Acknowledgments

One the one hand, thanking those who've had some impact on who you are and what you do has become a bit of a cliché.  On the other hand, I'm so deeply indebted to some people, this is perhaps the most effective way to thank them all in any proper sense.  In other words, the cliché becomes practical.

First, I'd like to thank my Mom and Dad (or Mum and Pop, as I like to call them).  Everyone gets up and thanks their parents, which I always thought was kind of silly when I was growing up.  Of course, now that I'm in my late twenties, I can understand why!  If going through life could be thought of as going from "Point A to Point B", between those two points there has been some pretty absurd terrain.  My Mom and Dad were always there to help me.  Somehow they knew just how much help to give.  To little, and I would have been face first in the mud.  To much, and I wouldn't be able to fend for myself later on.  They were always honest and open with me, traits that I've learned to value the most.  Looking back on it, I can only really think of it as good parenting.  For the first twenty years (or so...) of my life, I hadn't a clue of "what I wanted to do when I grew up".  What boggles my mind is that they were always helpful and supportive of whatever I wanted to do.... even when I decided that I wanted to study dinosaurs!   I could probably write volumes of thankful tidbits to my folks, all of which they are wholly deserving, but(!) to do so would swamp the other people I'd like to thank.  In a sense, by thanking my parents more, I'd be thanking the others less. (Plus they got two italicized words in their paragraph.)

I'm also very much indebted to my Grandparents: Elma and John Hallett (Dad's), and Catherine Young (Mom's Mum).  Elma and John Hallett were always interested in, and encouraging of, my early attempts artwork... nearly all of which were cartoon animals. (Perhaps I could persuade Mom to scan the dinosaurs I drew in the hospital 20 years ago... which still exists in my closet at home) My other Grandmother, Catherine Young (who was actually a professional artist as early as the 1940's), provided not only encouragement and inspiration throughout my life, but provided the quintessential catalyst to my doing artwork professionally when I came to her in December of 2001 needing insight on how to tackle my first "assignment".

I should also thank a handful of teachers. Ron Porrier was my high school chemistry and physics teacher who taught me the science is fun... and more importantly, that I wasn't as dumb as I thought. Eric Simonian was (maybe still is?) a high school math teacher who cared about students and kept me from burning out and pointed me back towards college. At the University of Rhode Island, Dave Fastovsky was the one who introduced me to dinosaurs, paleontolgy, and comparative thinking. Rick Rhodes was the one who made really turned me on to how fun anatomy is.

Last, but not least, I'd like to thank the Evolutionary Morphology group here at Ohio University.  The interest and caliber of research happening here is truly world class, and consequently the bar is held pretty high.  The members of the Witmer Lab (past and present) have been especially helpful.  Through them I've not only learned a wealth of comparative anatomy, but I've also had the opportunity to work on (and learn about) some very interesting projects.  Larry Witmer deserves special mention.  Larry's artistic know-how, high standards, interesting projects, and unending encouragement have allowed me see beyond the challenges and find the solution.