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I'm a local veterinarian.
I have an office in the Green Haven pocket area,
though I do write full time now,
I still do a little volunteer work.
Because my first love was veterinary
medicine, again you've probably heard
this story before --
From third grade I knew I wanted to be
a veterinarian.
I had that assignment that all teachers give,
what do you want to be when you grow up.
It was a point of moral dilemma for me when
I got that essay.
I remember sitting at my desk as a
third grader going, "I know I want to be
a veterinarian, I just don't know how to
spell it."
[laughter from crowd]
So I thought, well, I know how to spell
policemen and fireman and I can shoot out
this essay and go and play...
but I really wanted to be a veterinarian.
It was sort of the beginning of my research
career as a third grader.
I did the one thing all third graders
don't like to do, I went and got the dictionary
and looked it up.
Determined to be a veterinarian
from third grade.
Now the odd part about that story,
jump forward to the first day entering
veterinary school,
the dean walks in and says, "Okay everybody,
take out a sheet of paper, we're having a pop
quiz. It's a one question quiz. Write the word
veterinarian."
[laughter]
Not everybody got it right.
I did!
From third grade I was prepared to
answer that question.
So I still love animals.
You'll see a lot of animals in my books.
Initially there weren't too many
animals in my books.
My clients used to ask me, "Well Jim,
you're a veterinarian, why aren't you writing
about a veterinarian? Shouldn't you do
'Marley and Me' or 'All Creatures Great
and Small'?"
And my answer to them was, well, not enough
people die in those novels.
[laughter]
I'm working 14, 16, 18 hours a as a vet,
I don't want to go home and write about a vet.
I wanted to go on these outlandish adventures.
So, I forgot my train of thought.
What was I thinking about.
People dying.
Well thank you, that's always a
good thing.
[Sound of ancient door opening]