I'm nearly finished reading a book of Jane Goodall's "early years" letters. You all know Jane of chimp study fame.

She was a prolific letter writer, detailing her daily activities and observations to family and colleagues.

For reasons known only to her, she eagerly took the position of investigating a particular chimp group in Tanzania, Africa. Few "well-bred" young ladies would ever consider spending one week, let alone many years, camping out alone in the jungle observing chimpanzees and other wildlife. The rain, heat, insects, living conditions, etc., would quickly drive anybody but Jane away from such a miserable lifestyle.

At first, she was fairly naive about what she was getting into. But as time wore on, she became addicted to chimp observation. Her discoveries are legendary (starting in the early 1960s). I'm proud to say I have financially supported her passion for many years, for without Jane, I'm afraid our closest animal kingdom relatives would be wiped out by my fellow Homo sapiens (wise man?).