My parents were very helpful. They taught us that it was the most important thing in the world. The house was always filled with books and my mother read to us nightly when we were young. My dad, especially, stressed education. The GI Bill saved him and us from a life of poverty. He was pretty strict about homework, but always very helpful. They made a lot of sacrifices to keep us in private schools and I will always be thankful to them for that. There was never any question that we would all (seven kids) attend college and twelve years of private schools and tutoring made that much easier for all of us.