Mascot of the Month: Touchstone - UCLA

So, we all know I love my alma mater.  UCLA was a place where I came into my own, deepened my friendship with two long time friends (Clay and Flaco) and made many others.  Also some mistakes, which we won't go into.
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But UCLA is my Mascot this month for a different and very personal reason.  Growing up with my father was always exciting and eventful.  Often moving from one place to another to avoid the police, the bill collectors or a woman he was divorcing at the drop of a hat.  So, as a youth, I developed a few touchstones that always made me think of home and relaxed me.
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They were: 1. Palm Trees (particularly the huge tall ones (actually Cape Verde Palms planted for the 1932 Olympics) that towered over 100 feet dotted around Los Angeles.  Viewable from freeways, airplanes, pretty much any apartment building and in the Randy Newman's I Love LA video.
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2. The pounding of the Pacific Coast Waves at night - alone.
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3. Disneyland - because I used to get dropped off with a packet of extra tickets left over and run wild (which would get Honey thrown in jail now, but was a break for both of us when I was young and hyperactive and she enjoyed lunch with a glass of wine away from a crazy child).
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Well, over time my touch points changed.  Eddie and Trevor mean home in the "home and hearth" kind of way.  And UCLA has become my touchstone for home in the "place that made me who I am" kind of way.
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Like Disneyland, UCLA has changed since I was there (I actually attended and worked at both - go figure).  But the changes are secondary.  It is still a location for learning, for growth, for dreaming of a better world.
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Their big marketing push for the last year or two has been UCLA is a place for Optimists - showing how many positive influences they have delivered over the years.  From Ann Meyers (first woman to get a men's basketball try out) to Arthur Ashe, to Carol Burnett to Nobel Prize winners.  And me.  You may not think of me as an Optimist, but compared to what I was before I went - whew! I don't think there are words.
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Just a tree from the Quad overlooking Westwood Hills.  It's relaxing isn't it.
None of the showy reds and yellows seasons changing.  UCLA just is.

Anyway, UCLA gave me opportunities unlike anything I expected (I suppose all colleges do for their graduates).  I took some opportunities, passed on some I regret and failed on others and never regretted it.  So here is to UCLA - Mascot of the Month.
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Also I have to get it in soon; 2017 will be UCLA's 100 birthday and everyone will be on the bandwagon.
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Also - Happy 2014 Everybody.