MASCOT
Any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name.
Some names you might recognise:
1 Pillsbury Dough Boy
2 Mr. Clean
3 Tony the Tiger
4 Energizer Bunny
5 Ronald McDonald
6 Jolly Green Giant
7 Kool-Aid Man
8 Chester Cheetah
9 Mr. Peanut
10 Michelin Man
ALTER EGO
"A person who has a strong liking for and trust in another Move on a few years. It is said, and a friend of mine, now gone, once warned me of this, that people of our age (I’m now older than she was) never make new friends. I’d be in dire straits if that was true. Unlike my friend, I did not grow old in my home town; I had to find new people. The hard part is that as you grow older you grow more demanding. Friendships from one’s youth depend on proximity or shared experiences. Mature friendships require more like minds and focussed interests, or so I find. I’m talking real friendships, not ones of convenience or accident. In the last year I have been rarely fortunate to have met three new people (all women) who are absolute wonders. Talk about serendipity! I am blessed. One of them, my cabin-mate on the cruise we took that missed Easter Island, was the first new friend. She spotted me on the previous long (‘world’) cruise when we met, and suggested we room together for the Easter Island no-go (who knew?) .She more than made up for the broken promise of the island. I can give you a character reference, if you like, and examples of like-mindedness, but trust me, she is pure gold. It’s too bad we live quite far apart and in different countries, but these are merely challenging obstacles to be overcome, not as overwhelming as in past centuries. To be brief (at last!) she sent me a bear, a stuffed bear called Jane (I named her; I should have been Jane, not Bettyjane). Jane is my new alter ego, and what a comfort she is! June, my friend, who has a bear named Juniper, knew I needed Jane. Already, when I hug my very own bear, I can feel - don’t laugh or scoff - my core relaxing and flowing into Jane. I have been very tense, I realised, as I have been struggling with my screenplay, with my still weakened body after three months of forced (by my wounded leg) inactivity, and by my increasing age, that I mostly refuse to acknowledge. June knew. Jane knows. I am so blessed.