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| Libertad Green & Mark Wasserman |
WMV: We'd like to do an in-depth, personalized interview with you, if you promise not to take offense, and simply ignore any questions you don't want to answer, and answer the ones you do.
Mark: I take no offense; I am objective and honest, and thank you for the opportunity. O.K., you ask questions just like a professional so I know you know what you are doing!
WMV: Mr. Wasserman, rumor has it that one of your relatives was a Hollywood celebrity. Please tell us about that.
Mark: No problem, and please call me Mark!
WMV: O.K., Mark!
Mark: Thanks!My grandfather's brother, Lew R. Wasserman, has been called "The Last Mogul." The Wasserman family was in Cleveland, Ohio, and Lew worked in a movie theater, and one day, Doctor Jules Stein came in and noticed Lew at work, and hired him to run his company M.C.A. [Music Corporation of America]. Believe it or not, my Uncle Lew... never wanted to be famous, [but] actually created Hollywood, and worked as "the Last Mogul" for sixty years, eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. Look him up on Google: Lew Wasserman! Type his name and that is all you will see!
"The Last Mogul: Lew Wasserman, MCA and the Hidden History of Hollywood"
He passed away, and my cousin Casey inherited the fame and money; living in Los Angeles, he continues to carry on the Wasserman name.
WMV: Your Facebook indicates that you live in Universal City, California, but rumor has it that you live in Las Vegas, Nevada, on "the Strip." Where do you currently reside?
Mark: I put Universal City because my Uncle Lew is the reason that Universal is not only a studio, but a city. He achieved making Universal a city by arranging to have a United States Post Office to be located there close to his movie studio, which I believe was a four hundred-acre chicken ranch before his company bought it.
WMV: We're also interested in your personal entertainment career, fixing slot machines, et cetera.
Mark: I can fix anything electronic.
My personal career has spanned forty years, professionally. I started out learning classic vacuum tube and transistor component level electronics. I have worked in the aircraft industry on the B-1B Bomber, doing avionics and electronics work. I spent many years doing work for the public safety radio service. I did work for all the hospital emergency rooms in North L.A. County and Edwards Air Force Base, the paramedics, Fire Department, [and] Wilson Ambulance. I designed, built, and installed [the] Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center communications, interfacing it with the L.A. County equipment on top of Hauser Mountain in Palmdale, California. I also was asked to design, build, and install a security alert system for the Palmdale Air Terminal located on Plant 42, [in] Palmdale California. I also designed the Emergency Operations Communications Centers for the City of Palmdale and Lancaster.
I have moved on up to working in the computer field as an Information Technology Specialist. I am one of the few people left in the world today that still has the knowledge to work on vacuum tube band amplifiers which [gives] guitar players... a particular sound that can only be achieved from the distortion that is produced by the odd harmonics of tubes, which transistors cannot do. I have continued my computer career, and now live in Las Vegas, Nevada, [working] as a Computer Technology Support [technician] for a global... company.
WMV: "Wasser" means "water" in German. Are you German?
Mark: No, my great grandparents came from Russia in the 1800's, and were Jewish.
WMV: Your Facebook address is:
www.facebook.com/mark.i.wasserman
What does the "I" stand for?
Mark: Middle name "Isaac" - my grandfather's middle name - William Isaac Wasserman. His father's first name was Isaac.
WMV: Your Facebook indicates that you are from Clevedand, Ohio. Where were you born?
Mark: I was born in Los Angeles, California in 1958; I was given up for adoption, as my biological parents did not want me, [nor] my biological sister, who I do not even know.
WMV: Your Facebook indicates that you were born on the Fourth of July. You have said that you are four years older than me. Were you born July 4, 1958?
Mark: I was born 5 July, 1958. I changed my birthday because I was born just a few hours after midnight, and my uncle Lew, not only changed his first name from "Lou" to "Lew," thinking he would sound less Jewish, but he also changed his birthday by three days.
WMV: What is your occupation?
Mark: Basically, I am a electronics technician that started out with component level electronics and repairs. I have a commercial F.C.C. [Federal Communications Commission] General Radiotelephone License, and a F.C.C. Amateur Advanced License. I kept my Novice call sign. They eliminated the Novice Class licenses many years ago, and also eliminated the Advanced class too. I had to take a thirteen-word-per-minute, Morse code test, and four written tests, to get this license. I passed the twenty-word-per-minute Morse code, but was unable to take the written test in the time period [allotted] because I had cancer, and put it off, and never returned to obtain the Extra Class License.
WMV: What do you love most about your work?
Mark: The best possible thing I get from my work is the ability to help people in their everyday, daily life! I really enjoyed working at all of the hospitals, and the school districts... I have spent four years as a volunteer working with disabled students, on my own time, when I was a student at Antelope Valley College, and continued... as a volunteer for one year after I graduated, to help serve my community because Jerry Brown cut the budget for the tutors for disabled students, and he also raised the tuition from $15 per unit up to $157 per unit!
WMV: Two reasons to vote for Neel Kashkari...
Your Facebook indicates that you quit smoking in 1989. What did and/or do you smoke?
Mark: I started smoking at age eight, and stopped at age twenty-nine, but at age thirty-one was diagnosed with cancer; originally, I refused treatment, and one day my adopted mother came to my house and told me to, "Get in the car; we are going to the hospital!" I still refused, but you don't tell a mother no, as she literally dragged me to the car and made me go, and I had emergency surgery that day. I was in poor condition with Stage 3 cancer, and this is quite a long story, as they made three major mistakes over the next two years, telling me I needed to get my affairs in order because I would not survive.
WMV: Your Facebook indicates that you "overcame cancer" in 1991. What words of encouragement, if any, would you like to share with any of our readers who may have cancer?
Mark: I can answer this, but it [would] be next week before I have time. I am a cancer survivor, [and] my girlfriend also is a cancer survivor. We both like to donate time to help the cancer kids at any hospital that will have us.
I donated my hair last year to the cancer kids at children's hospital.WMV: You've mentioned rediscovering a woman who was your girl friend thirty years ago. Who is she, and do you plan on getting married?
Mark: This is a fairy tale come true! Yes, I have a girlfriend... We met in 1981, and went out. Many years later, [in] 2013, she found me on Facebook, and we have been in contact [ever] since [then]. We are taking up where we left off, and we both are in love! I can elaborate more if you wish!
WMV: No need to elaborate! I take it that whether you will get married remains to be seen.
What talents and hobbies do you have?
Mark: My talents are not only electronics, but I have, over the years, been active in building many different things, using wood, metal, plastic, and anything else.
I am an animal lover and enjoy nature.
WMV: What inspires you?
Mark: I believe that my heart inspires me in ways to do good and help less fortunate people because it makes me feel good.
WMV: When and why did you start walking barefoot?
Mark: Growing up in the Mojave Desert, I never liked wearing shoes, especially in the summertime. Trust me, it takes many years before a person can walk barefoot through the desert on a summer day. Walking barefoot in an asphalt parking lot is very extreme, and I do not recommend it.
WMV: People, including me, have suggested you resemble one of the characters on "The Flintstones." Do you agree?
Mark: I will let you decide the answer to that question.
WMV: Do you like the Flintstones?
Mark: When I grew up, Saturday morning cartoons and [watching] the Flintstones were one of the few things for us kids to do.
WMV: Your Facebook profile pic is of what appears to be a poster with the words "Peace," "Love," and "Rock" on it, as well as a picture of a guitar. What musical instruments, if any, do you play?
Mark: During grade school I learned to play acoustic bass, cello, and violin, reading music, and music theory, for about three years. Sixth Grade, I gave up those instruments and learned how to play acoustic guitar, which I gave up by Ninth Grade, and turned into a live entertainment concert goer. The reference to "Peace," "Love, and "Rock" is because I grew up in the 1960's when the Viet Nam conflict had a lot of war protesters, and that was one way for people to show their support for peace because we have no enemies!
WMV: O.K.!
Who are your favorite rock stars?
Mark: In this order: The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Heart.
My favorite musician of all time is Johann Sebastian Bach, as other musicians during the Baroque period didn't like him; they all said his music is too complex and hard to play.
WMV: You mentioned fixing slot machines at Circus Circus, but rumor has it you're fixing the package tracking software for U.P.S. [United Parcel Service]. What exactly is your new job, and who exactly are you working for?
Mark: I wish to keep my current employment confidential at this time. I have recently resigned from the Palmdale School District as a Computer Technology Support Liaison, and here, in Las Vegas, several major hotels have offered me employment, passing the necessary background checks, among one of them is the M.G.M. [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer] Grand hotel, [which] has reserved a Computer Technology Job for me anytime in the future.
WMV: Very impressive! Congratulations, Mark!
Your Facebook indicates that you were a tour guide at Three Mile Island. Is that true, or just a joke?
Mark: No, this is not a joke, but, really, I do not work as a tour guide for Three Mile Island, [but I] want people to be aware that nuclear power not only is unsafe, as it emits radiation into the air, even when working properly, and nuclear power is not efficient, [but] is a poor choice to produce energy. It is dangerous as Chernobyl and Three Mile Island both had issues, and even though they are geographically located a long distance from the United States, we all share one planet, and the detrimental consequences from nuclear power endanger the entire planet!
WMV: [NOTE: Three Mile Island is in the U.S.A., in the State of Pennsylvania.]
Your Facebook also indicates that you studied at "the School of Hard Knocks." Please share with our readers one or more examples of the "hard knocks" you've received.
Mark: I grew up, basically, without my biological parents, and lucky that my biological grandparents took care of me until I was fifteen years old. It was hard on them, as they were close to retirement age.
WMV: Your Favorite Quotes on Facebook are, apparently:
"Lonely feeling deep inside,
Find a corner where I can hide
Silent footsteps crowding me,
Sudden darkness, but I can see"
"I need to laugh, and when the sun is out,
I've got something I can laugh about
I feel good, in a special way
I'm in love and it's a sunny day."
That sounds like words to a song about sugar, am I right?
Mark: Quotes from two songs that seem to relate to me, the [second] one is from The Beatles song, "Good Day Sunshine!" This has been my dream my whole life, and now it is reality. My girlfriend, who I met through her family, as I have known them for forty years... In 1980, I took a motorcycle in my duplex apartment, to rebuild the engine, and some gasoline got on the floor, and the whole place exploded, and the force of the explosion sent me sailing into the wall; my room mate was outside, and lucky for me, he carried me outside, and my clothes were on fire; he was able to get a blanket from the neighbors, and wrapped it around me to extinguish the flames; then I ended up in the hospital with Third Degree burns on my legs. I was lucky he was there, as he was also a family member of my current girlfriend, and, since I burned the apartment down to the ground, I ended up staying at my current girlfriend's grandmother's house. That is when I met this special lady.
WMV: [NOTE: The first verse is from the song "No Sugar Tonight," by The Guess Who; the second is from the Beatles song, "Good Day Sunshine."]
That sounds like a particularly "hard knock"!
What is the hardest part of your job(s)?
Mark: I never found anything hard about any job, except maybe driving from one job site to another, and some of the long, long hours that I have worked my whole life.
WMV: What foreign languages, if any, do you read, write, and/or speak?
Mark: Growing up with Jewish grandparents, I was put in Hebrew school around age ten. I did not want to do this, but out of respect for the greatest, nicest people in the world, my grandparents... My grandfather was Uncle Lew's brother, and they were all into the Jewish religion.
WMV: Rumor has it you read and write several computer languages as fluently as English. What languages are those?
Mark: The only two computer languages I really spent any time with was B.A.S.I.C., Beginners All Purpose Symbolic Information Code, and Assembly Language for the I.B.M. [International Business Machines] 8088, and 80286 C.P.U.'s [Central Processing Units]. I was highly proficient in D.O.S. [Disk Operating System] batch file programming also, which is not used much these days.
WMV: Where have you traveled?
Mark: Funny story, when I was five years old, my grandmother took me to Cleveland, Ohio, to visit her sister- and brother-in-law, and, while there, somehow, I got locked in the bathroom, and they had to call the fire department to take the door off to rescue me.
I have also traveled to San Francisco for several months.
Recently, I went to visit a good friend in Golden, Colorado, and spend a week there.
I also lived in Mammoth Lakes, California, for two years.
I have gone to Mexico on four-day fishing trips many times, over the years.
Yosemite, California is the nicest place I have ever been, camping for a week, and going white water rafting was an experience of a lifetime.
WMV: What are your career goals?
Mark: My career goal now is to make a million dollars in the next ten years, then retire and work out of my house. I have designed and invented many electronics projects over the years, and I may pursue one of them, and see if Gene Simmons from the band KISS [will] become a business partner to help get this to market.
WMV: What projects are you working on?
Mark: I am working on my health. Learning what to eat, exercise, and spend time with my girlfriend. I may continue my electronics education in the computer field, obtaining a few more computer industry certifications, and keep up on current technology, as I am an electronics hobbyist.WMV: What upcoming events, if any, do you intend to participate in?
Mark: My girlfriend and I wish to continue our live entertainment hobby, seeing live music events; we will see KISS and Andrew Dice Clay, here, in Las Vegas, next month. I have seen hundreds of live musical events, and that is also a hobby I share with my past but current girlfriend. We will be together forever!
WMV: How nice!
What links would you like to share?
Mark: I already shared anything and everything I have, but think my best asset is sharing knowledge with less fortunate people.
Take a look at:
palmdalecam.com
the first, and only streaming web cam in the Antelope Valley... for twenty years... operated by Bob Miller, President of Telecomm West. This is the best choice for all of your telecommunications and telephone systems available.
The site is hosted by Patrick, at Q-Net, in Palmdale, California. Established in 1994, QNET continues to be a leading Internet provider for both residential and business customers.
Palmdale Cam is located at the four-thousand-foot level of Tenhi Mountain, three miles southwest of Palmdale. This site has an extensive amount of geographical knowledge of the The Antelope Valley, with many unknown facts.
The streaming cam provides a good view of the Antelope Valley, looking north as far as the eye can see.
WMV: What else, if anything, would you like to tell our readers?
Mark: Tough question, as I have many answers, but would like everybody to be happy and enjoy life, doing whatever they like, and growing up without a family - cannot tell them how important having family is!
WMV: Thank you very much for granting LA Libertad this interview, Mark!
Mark: No problem! I have lived [an] interesting life, and kept tons of negative stuff out of it.
Interview and photo by William Mortensen Vaughan
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