Julian is an amazing little boy. He is a good case study in human growth and development. Emotional and social maturation is happening right on schedule. If you ask him, he is quick to say that he is three... and going to be four. Today at the Nature Center in Chula Vista he fell right in with a couple of other little boys whom he didn't know. They became great friends immediately... calling each other to "come see this." Later he and I were out looking at two golden eagles and one bald eagle in side-by-side enclosures (all three having been rescued after suffering injuries in the wild that made it impossible for them to live outside the protection of a cage); and when one of the golden eagles expanded his wings, we could see that one wing was little more than a stub. Julian said, "Jerral, that is so sad (big adult emphasis on "so"). It's the beginning of empathy. Julian is only three years old, and he's no longer just pulling the cat's tail and poking little dogs with a stick. He's growing up.