimore City over the past four years. So the word is out, Baltimore City is the hot place to be. People are moving here. So because

Nestor Aparicio  28:09

you’re giving them incentives

Meghan McCorkell  28:10

well, and also just because it’s a great place to live,

Nestor Aparicio  28:15

8

I’m in, I’m in,

Meghan McCorkell  28:18

all right, give me this time next year. Let’s hold him to it. He’s gonna have to live in Baltimore City.

Nestor Aparicio  28:24

You can make me live in a city to

Meghan McCorkell  28:25

get a shirt? Yeah, you can only heart city life if you’re living here. I’m just kidding. You can have a shirt.

8

Nestor Aparicio  28:35

You don’t mean

Nestor Aparicio  28:37

that.

Meghan McCorkell  28:37

Listen, I like people

Nestor Aparicio  28:39

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really hard time.

Meghan McCorkell  28:39

Well, start looking for housing. There’s lots of, lots of, lots of places to choose from. All

Nestor Aparicio  28:45

right, that part where you get in my car and I take you to my five favorite places, that’s

Meghan McCorkell  28:51

awesome. Then you could just walk to your favorite place

8

Nestor Aparicio  28:55

that everyone disputes out here. Megan mccork was here, party show I 31st and and a big doing, right? 55 bucks. That’s all it is

Meghan McCorkell  29:06

to get. 55 bucks is our Early Bird. So if you buy your tickets in May, it’s $55 it goes up after that. There’s also really amazing tickets called there’s an amazing ticket called a good neighbor ticket. Those are $125 and those are actually you get a VIP ticket, and it gives us the option of inviting a deserving community member that couldn’t afford to come

Nestor Aparicio  29:27

otherwise. So I’m paying for somebody else to come to

Meghan McCorkell  29:29

8

like a neighborhood leader that maybe couldn’t afford the $55 ticket would be able to come because you are such a good neighbor and buy a good neighbor ticket. So those are open right now.

Nestor Aparicio  29:40

That night is between night two and three of the rush tour in New York. I can promise you I’m gonna be with you.

Meghan McCorkell  29:48

Perfect. I love it.

Nestor Aparicio  29:49

I’m gonna be with Meghan McCorkle, live Baltimore. They’re a great organization. They do great things to promote our city. And she still you are you already promoted journalism. Enoch Pratt, all the former. Providers here, come on down and support them. It’s always great to have Megan McCorkle on the program. Even better. So if I’m giving you a Maryland treasure lobby, are you going? Are you going board walk, Ocean City? Are you going Crab, mollusk, bird, Black Water refuge? Are you going acid tea? Course, I already got the answer in the beach. And are you going a bay bridge, not Key Bridge. I

8

Meghan McCorkell  30:22

think I gotta go wildlife, right? That’s like

Nestor Aparicio  30:24

horses or mollusks.

Meghan McCorkell  30:26

Will go mollusk you’re

Nestor Aparicio  30:27

8

gonna go the ones you can eat,

Meghan McCorkell  30:28

yes, the ones you can eat. I wouldn’t eat the bird. She’s

Nestor Aparicio  30:31

all bougie. She told me she wouldn’t pick crabs already. So I said

Meghan McCorkell  30:34

I wouldn’t do it on camera.

8

Nestor Aparicio  30:39

All right,

Meghan McCorkell  30:39

you’re afraid

Nestor Aparicio  30:40

to get some in your teeth or something

Nestor Aparicio  30:42

8

like,

Meghan McCorkell  30:42

yeah, I would get it all over me. I’m not, like,

Nestor Aparicio  30:44

What’s the most embarrassing thing ever having you on television, live TV or tape, actually made it on the air.

Meghan McCorkell  30:49

Things that actually made it on the air. I mean, like, crazy things I did I fell through an icy lake on purpose, like, they put me in a dry suit and had me, like, walk out onto a lake and fall through. So that rescue wasn’t embarrassing, but they taught me how to rescue myself, so it was like a how to but that was kind of a crazy thing that I did that my mom was not happy about finding about. Yeah, I was in a dry suit, so, but I walked out, and then you heard they had so many rescue divers in there, like, because they were so scared, I looked up and there was, like, seven ambulances. I was like, there’s only one of me. What do they think is gonna happen? So I actually got myself out pretty quickly. If

8

Nestor Aparicio  31:30

you ever skydive, they won’t be there doing that.

Meghan McCorkell  31:32

I know I did not ever skydive, but, um, but, yeah, you know, journalism, you get to do a lot of really interesting, fun things.

Nestor Aparicio  31:40

Yeah, I don’t, I didn’t. Never did anything death defying, nothing like I craziest thing I ever did in 2000 in one or two, my Pizza Hut sponsor, John Schulte. He was a little crazy. He listened to my show and I was nasty, Nestor and whatever he wanted me to pick March Madness against a monkey. Oh, he’s I would always say monkeys could pick better. Was always terrible. He paid for a Capuchin monkey.

Meghan McCorkell  32:13

8

Oh, my

Nestor Aparicio  32:13

to come into the studio and the monkey didn’t like me. Oh, monkey did out Pick me, though.

Meghan McCorkell  32:19

The monkey

Nestor Aparicio  32:20

picked these paper out. But the monkey was, it was frightening,

8

Meghan McCorkell  32:25

yeah, that’s a little

Nestor Aparicio  32:26

monkeys are not,

Meghan McCorkell  32:27

yeah. This is

Nestor Aparicio  32:28

8

a Capuchin monkey. This was not

Meghan McCorkell  32:30

in an enclosed area.

Nestor Aparicio  32:31

The woman who came in with him explained to me, this is before you could look all this up, right? Explain to me that, like monkeys are incredibly territorial, incredibly, like they look at you when they either like you or they do not like

Meghan McCorkell  32:46

you, let the monkey win. It

8

Nestor Aparicio  32:51

was a great you asked me, the craziest thing I’ve done on the show being cooped up with a monkey was not I did do the show from a bathtub in a hotel room in 1992 on 103 degree day.

Meghan McCorkell  33:00

That’s fine

Nestor Aparicio  33:01

because the air condition went out in hotel we were Baltimore.

Nestor Aparicio  33:04

8

I ever know

Nestor Aparicio  33:04

I haven’t done anything else crazier than that, that the monkey thing is all I got, but I wouldn’t do what you did. Megan McCorkle, she’s a reformed journalist and a live and love Baltimore. Or find her at live Baltimore. You can find me down here. Faith, these will be at Lexington market this afternoon, and we’re going to be at the new fishmonger’s daughter in Catonsville next Thursday afternoon. I got some great guests coming by there as well. All brought to you by the Maryland lottery, GBMC and farnander. They are the comfort guys. Can I get your crab cake?

Meghan McCorkell  33:36

Sure.

Nestor Aparicio  33:36

All right, crab cakes on me. Back for more. We’re Baltimore positive at Lexington market at faidley. Stay with us.