“When I first moved to Calabasas, the thing to do was to join the Calabasas Tennis Club and get lessons with Mary Pat Faley. I’m thinking; I don’t play tennis so why should I do that? But the alienation I felt from not joining the club or taking lessons from Mary Pat was more than I could bear, so I got on the waiting list for both the club and MP’s clinics and it was downhill from there…but in a good way!

When I finally got in the club, I would sit by the sidelines and watch MP teach and I could not believe she did not tie her shoelaces! I thought to myself; when I get lessons from her, she is going to have to tie her shoes! I thought for sure my artful placing of the ball would have to be the thing that would make her tie her shoe laces so she could run down my ball, but before I even hit the ball she was standing in the place where it was going to land! Well many clinics and lessons later and in 100 degree plus heat (on some days) later, she never tied her shoes for me or anyone else…

Then one day when I was having a lesson, I asked MP if she wanted to ride the 600-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money for people with AIDS?  She said to me, “Melin, you don’t even have a bike!” and I said, “So, I’m going to get one and so should you, so let’s do it!” And we did!

MP was so strong and inspirational on the rides and on the multiple training rides that she mentored many riders to continue riding even on their darkest days of riding. She even climbed the biggest hill over ten times on the ride in order to get riders to continue even though she blew out her Achilles tendon. Today she is still an avid cyclist; considering she has had multiple accidents and has even overcame DVT.  She continues to teach tennis and motivate people to push their limits without regret.
I’m happy to have known MP for all this time and she has not abandoned me when I left the Calabasas life after divorce and moved to the Westside, we continue to be friends.”