For the love of Dinosaurs

Sharp teeth. Powerful roars. Rage. And gigantic Dinosaurs tearing each other to pieces among active volcanoes… All this in the mind of a little kid.

[Field Report]

What’s your favorite toy, mister?, my first grade teacher asked me.
Rawr! Dinosaurs! Raaawr!, I replied like a gentleman.

Greatness. Danger. Raw violence. Nostalgia. Mystery. Extinction and life.

Well…

What’s the big deal with creatures we’ll never get to see with our own eyes? With creatures that we have little to none true knowledge. I mean. Yes. We do have bones. Footprints here and there. And a bunch of movies and books in any language possible.

But what’s the thing that makes them so likeable? Young and old. Man or woman. Aware of it or not. In any part of the world, you’ll find a human being that likes, loves, works, dreams, and talks and writes about Dinosaurs. What a coincidence…

Trucks. Space shuttles. WWII airplanes. War tanks. Hot wheels. Guns. Super heroes. LEGOS. And more trucks. In the vast arsenal of toys and characters, a little boy has plenty of options when it comes to choosing his favorite plaything. And in many cases this is an important decision.

But the reasons why some of us fell in love with Dinosaurs vary in each heart.

Maybe it’s because of the greatness we see in those beasts. Or the danger we perceive in those wild animals. Perhaps it’s the raw violence that is depicted on the big screen that captures our innocent attention. Even nostalgia, because they’ll never walk among us, just in our imagination. Mystery, because it’s hard to have a complete picture and understanding of them. But I’d dare to say it’s because of the fantasy about the equilibrium between life and extinction.

What do we fear the most? Death. What’s the most valuable and precious thing in this life? Life itself. Our biggest dread? The extinction of everything and everyone we know and love… Either by nuclear weapons, natural catastrophes beyond our control, or our lust for power.

Anyway, with that happy note out of my chest.
Let’s return to the main topic for today.

Dinosaurs. Yes. Dinosaurs…

Dinosaurs perished a long time ago. Now we have fancy, and complex recreations in movies like Jurassic Park. But only the first three movies are worthy of your time. I prefer to believe the last three movies (Jurassic World) do not exist.

But what was the inspiration for those movies in the first place?

Like the fuel that powers our combustion engines. The inspiration for those novels and films came from bones and evidence of the existence of Dinosaurs a long time ago.

Man digs for minerals. Man learns to forge swords to fight.
Man digs way deeper. Man finds the fuel required to power the world.
Man digs in particular places. Man begins to question the origin of life and evolution.

In 2018, I had the chance to see real Dinosaurs. By "see," I don’t mean on a screen, but in a world-class museum on the other side of the world. In the land of massive wildfires, fat beavers, and crowded Tim Hortons.

In a country that used to be [1]cool. O Canada! In an era when The True North was strong and free! In a town called “Drumheller”. For sure the best name for a town. In a museum where time has been frozen to put man face to face with Dinosaurs. A place dedicated to preserving the memory and ferocity of those creatures. A place that dares to stop time, so future generations have the opportunity to see with their own eyes a glimpse of our past. Birds. Mammals. Reptiles. There I saw them for the first time. A wet dream came true.

As many other things in life. Experiencing something by yourself is different from seeing a simple picture. Skulls bigger than a child. A simple femur can  touch the ceiling. Teeths capable of tearing men into pieces with ease. Remains of creatures that survived the punishment of time for centuries. Danger disguised with greatness. Greatness covered with danger. Eons hidden in decaying calcium.

Among passages and bones. I simply ask myself:
Is this an explanation for my love of Dinosaurs?
Hell yeah! At least for today, tho.
Then I ran to the next Dinosaur.

Why we do things is something with a face, but no tail. A roar with a voice, but no ears. A footprint with a figure, but no memory.

One day we are young. And the other we sit to remember about our decisions. Sometimes we laugh. Sometimes we forget. Sometimes we shatter to pieces. 

Our choices forge our character and destiny. Even something innocent as a toy can move the strings of our will. Even when those choices roamed the earth 65 millions years ago.

Until next time.

PD. There’s going to be a For the love of Dinosaurs Part 2 in the near future.

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[1] We all have our virtues and problems. With “In a country that used to be cool.“ I refer to the foolish measures governments applied to control and manipulate the population during the chaos of 2020.