Deposit insurance cannot explain all of it, though. Some of this is the bureaucratization of America -- the deliberate attempt to drain individual judgment and initiative from life. While Nicholson was sprinting after a thief, a Fairfax County, Va., man was issued a ticket for stopping traffic to permit a gaggle of geese to cross a four-lane highway safely.
We see Canadian geese crossing roadways all the time here in Fairfax County. Usually it's an adult goose followed by four to six fuzzy gray goslings with another adult goose bringing up the rear. One assumes a family unit. Jozsef Vamosi was driving to work around 9:30 a.m. when he saw such a family assembling to cross a busy thoroughfare. "They were walking like gentlemen," Vamosi told the Washington Post. "Like the Beatles on 'Abbey Road.'" Vamosi got out of his car, held up a hand to stop traffic and escorted the birds to the median. He then did the same thing on the other side of the road. The geese went safely on their way. "Everything came out fantastic," the Hungarian immigrant explained. That is, until a Fairfax County police officer arrived on the scene berating Vamosi and questioning his sanity. Vamosi was issued a ticket for jaywalking. A police spokesman advised, "We can appreciate the citizen's response and compassion for wildlife. But a more prudent response would be to pull off the road and use their cellphone. Call the police, and have them respond."
By the time even the most responsive police could have arrived for such a call (and don't they have more important matters to attend to?) the geese would have been pate. Nicholson and Vamosi acted on impulse -- and I for one would not like to live in a country where such instincts have been ironed out of us.