365 Project. Day 249, September 6: My first job after college was working for USC University and Alumni Events. During my time there, I quarterbacked two major events in particular of which I'm very proud, and both were for my band, the Trojan Marching Band -- aka TGMBITHOTU (The Greatest Marching Band In The History Of The Universe ). One was at Universal Studios, where the park allowed me to arrange for actual band members to infiltrate the attractions, so that while the big-donor alumni rode past in one ride or another, a pair of TMB trumpet players or a flag girl would dash across the set. It was hilarious and unprecedented for Universal Studios to allow this, and I had to work them like a second job to make it happen.
The second event was this one: Pops at Pacifica. For years, the band's biggest annual fundraiser was Pops at Pickfair, held at the mansion of Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. That venue was unavailable the year I finally got to run it -- my first major event. So we moved the party to Casa Pacifica, was known as Richard Nixon's "Western White House". It was a grand party with a Mexican theme, with margaritas, Mexican food, and of course the Trojan Band in concert.
The best part of it was that I was able to invite my parents to the swanky affair. I will never, ever forget the admiration in my father's eyes, when he realized that I had overseen every detail of the afternoon. I had spent my entire life chasing after my dad's extremely reluctant and understated approval. My graduation from USC, cum laude, with two bachelor's degrees, had earned me a mere, "That's really great, kid." So finally getting a little unbridled admiration was something that fueled me for decades. I still have a glass or two from the event.
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