Dad, I think I finally get it, and six years later it rings most true then and now.

"Now it is time to give you wings and kick you off the branch and see how well you fly. Some fly high, some fast, and some fly with style. Both eagles and hummingbirds are beautiful and useful but fly in very different ways. Neither can do what the other can do. Then there is the bat- an ugly mammal but able to fly with great style."