This week, we were led to the South Congress Bridge in Austin, Texas most notably associated with a colony of Mexican free tailed bats. Each year, between March and November, crowds gather around 7 or 8pm to watch the numerous group fly at speeds higher than 60 mph in patterns nearly 2 miles high in a feeding flurry of local insects.  On the topic of bats, Jerry Seinfeld once said on the Fred Armisen episode of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, “They look like hamsters that got an idea.”

I listen to quite a bit of music, across different genre’s. Partly due to this blog, partly because I have always had an eclectic taste and partly because I am a firm believer that wisdom can arrive in the most unlikely of places. The more obscure the source, the more invested I am, as I think that there is an extra level of vetting that occurs through remaining atypical.

I think that bats get a bad wrap as these scary or dark creatures, but are magnificent animals. They are an important part of the eco system and are more present than we may lend credit.

I remember a Silly Symphony cartoon I watched when I was growing up titled “The Flying Mouse”. The 1934 Disney cartoon told the story of a Mouse who dreamed of being a bird. Through a totally realistic (read sarcasm) series of events, the mouse is granted wings by a fairy, which only serves to alienate him from everyone else. The moral of the story is that you can be proud of who you are, and everyone has their own strengths.