Dinosaurs

So much time has passed, and with it has passed the need to be overly verbose about the happenings missed. So let me be brief. A friend called me a few months ago, sounding dejected. I asked her what was wrong, and she quickly let me know that the cause of her sadness was that she "[would] never have a dinosaur."

I responded as any sane person would, asking if she was drunk, or perhaps stoned.

"No," she told me. "I was just sitting here, sort of sad, and I started daydreaming, thinking about riding atop a brontosaurus, him eating leaves from the tops of tall trees. It was beautiful, and silent, and there was nobody there to bother me."

"And then," she continued, "I got much sadder, thinking and realizing that I'd never have a dinosaur."

"Draw one," I told her. "Color it brightly, vibrantly green, and hang it on your wall."

"I will," she replied, sounding half-convinced.

I returned home that day with my plans already in motion. On the way home, I had bought some white flour and a roll of tape. I was still floating on the success of my recent paper mache project, and I had heard, in my friend's words, an absolute need for my mache-ing skills.

And so I got to work.



I had done a quick search on the internet, looking for drawings of a brontosaurus. I had found a few, although most were overly 'cartoony." I did find out some interesting information, however, like for instance the little known fact that the brontosaurus never actually existed! Apparently, some paleontologist discovered a dinosaur that had already been found, mixed up a few bones, and convinced himself (and the world for quite some time) that he had found a new dinosaur.

And so, I set about to making an Apatosaurus, pretending that I was making a Brontosaurus.



Within a short time, I had made the dinosaur body, using the same paper mache techniques as I had used on my previous project. I had picked up some paint and brushes at an art store downtown, and so with the help of my roommate, got to mixing up the perfect green color for the dinosaur skin. Soon, he was looking great.



Now, after having completed the dinosaur, I was dying to send it off somehow. My friend's birthday was approaching, and I felt sure that I had to find a way to get this green creature to her house on time. I brought the dinosaur to my parents' house with me (imagine the looks on the subway), planning to mail it from Jersey before heading to Canada. Unfortunately, i soon found out that dinosaurs are quite expensive to mail through the US Postal Service or any other conventional means. I was already out the door and on the road however, so it looked as if Dino would be traveling with me.

Bulky as he was, Jacques (as he was soon named) made a great travel partner, and took the opportunity to get in a bit of sightseeing. He particularly enjoyed Niagara falls, although the mist from the falling water made his skin color run off of him at an alarming rate.





The terrible thing about all of this was that I felt as if I were living a double life. I mean, Jacques was a new friend and a proud personal creation. He was traveling with Adam and I to Canada! He was checking out the falls with us! And still, I could not make this friendship, nor our shared experiences, public knowledge. I needed to get the dinosaur to its proper owner before I could alert the general public.

Finally, this past weekend I had my chance, and took the opportunity offered by an Easter Break to deliver Jacques down to the birthday girl. And in the end, he only arrived a week late, and only slightly worse for the wear as a result of his constant travel.

She loved it.