As a little girl in the 1950’s my family would often spend spring break on my Grandfather’s ranch known to us simply as “Mecca”. Mecca was located in the California desert somewhere between Palm Desert and the Salton Sea. The little town, in those days, still had hitching posts for horses and to my memory looked a lot like the towns represented in Western movies of the day. My brothers and I would bring friends for the week and after introducing the newbies to a “snipe hunt”(I need say no more to those of you who know what that is). We would enjoy laying out on the grass at night and watch the stars come out. Immersed in the awe and wonder of the expanding universe before us, we would always wish upon the first star we discovered every night. Our little hearts filled with hope and wonder as the burgeoning night sky unfolded its eternity of stars and possibilities before us. Wishing upon a star became a cherished activity for me both at the ranch in Mecca and back at home in Tustin.