The Cast Mourns a Friend - Ep. 30

Dedicated to Mark Glova

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Hey everybody. Uh, if you're not familiar with me, I'm Jojo. That's Jagger. There's Jenna Banana. A lot of you might remember Jenna Banana. She was a other half of the show when I was on terrestrial radio. And now she's been uh nice enough to join us on a podcast that we do usually for subscribers only. However, uh this one is a tribute to a dear dear friend. So uh we'd like to make it available to everyone because the number of messages that I received from folks that were helped by uh my friend Mark is tremendous. And I've got a lot of them here. I'm gonna share some of them, but unfortunately uh Mark Glova is his name, and he was clearly, as you can tell, from behind me and behind Jenna, one of the biggest supporters uh of this podcast. And Jenna's already so upset that she left. So uh I met Mark, I guess maybe 14 or so years ago, and it wasn't a voluntary meeting. I was booked for a live broadcast. So in radio, that means you go to a business that paid to have you be at their business and tell everyone to hey, come on down, there's deals on this and that, and three hot dogs in the parking lot and things like that. I was um honestly scared to go because I was told beforehand that Mark was a perfectionist, and I better bring my A game. And I'm pretty confident about bringing that when it comes to appearances. Uh I kind of go into a different mode and leave my own body, and I I I think I put on a good a good show. But when I showed up there, I'm pretty sure I was shaking. And there I see this man who looks like he walked out of an Abacrabi and Fitch catalog, pacing back and forth, just like he already looked irritated. And I I think he said something like, Are you the DJ? You're late. And and I was like, But I think I'm I think I'm early. You're late. And it's like, okay. And so I set up, and I was never more concerned about listeners showing up to a broadcast as I was for that. Right. Um because some car lot, you're like, okay, who cares? Yeah, right. Half the times the the car dealerships would book you, and they would just book you because they knew the sales rep would be bringing 10 pizzas. Yes. Like they didn't really care, they didn't expect anything from you. Well, Mark expected nothing but the best. I think he expected that from himself, he expected that from people he worked with, um, and and it showed uh from everything from his appearance to the way that he marketed his business. So we do the broadcast, and I think it was like halfway through someone came to me and said, Mark's not happy. Oh no. And I was like, after I soiled myself and changed my pants, I uh I guess things turned around, people did start coming out, he ended up being pleased. Um they sold maybe some pools, a hot tub, I don't know. But he then he only wanted me. So it went from I didn't know what I was walking into to I became his guy. He didn't want any other radio station, he didn't want any other personality for the most part. It was it was me or it was nothing. Um so I was like, all right, well, this guy this guy likes me and I can calm down. Nope. Because I think I went to another broadcast and within five minutes he was annoyed. Um he accepted nothing but the best. Yeah. And uh, you know, it's he'd also make jokes like he'd call and he'd say, I'm thinking about doing a promotion, and uh instead of you, I'm gonna get and he would pick like the least listened to, least popular, and just like over and over again, he's like, I'm gonna get Shazam or whoever the person might be, you know. Like just to like rub it in. And at some point, uh this crossed over into a friendship, and uh the more we worked on marketing holiday pools and spas, his business, and my radio show kind of became intertwined. I could go to him for almost anything. We did a lot of charity events and food drives, and there'd be a lot of times where I didn't go to him, he'd hear about it, come to me and yell at me for not going to him, say it was uh collecting turkeys. Um, he would call me and say, What is the largest number of turkeys that's been donated? And I'd be like, uh 500. He's like, All right, I'm doing a thousand. Wow. And be out there when I get there with the turkeys. I'm like, where are you gonna get a thousand? What are you talking about? Like one time it was we needed uh boxed goods and stuff for for the less fortunate, and he straight up walked into the grocery store that I was having a competition with my co-host to see who could collect the most boxes of macaroni and cheese.

SPEAKER_01 7:39

I saw that video. That's hilarious.

SPEAKER_00 7:41

So he's uh he goes into the store and he's like, I want every box and I'm donating it to your co-host. Oh no, that's hilarious. And they wouldn't give him every box because they're like, well, we don't want to have we won't have any macaroni and cheese for anybody else if we get, which for me, I'd be like, I don't care if you want to buy it all, buy it all. But they were concerned that you know the mac and cheese wouldn't go to the customers. He literally bought an entire palette of macaroni and cheese and donated it to her team just to get at me. So uh we had a relationship that developed from a business relationship to a friendly relationship. His business was year after year nominated hometown favorites, holiday pools and spas, as you can tell, uh our main sponsor. And they do plan to continue to work with us, although that was the least of my concerns. It did come up in conversation. Um so I appreciate that. But um, you know, my wife bought us a hot tub from them at one point. Notice I say my wife and not me, because I didn't.

SPEAKER_01 8:47

Obviously.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Although I get the electric bill that comes with it every month, so it's pretty much the same payment.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

Well, you well, you have to maintain it, right?

SPEAKER_00 8:56

And I do maintain it, yes. And I practiced with fish for years.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

And you you have mentioned that you also dropped a baconator in there once, but I digress.

SPEAKER_00 9:06

I was hungry, so I yes, I obviously ate the baconator.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

But of course.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

Yeah, you don't waste food, but then I realized I ruined like the filter and I had to get another another fit and all this stuff, and basically I had to drain it, scrub it, and why'd you have to bring that up, Janet? People don't need to know I'd be eating bacon cheeseburgers.

SPEAKER_01 9:25

I mean, that sounds like a damn good time, if you ask me.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

And you know I was living my best life by the Bluetooth floating around.

SPEAKER_01 9:31

That's it. And then listen, I only knew Mark as our sponsor. Um I knew his wife. She used to take my spin class over um at Point of Fitness when I was there. Um, but I know he was such a dear friend to you. And from all the stories you told him about us or to us, I think he would enjoy a Baconator in a hot tub seat. Story and experience.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

But the difference is he can eat a baconator and still look like he belongs in an Abergrabian face.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

I wasn't gonna say it. I wasn't gonna say it.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

I can. Do you know? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

So I this is obviously it's a tragedy. It is a true tragedy. My mom, Mama Cap, she goes to me the other day, oh, this is so sad. He was so young. Dot dot dot. And boy, was he good looking, she said. Yes. And I said, he was mom. He was.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Yeah. And like uh, I've heard from folks, I have a ton of uh letters from you guys who uh follow the page in the podcast of just uh how he affected lives. And some of them are folks that uh just came up with him from school, and he was uh he was always like that. And boy, I would have killed to have a friend like that when I was in school. Um because I know that he would have uh probably stopped me from getting my ass kicked multiple times. I mean, he would have kicked my ass, but he would have not let anyone else do it.

SPEAKER_02 10:54

He probably stopped out a few times as an adult, so you're lucky to have him now.

SPEAKER_00 10:57

True that's be honest. So, you know, we kind of developed a a friendship and we'd hang out once in a while. Um, and then my dad passed away. My dad lived over four hours away, and you know, I was dealing with that. Our family was obviously devastated. The kids lost grandpa, and I lost my father, and knock at the door, and it's Mark with Olive Garden, just uh out of nowhere. And he's like, Listen, you guys don't need to be worrying about food at a time like this. Uh, Mark had actually lost his father at a very young age. Um his father passed away very young, uh, as Mark did. Uh so we kind of bonded over that as well. Uh it was always Mark and his family that I and I shouldn't say just, but you could always just they were always there. Um and and sometimes I I worry that they were there for me more than than I was for them, but it's just you're lucky to have a friend like that. If you have one Jagger's probably mad right now because he's like, wait a minute, I was there for you. Janet's like, I was there for you two. And I I consider you two as close. I mean, when the bottom fell out for me, it was you two who showed up. So just to not take all credit away. Um one time, and my wife is off to the side here because she kind of wanted to listen in. She also has RSV, so try not to breathe too deeply right now.

SPEAKER_01 12:41

No, no, we should say that to you. We're fine.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

Oh, I'm a goner. I mean, there's no way I'm getting out of this. Um uh one time my wife and I were going to a concert and I was a little bit low on funds. And I I didn't say anything, but it's it's almost like Mark sometimes had this ESP. He shows up out of nowhere and just hands me cash, and he goes, uh show your wife a good time and don't tell her that I gave you this or I'll kill you. And so here you are. Like he didn't do things so much for the recognition. I mean, obviously, putting goodwill out into the community helps your business. We all know that. It's just but he genuinely had a kind heart. Uh he also wouldn't let me be a hermit, and people like Jana and Jagger know that uh if I'm not performing, I tend to disappear and stay in my safe haven. Well, he would straight up just show up in his big giant holiday pools monster truck. Like you could hear him coming from three miles away. The thing looked like it belonged in uh one of the big Hot Wheels monster truck shows. Like he never did anything small. So like I couldn't even get in the thing. I have like climbing up to the door. He has to get his step stool. But he just showed up and be like, come on, get in, loser. We're going to so-and-so, we're going to a barbecue, we're going to. I was like, I don't want to, I'm tired. Nah, get in, you're doing it. And I would do it. And in the end, I'd be happy. Except for the one time where we played a party game where people were closing their eyes, and it was called Catch the Blueberry. So people would take turns, they'd close their eyes, and they open their mouth, and it, you know, people would throw the blueberry, and you'd blindly try to catch the blueberry. And then Mark looks at me and goes, Your turn. And I'm like, And he throws a pickle. He did not throw a pickle. I would have preferred that. He, while my eyes were closed, puts the blueberry down, picks up a medicine ball, and throws it directly at my head. Oh my god. And everybody there thought I was dead. And it was videoed? Yes. Oh, we need to see that. I have it. I did post it once, and people questioned the what kind of friend is that? And I said, Well, that's my kind of friend. Absolutely. I wasn't hurt. I didn't have to go to urgent care. I could have been crippled for life had things gone just a little bit south. Uh, but you know, I bounced back up and the party went on, and uh the homeowners thanked me for not suing them.

SPEAKER_01 15:15

That's always a good key.

SPEAKER_00 15:19

So um uh a shout out to them as well, um neighbors. Um and then we'll fast forward to the end of my terrestrial radio career, which was uh I guess December 18th or December 19th, uh, and the bottom fell out. I was not expecting it to happen at that time that it did, as I don't think Janna was expecting it to happen at the time that it did for her. And for uh anyone who's worked in radio, it never really happens at the time that you expect.

SPEAKER_01 15:47

But it is an inevitable fate, I will tell you that.

SPEAKER_00 15:49

Yes, you have not worked in radio if you haven't been fired at least once, right, Jagger?

SPEAKER_01 15:54

You can say that about many careers, right? But honestly, I feel like more often than not, you speak with people in radio who have been terminated versus people who have not, which is crazy, but awesome experience.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

Only job I've ever been fired from is a radio. Agreed. Agreed. You guys like excel at every other job that you try to do and end up in upper management in like five minutes. But radio is just cruel. Here's how cruel it was. My last day, I still had to get out of bed at three o'clock in the morning, go, I do a show with absolutely no idea that that's gonna be my last show. Right. And then I was shown the door. Like right after I dropped off my white elephant gift for the potluck Christmas buffet. Uh, I'm called in and summarily dismissed. Well, who do I reach out to? My friends. Um, and Mark was one of them. And he's like, What are you gonna do? I was like, Well, you know, I've I've always had it in my head that maybe I'd do my own podcast, but I've just been canned. I don't really have much money. I guess I'll buy one piece of equipment at a time and try to put together what I need. He goes, Screw that. He says, You're doing this now, and how much do you need to get this whole studio together right now? And writes a check. And that's the reason I think some of my former employers thought I had this grand scheme because this popped up almost instantly, thanks to him and two-day shipping from Amazon.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

Um, but it, you know, I owe it uh to Mark and Kara and holiday pools and spas uh for the roof over my family's head. I mean, obviously, my wife was a full-time nurse and I owe it to her as well. But there is no gap in my income per se longer than maybe a couple of weeks, thanks to him. He built this.

SPEAKER_03 17:50

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 17:50

And I wish I could show you all the fancy stuff, but then I'd mess up the webcam and we'd crash. Yeah, disaster.

SPEAKER_01 17:55

It already happens regularly. We don't need it.

SPEAKER_00 17:58

Yes, and that's the no fault of the equipment that Mark bought. I'll just say that it's uh user error.

SPEAKER_01 18:05

User error.

SPEAKER_00 18:06

Exactly. So I mean, you know, he he wasn't he didn't like to see people struggle. Um and it's not that money didn't mean anything to him, but he just didn't want to see people homeless or going through something when it was a problem that he felt he could easily solve without any detriment to him. Um not only is he co-owner of holiday pools and spas, he's got dozens of rental properties all over the area. And I've heard from people who uh went on tough times, and I'll tell you something, if he wasn't their landlord, they would have been uh in real trouble. So uh I I just want the world to know that this was a good man, and I have a ton of messages here, that's what I'm looking over. Uh I'm gonna read some of them to give you perspective. I'm leaving names out because I just don't see a need to add the names. Um this one says, That man is the whole reason I even still have my car or my house signed JoJo. Oh wait, that one, forget that one. No, that was a that was a real message. Um here's another one. He truly would help anyone in need, even if he didn't know them very well. I've seen him help total strangers. Um here's one that says Mark and I grew up together in our very small town, our small group of tight friends was Mark and I and a handful of others from elementary school onwards. That small group was forced to reckon with. Just wanted to say thank you for the public comments about him. And then a guy who works very closely with Mark, because Mark puts uh the pools in, and then we have our friend Brent Cogan, who does the electric. He did it for our hot tub as well. They had a nice partnership. Uh he's he said he was looking forward to hearing this episode. He says Mark will be missed by so many. Brent says, My team and I always enjoyed working on projects with he and his team. Hashtag Marco. Um here's another message. So sorry. He would come in for pool permits and was one of my favorite customers. Always so nice and would tell us about vacations that he and his family would take. And boy, did they take vacations. He bought like, I mean, even concerts when he was going out, he wasn't just getting front row at Taylor Swift, he was getting stage with Taylor Swift. He would get tickets I didn't even know existed for things. Um Super Bowl, he was there. I mean, it just he he lived life to the fullest, and at the same time tried to make sure that nobody else was suffering that crossed his path. And he didn't need to have a spotlight put on his good deeds. He's done many without people knowing. Here's another one. Mark and his team spent what felt like an entire summer installing our pool, orchestrated it being lifted with a crane over our house. I believe there's a a picture of this with him standing on top of the crane because it's like Tarzan. It says, We felt like more than just customers with him. He will truly be missed, will forever be thought of. When I look out my kitchen window to that beautiful pool, it sounded like he was an amazing friend to you and your family, and I'm sorry for your loss. And I guess right here I'll say he passed away a week ago today. Today, one week ago was the last time that we hung out, and it was at a charity event because it's Mark uh called Max Bash. And he invited me to this thing about a week before, and I'm like, ah, you know me, man, I don't know. But he's like, You're going. I was like, I don't know. He's like, promise me you're gonna go. So I promised him. So halfway through the week, he's like, So we're still on for Friday. And I was like, nah, man, I changed my mind. He's like, but you promised. I didn't change my mind, I was messing with him, but and I'm glad that that uh my wife and I went because that would be the last time that we saw him. Um we left earlier than he did. And the last thing he said to my wife was please don't leave. And he stayed, and my son actually was the one who picked him up in a couple hours to make sure that he got to where he was going safe. And it was about 10 minutes from from the event, and when the ride's over, Mark just threw a hundred dollar bill at my kid and said thanks for keeping everyone safe. And I'm like, man, it got to at one point my son was it was like driving Miss Daisy. And my son was just, he was like, Oh, I'll do it right away, Papa. Get right in the car, pick Mark up, take him wherever he needed to go. If uh one of the vehicles was in the shop or whatever. Um, another message says Mark was one of my regulars at Rudders, which is a convenience store. I don't know if you guys are familiar with it, but they're uh in competition with with sheets and soon-to-be Wawa's coming to town. We're really moving up here in Central TA. No.

SPEAKER_01 23:28

Sheets for life.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

Uh, you know, let's keep it open for a sponsorship possibility, Janet.

SPEAKER_01 23:34

With sheets. With cheats. I'm in a committed relationship. What can I say with sheets? Sorry, my wife.

SPEAKER_00 23:40

Mark was one of my regulars at Runners. Uh I was it was always so nice seeing him. I'll miss getting him his shot of espresso. Here's another one. I was on a flight to Disney and didn't know Mark, but we got seated across from each other and chatted it up the whole flight. He was super nice and fun. Just out of nowhere. Here's somebody who met him on a plane.

SPEAKER_01 23:59

I'm mad that I didn't know him because it sounds like my spirit animal.

SPEAKER_00 24:03

I was so looking forward to the two of you and me and everyone getting together.

SPEAKER_01 24:09

And then you would have and then you would have backed away out of embarrassment, probably between him and I.

SPEAKER_00 24:13

That's where I would have exited and let you guys take over.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

Totally.

SPEAKER_00 24:17

Would have been a great time. Um, here's another Benedict boy gone too soon. Be at peace, Mark. God bless you. Messages just coming in. I became friends with Mark and his wife through their business. He was one of the most amazing people you'll ever want to meet. He would have given you the shirt off his back or his last dollar to help you. May God be with him and his family. May all who commented and read these comments be blessed. I mean, I I could just go on for another uh hour. Honestly, I'm just scrolling through these messages. So I might put them in the comments of this podcast so people can see them uh for themselves. Um his passing was sudden, it was unexpected. I don't have any answers about that. But I will end this by saying um that to Mark's family, to Mark's friends, to anyone, anybody that he touched, um I feel the pain, I feel the void. He was such a strong life force. I think he would want us all to pick up that torch. And Janet Jagger, I know you already do this, uh, help when you can. And I know we might not be as flush with cash, but you know, pitch in, pick up a shovel, help with a soup, kitchen, anything, one kind thing in Mark's memory. And that's that's about it. We'll miss you, Mark. Take care, guys.