On the eagle-like reflexes of eagles

So, as most of you know, Theresa and Patrick Nielsen-Hayden have a blog, http://www.nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/

TNH linked to Cutting down The Great Tree of Avalon, where someone found an excerpt of an unbearably bad fantasy novel, and decided to comment on it, line-by-line.

Funny stuff, of course. But as we were reading, a couple bad guys were apparently attempting to kidnap an eagle-boy, and we got to the line:
But not before the boy awoke. With eagle-fast reflexes,
to which the commentator snarked, "Oh yes. Eagles are known around the world around for their reflexes."

I laughed at that, and told Lis that I knew all about eagle reflexes. My friend Charles had told me about them.

I haven't seen Charles Sheehan since high school, really -- I ran into him once on the street a couple years after that, but I don't think I've seen hide nor hair of him for probably nearly ten years. But I'll tell you this story of him, nonetheless:
( The Story of Charles and the Eagles )

Let me simply say that this cartoon sums up our life

http://www.twolumps.net/d/20051123.html
( The cartoon: )