There were so many people who were influencing on my life in the early days. Again, I have to refer back to what Earl Davis used to do for me when he went to a conference. He’d say, “You oughta go to this conference” and I’d say, “Well, I have to get there” and he’d say, “Well, maybe I can work something out.” And he’d give me the time off and I would go maybe for part of the conference. I was not a member in the early days, but he’d somehow get me into the meetings and I’d listened to the lectures and listened to other zoo directors. And I found myself at a lot of the late night sessions that are so common at zoo conferences, listening to all these zoo directors who were friends of Earl and listening to their comments, always talking about what they would like to see in their zoos, what they’re going to do. And I just soaked that like a sponge. And I think that hopefully is not missing in the present situation that we have in the zoo business.
