Are you a Big Bird or a Little Bird?

Congratulations on being the first responder! You must be a little bird to fly so quick. And it is one very good response, at that. So, you recognize the difference between big and little birds? And, grabbing bigger and bigger chunks of meat or bread with an increase in size? Something terribly mathematical about that... Wish I could figure out the actual logrithm, but it's been too long since I studied higher mathematics.

I guess you do get big enough to at least survive against the really big birds. Depends on your genetics. Myself, I just stay my size, keep my little power base, or my supply of money, and prepare to retreat at a moment's notice. But, I can't blame you for wanting to get bigger. I'm questioning, though, your wanting to hurt the smaller birds as a means of getting ahead. So, you have a trade-off here, and this will be a theme I return to again and again: The bigger you get, the slower you'll be, and therefore, you may not able to catch those little birds who are just as hungry as you are.

I do thank you for responding, and I'm out of here.

Dan

The issue here is that once you are big, you don't get smaller, you just die if there is not enough food. So keeping too many of the little birds become big birds, the big birds start to starve. I mean lets face it there is only so much bread that is going to be thrown out there. So you have a choice, find a way to survive with less bread, or get more bread.

If there are too many little birds all taking a little, there won't be enough for the big birds unless they fight off the little birds as you saw in your setup. Of course there is also another option. I could fly across the street to McDonalds and get Frech Fries. Then I could be REALLY big.

LOL! You're right. To heck with fighting over the scraps - just fly across the street and get a biggie size of a quarter pounder with cheese and French fries.

Unfortunately, there's been a bit too much of that, as the current obesity rates can tell. You ever notice that animals don't have a weight problem. They always eat just enough, but not too much. That's because of competition, I suppose. In the church world, where I was raised, there were lots of rules - no cussing, no drinking, no wearing long hair for men, no doing drugs, and no smoking. But, for some reason, there wasn't a rule against overeating. And so, what do you know? There was a high ratio of Pentecostals that were overweight.

I think you're either born a big bird or a little bird, and the cracklings can afford to be aggressive because of their size. Whereas, you're right, there's a lot of sparrows, too. And if there are too many of them, there won't be enough food to go around. The point is that this was an easy meal for both of them. Keep on keepin' on, Big Bird. I'm glad I got at least one respondent that is willing to admit that they are power-hungry and we are just going to have to keep ourselves from getting in front of that beak!

I think my cat is a perfect counter example to two of your points here, She definately has eaten herself into obesity even with good food, and she loves Catnip. So I think the reason most animals don't do drugs is because they haven't figgured them out yet, and the reason they don't overeat is because they either have to work really hard for their food, or their humans don't give them enough to evereat.

As for admitting to being power hungry/ Money hungry I guess it is a rare breed that admits to it, but wouldn't everyone rather have $20 than $5. And if you bought a car and you had a choice of two free oil changes or three free oil changes as a perk, you would take three every time.

Always good to hear from you, Hilda.

Yes, you are the tiny sparrow. It actually took a lot of nerve for the sparrows to chance an encounter with the larger birds to grab a bite. They really had no choice, though. It was either, eat or die. Given the size differential, though, dying of hunger may have been preferable, but I hardly think so. Point is, that the little sparrows have to eat, and so do the cracklings. Which will rule?

I believe God keeps his eye on the sparrow, but He's also for the crackling. He wants both of them to eat. He wants the big guy and the little guy to each make ends meet. He wants the mighty and the powerful, and the weak and the impoverished, to each get their share. We must recognize that the mighty and the powerful are bound to eat, for they require more to survive. Truth is, in my little story, that the cracklings, after the other two showed up, eventually drove off the sparrows. There's really no contest. I'm sure if I would have stayed a little longer, I would have found that more and more cracklings showed up.

There is a saying, "Might makes right." Unfortunately, this is only so true. I don't want to seem despairing, in any way. But, all the national symbols for all the nations that rule the world depict fiercesome creatures. The eagle, the bear, the dragon, the lion. And what is the U.S. best known for? It's Air Force. And Russia? It's tremendous infantry. And China? It's deception. And England? It's vicious fighting nature. So, big birds do tend to rule. Might decides the battle, everytime.

The U.S. has had a policy of overwhelming force for its defense for several years, now. And look how well it works. We were able to beat Haiti, Grenada, and Iraq hands down! We invited the news media so that would be able to witness for themselves what a mighty power we were. Oh, and there is that pharmaceutical factory we bombed in the Sudan. Boy, was that ever an achievement! There's not many countries that could say that they obliterated an entire factory on a different continent over the possibility of having an affair with the sitting president revealed. Fortunately, there was nobody at work that day, or else, there may have been an unfortunate loss of life.

However, the new Russian Republic, and the new Chinese government, are not Haiti or Grenada or Iraq. Neither is Iran. Doggone it, why can't they all be little birds? These ol' boys got some muscle, big armies, nuclear-equipped navies, and modern biological weapons. Maybe we ought to just step back a minute and reconsider our position. Maybe what we did was p*ss off some of the worst adversaries in the whole big world. You know, guys that like to kick your you-know-what just for the fun of it. Ah, those are the big birds, and in this particular case, they are not the same breed as us, and they are definitely on our side. As I say, let's reconsider, before we decide that our policy of attacking the little birds is the actual reality of the world-as-it-is. Fact is, that some really big birds will appear rather docile, and like they don't care, but they do very much care, and money is why they care.

Thanks for commenting, as always. Cheers, or, er Happy Hannukah, or er, Merry Christmas (sorry, had to throw that in, even though I know we were supposed to have taken Christ out of Christmas a long time ago - shucks, didn't get around to it),

Dan

"they are definitely NOT on our side." typo - sorry

Very well said and written. What you wrote is very true. Yes money does seem a big part to the Big birds. Merry Christmas to you to. Take care and god bless.

Thanks, Jane. The funniest things in life are true stories. It's what keeps us sane, I guess. I didn't realize that it would be a funny story as I watched it unfold. I really thought it was a matter of survival with these birds. Oh, them sparrows - grab a bite and fly away.

I'll go a little further on my story: We were actually returning from picking up a CD of the plans for a new elementary school so I could do a painting bid on it. We picked up the CD from one of the largest and oldest building contractors in San Antonio. Very ornate offices, full of the rich history of Texas. Lots of old guns on the walls, actual treaties with Indian tribes, and get this - a 1879 Steinway Grand Piano. I kept looking at the security guy, because I wanted to play it so badly. But there was velvet bar in front of it, and I thought, "No, I'm not going to blow this gig by playing the piano."

So, while Monique looks with fascination at all the antique rifles, and I hoped she wouldn't break the glass and make a quick getaway with one of them, I went in and got my CD. The security guard, himself, was dressed in a suit. The receptionist, and the woman I was to get the CD from were dressed like they were going to the Academy Awards, or something. Me, I was in blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a t-shirt I got from the SMU Volleyball Team (now Missouri State University - in Springfield) that says on the back, "Killer Instincts". I like that shirt, though it has a hole in it now - not a big one. I got along fine with these ladies, because ol' Blue Eyes doesn't need a lot of fancy clothes to make a good impression. The lady I got the CD from was young and pretty, as well. But, there was always Monique eyeing those gun cases, looking in her purse for a paperclip, or something to pick those locks with. I had to keep my flirting down to a business level, I suppose.

Anyway, we get home, and I eventually load up just the introduction to the plans on my computer. The introduction includes a contract that is over 475 pages long. In it they go over all the insurance requirements, a performance bond, and the various rules (no smoking, no drinking on the job - now where in San Antonio am I going to find people who will adhere to that? I can understand it if the HVAC guys or the plumbers might be that way, but we're talking about painters, for goodness sake! Give me a break guys). But we are talking about a school here, and we may have do it while the little kiddies are in school, Monique reminded me. Grrr!

OK, so there is no getting drunk or smoking cigarettes while on the job site, but as it almost 500 pages long, Monique said, "Let's join that thing you know that gives us free lawyers on staff, and have them read this contract over." You know, it helps to have a smart woman around. Because, she was talking about the Greater San Antonio Home Builders association. Even though this toney outfit that is building the school is so mighty and powerful, and no doubt has lawyers on one of the upper stories to the building they own, we had a solution. Join with these little residential builders, and use their lawyers. Back to the little sparrow competing with the larger crackling. We can win in numbers. And if I get this bid, I won't be little much longer. Actually, I'll always be little, even if I'm worth a fortune. I'll keep delegating so that I can sneak into those offices, and play that piano when no one is watching.:-}