Family First

This may seem like false modesty, but it isn’t intended to be. I am happy my teams at UCLA and elsewhere did well and we earned a measure of recognition. But all of that is nothing compared to my family: Nellie, our two children, our seven grandchildren, and all ten of our great-grandchildren. All that love is immeasurable.

My great-granddaughter, Cori, asked me the other day, “Papa, how much longer are you going to live?” I had to chuckle because when you’re my age, people tend to be a little more diplomatic with questions like that.

“Cori, dear,” I said, “why do you ask me that?”

“Because I will be able to drive a car in six more years and I want you to teach me how, Papa.”

I thought, “What an honor she has given me.”

Your family is what counts, and you must always remember that as you get caught up in your own professional responsibilities.

I’m very proud of the fact that while all the records were being set at UCLA by our basketball teams, I felt exactly the same way. Family is first. Always. Always.