Pigeons and Persons

While running today, I continuously came across pigeons that refused to fly to get out of my way, choosing instead to jump or run from my path. It's a bizarre behavior that I've never understood - you've got wings - use them! Your a bird - flying is part of your job.
But then I began to think how similar humans are to pigeons. We have arms and legs to do physical labor, to walk and run, to climb and push, yet as technology improves nearly everything we conceive of is made specifically for the purpose of refraining from doing what is in our nature.
At times I wonder are these NYC pigeons, which clearly have an abundance of food and the bodies to show for it, are they too fat to fly properly? Is that the reason? And is that why, when an American goes shopping Walmart they choose to circle the parking lot for an additional twenty minutes looking for a closer parking spot in order to avoid walking and additional twenty feet?

A Great Book!!!

Just recently finished reading Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, and was blown away by the book - a true account of the Zeitoun's families many struggles during the Hurricane Katrina debacle. Zeitoun himself is a Syrian-born man who immigrated to the United States, where he met and married his blonde-haired wife, Kathy, a young, forceful woman who had converted to the Muslim faith after becoming jaded with her own Christian institutions. The two of them are raising 3 children, whom Kathy takes out of the city prior to the storm's arrival, leaving her resourceful husband, who runs and manages his own construction business, to protect and defend their home.
Obviously we are all aware of the extent of physical damage that the Hurricane and the broken levee's inflicted upon the city of New Orleans, however I was surprised to read about the rammifications upon the psyche of the not just the residents, but also the officials that were sent there to assist. Despite the factual accuracy of this book, I found myself more than once thinking about the relationship of this book to Cormac McCarthy's The Road. It becomes quickly obvious that not only does power corrupt, but that justice is frequently only in the eyes of the beholder. No matter what your political beliefs, it becomes quite clear that the federal decisions being made during that time were irreversibly damaging to America.