Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
On with Mario Lopez.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
So girl, Mario Lopez joining now on Zoom.
Speaker 3 (00:06):
The hosts of the podcast, Amy and TJ. Amy Robot
and TJ Holmes.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hey guys doing Hey Mario, We're doing well.
Speaker 4 (00:13):
I guess we're doing better than most. We just got
to La yesterday. So man, it's been incredible to see
what you guys been going through out here.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Oh man, it has been just that incredible and unfortunately
been living at a firsthand, we haven't been in our
house and about what is it weak now? And the kids,
the dogs, we're all I've got three hotel rooms like this.
And when I woke up the next day after being
evacuated at four in the morning, it looked like Hurricane
(00:41):
Katrina and everyone was just out there with their pets.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
It was just awful.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
And now we've got to worry about looters and arsonists
and it is it's it's nightmarish. And I know you're
always covering the news on your podcasts, and right now
I think that it's just we're all immersed in.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
This La Fire chaos that's happening. Now.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Have you visited any of the sites out to Dina Palisades?
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Yes, Actually we were able to get out to the
Palisades this morning right as the sun was rising. And
my goodness. We have covered our share of weather related disasters,
from hurricanes to tornadoes, to fires to floods, but nothing,
nothing with the scale and the scope of what we saw,
and just the indiscriminate nature of the fire. I think
(01:29):
that was jarring for us to know that an ember
can travel with the wind and suddenly one house can
be spared and the ten houses around it are gone.
And it was just it was eerie, and it was
I know, I've heard people describe it as apocalyptic, but
truly that is the word to describe it. Almost a
(01:50):
scene from the TV show The Walking Deck. I mean,
that's what it felt like.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
And she used the word Mario and discriminate, but I
guess at the same time you can also use the
word that the fire discriminates, because it seems like this
whole neighborhood is fine, but then the fire decided to
you know what, I'm gonna take this house out.
Speaker 5 (02:08):
I'm going to take this house out.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
So it feels like it is indiscriminate and it seems
to discriminate at the same time. But it always saw
we got a tour of fire chimneys today, right, because
that's the only thing that was left standing in so
many neighborhoods, that's the only thing that survives. It's just
on a level. And we talked about tornadoes that both
of us are from the South, and we can deal.
Speaker 5 (02:27):
With floods, we know hurricane damage.
Speaker 4 (02:29):
But it's just still it's weird to say, Mario that
this is like for folks who have spent decades covering
disasters to say I've never seen anything like this. Has
been a long time since I've been able to say that.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
No, you're You're absolutely right.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
And the thing is TJ that it's not necessarily over well.
The fires are aren't contained as we know, but we're
going to get more wins now and who knows what
damage I could possibly.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Cause there? What are your things?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
By the way, on the on the overall response and
readiness to the fires from the city government.
Speaker 5 (03:05):
You know, I can't.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
I can speak to the unfortunate nature of the political
back and forth. Yes, there needs to be a a
whole unpacking of the preparedness and then the response. Of course,
right now, we need to save each other. Right now,
we need to love each other right now, even politicians
need to be standing side by side at a podium saying,
you know what, will I will get back to cussing
(03:30):
this dude out later, but right now, he and I
or she and I are going to stand here and
give a united front. And that's that should be the
only thing I think right now we're talking about and unfortunate. Please,
sometimes our politicians let us down and sometimes are you know,
the preparedness might not have been what it should have been.
Speaker 5 (03:49):
That's not for me to say right now.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
And I also think it's interesting, Look, I understand what
I will say that I don't know the anger, the
fear and the frustration of someone who just not pulled,
perhaps lost my entire life, my money, and certainly people
lost friends and loved ones. So that's obviously at a
whole other level. But to be finger pointing right now
(04:11):
and signing petitions to get people who moved from office,
perhaps at that same level of passion could be put
towards you know, making meals and getting these GoFundMe pages.
That people need money, they need support, they need food,
they need shelter, And I know the finger pointing is
going to be important in perhaps the weeks and months
to come to get the right people in place, if
(04:33):
the right people aren't in place, to pave the way
for rebuilding, to pave the way for hope and renewal
and all of those things. But right now, just to
see people immediately start blaming one another is a tough
thing to watch as an outsider looking in. I don't
know what it's like to be in the middle of it,
and I know people want to blame someone, but it's
a tough situation to witness all around.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
But Mara, like you said, you asked kind of about
the response to whatnot, and then my answer should have
been has been heroic because the response is coming from
all those and you all have seen them here. Every
time you pass on the street, to anybody who is
in a firefighter's you know, a first responder of any kind,
you just want to go hug them, no matter where
they are, where they're from, and what they're doing, you
just want to.
Speaker 5 (05:12):
So the response, the right answer is that the response.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Has been heroic because they've been out there and we've
been hearing stories about the first couple of days, they
didn't sleep, they didn't eat at all for the first
couple of days of trying to fight these fires, and
you know, we went through today showing our press pass right,
so they let us through and whatnot, and they were
very serious doing their doing their job, make sure people
don't come back.
Speaker 5 (05:34):
You talk about the looting, Mario.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
But then as soon as we pulled out and we
just have a our producer grabbed just the boxes and
boxes of donuts, say hey, we run into some they're
hungry out there, and just they're they're doing their job.
They're very serious, Mario. We let me see your duke.
You've got it a fine, and then you hand them
a box of food and they just light up because
they are so they've been standing out there for.
Speaker 5 (05:55):
Hours on end. Some of them don't have a whole
lot to do.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Some of them are fighting fires, but everybody is playing
a role and they are absolute heroes from top to bottom.
So the response to how the response has been, it's
been absolutely hero Now.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
That's been beautiful to see.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
And we've seen them come as far as Mexico, even
in Canada from I saw. I was talking to some
firefighters from North Dakota. Actually that coming out here, and
you know the thing is everyone in La everyone knows
at least one person that has lost everything.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
That is the sad, sad fact here.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Have you been able to talk to many people on
the ground in the palisades that were.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
There, and we've actually we've been doing that all morning long,
and sadly, normally, you know, as a journalist are looking
for people to talk to. We we have had so
many people to talk to we can't even fit them
all in, which is is a sad situation because so
many people have lost so much. But you know what
I will say, and I know TJ has witnessed this
as well. Despite these folks who have lost all of
(06:57):
their worldly possessions, have lost their children's art work, they've
lost their grandfather's clock, they have, you know, all of
these things that can't be replaced, they have smiles on
their face. They have a positive, hopeful energy about them
that they're going to rebuild, that they're going to build
their communities back, because this isn't just one person's home
(07:19):
going down. This is an entire neighborhood. These are entire communities.
And to see them banding together and helping each other
out and feeling that spirit of community, it's lifting them
up and It was lifting us up talking to them,
because who are we to complain about anything right now
when people who have lost everything, thankfully but their lives
still sitting there with a twinkle in their eye, hope
(07:40):
in their heart, and a will to rebuild that is inspiring.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
And every single one on them we talked to had
us in stitches, laughing, like you don't know how to
receive They thoughts their home, they're dealing with this and that,
so you greet them in a very somber way, very
serious way.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
It doesn't take long.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
They're cracking jokes, they're making us more comfortable, they're making
us feel good, and they're taking it in strike. We
had a guy in here a short time ago, had
to flee. He's running and had to meet up with
his family somewhere later. And you know what, he opened
the bag that his wife packed for him, and she
put in the shorts he didn't like.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
Like, these are the shorts where my Lulu limit shorts.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
I never wear these shorts. Why would you pick these shorts?
Speaker 4 (08:20):
That kind of silly, kind of funny shing is still
there as well.
Speaker 5 (08:23):
So it's really incredible to just to see.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
How people react to their own situation, and it feels
so communal. Everybody in la is in the same boat
right now. If your house is still standing, if your
house is not still standing, if you don't live anywhere near,
then you might have lost your job in that area,
or your business might. It's just everybody has impacted. So
to fill the second largest city in the US feed
(08:48):
this small of a little communal, little town is yes,
in a way cool to see.
Speaker 5 (08:54):
Unfortunate that a tragedy brought it together.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
That's true.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
It is encouraging. It is encouraging. Switching gears real quick second.
In addition to the weekly podcast, y'all recently launched Morning Run,
which airs every weekday for those not familiar, tell me
about it, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Monday through Friday. In fact, DJ got up at eleven
thirty pm.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
That sounds stupid, doesn't it, Mario? You got I got
at eleven pm.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
This is.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
We launched this right after Labor Day and this is
our first time on the West Coast doing it, and
we have to remember that it still goes up East
Coast time. We want to get in time for the
commuters out there to listen to the podcast Get the
Headlines Monday through Friday, so we had to get up.
I got up at one thirty. You got up at
eleven thirty. That's truth be told. But we it's a
(09:44):
labor of love. We are back to doing the news
in the way we love doing it, where we get
to share the headlines and offer some perspective and just
get people caught up. Basically, it's between twenty and thirty
minutes every morning, but it's a way if you're however,
you're getting to work or taking your morning run, you
can run with us and we'll keep you updated, will
(10:05):
get you up to speed, so when you walk into
work or wherever you're headed, you kind of have a
pretty good idea of what's going on in the world.
And that's our hope.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
I like that. I like that. I like this sort
of bite size that's.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Eighty or twelve with all that, Now, do you also
happen to be runners? Because I know you did the
marathon recently, right, Yes.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
We are big time runners. We are marathon ers. Yes,
we are officially marathon ors.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
You don't mess around.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
We're debating about whether or not we should run while
we're here because of the air air quality.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Yeah, yeah, I would hit a treadmill maybe the air
quality is not too I've done a few marathons.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I'm probably.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Comfortable saying that they're behind me. It's they're daunting.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
As you know. But man, it's hard on the knees,
man in the shins.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
When you say a few, how many? How many?
Speaker 5 (10:52):
You know exactly how many.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
I've done the Boston, I've done the Vegas Marathon in
New York, and I did La so four.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
To be fair, though, during the Boston Marathon, he stopped
at someone's house and had lunch and used the restroom in.
Speaker 5 (11:04):
The middle of it.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
That was my first marathon, and that's also why that's
why Will Ferrell beat his time.
Speaker 5 (11:09):
That's right, that's right.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Was that that was my first marathon.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
That was for charity, and uh, I thought it was
going to be too white and I got hungry.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Somebody waved me over and offered me a meal. I
was like, yeah, all right, So I stopped, I had lunch.
He's true. Thank you for sharing that, and then I finished.
Speaker 5 (11:25):
The Uh that I find he ran on the pull stomach.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
As my bigger question, woo, that's side was it?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
It was a light lunch. I didn't crush it. I
didn't crush it. It was just like a light like
a sandwich, babe.
Speaker 5 (11:35):
But how long was the pit stop, Mario? And what
was your final time?
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Oh man, I met it was a good twenty minute
pit stop. It was a good twenty minute and I still.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Did it under four hours. I still did it under
four hours, because that.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Is twenty minute.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
But also it was like three fifty eight or something.
Speaker 5 (11:54):
That incredible.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
I think the important question. The important question is was
the meal worth it?
Speaker 3 (11:58):
It was stop I was I was a lot younger,
So let me say I was a lot younger. You know,
you're younger, yout a lot more energy and you could
just go for go for days. But no, man, it
was hard on my uh it was hard.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
On the on the shins and the and the knees.
And I'll tell you what. So I did a triathlon too.
And the scary thing there is the swimming. I don't
know if you've guys done one, but that's that's why
I have never done. Because the swimming is awful. I
sink like a rock. I strongly suggest unless you have to,
don't do it.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
I'm just swimming in open water period.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I have a verge out to that when feet in
your face or kicking, and then it's a it's a mess.
Speaker 2 (12:36):
It's a mess. Hey you did you get a tattoo
to commemorate the marathon?
Speaker 5 (12:40):
Man? I have. I can't show it to you.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
It's up the sleep but yet it's it's the route,
it's the actual course. And then and then I have
each date for the three New York City marathons I've done,
and I've left space to keep adding. I've told myself
I'm going to run the New York City Marathon every
year as long as my body allows the rest of
my life.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Wow, bravo.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
And right now I'm haven't run in a month and
a half because I would torn ligam into my foot.
Speaker 5 (13:07):
So there's that too, Mario.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
Yeah, oh, I got No, I've been there. I've been there,
and yeah, no, the New York one's nice. It's pretty
in the weather, it's a good time of year and everything.
But oh man, God bless you with that one. You guys,
Thanks for all the great work you're doing down there.
Appreciate you taking the time to talk to me and listen.
Be sure to catch TJ and Amy on their podcast
The Morning We're On and TJ and Amy available now.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks so much for checking in.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
Thanks Mario, Take care.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Guys Loud with Mario Lopez