It's the coolest job in the world. At least according to the clerks at Safeway and Blockbuster. It does have special moments; how often do you get to build Pangea or a Tyrannosaur at your job? When has your boss ever said to you "Hold the head up, I'll get the tail. Don't hit the Triceratops."
"Walking with Dinosaurs" came to town just before Christmas. There we were with 27 semi trailers, but instead of Madonna's stage, it was dinosaurs. About one per truck.
Yep, just another typical morning. Twelve of us pulling a 40 foot long cart with the body, head and neck of a Brachiosaur on it. Legs not included; those are on another truck. The one next to us in fact. With three boxes of Velociraptors. For some odd reason, it seems fitting that the Raptors are in totally closed cases, while the huge but safe (unless you are a plant) Brachiosaur is on an open cart. Dino kits. "Some assembly required". Down the hall the T-Rex is being pushed on her cart by a forklift, with a team of stagehands gathered about like attendants. Or food. The mouth is big enough to sit in. Well, if you really want to know what a Twinkies last view is like. Assuming of course that a T-Rex would eat a Twinkie.... or that Twinkies were 6 feet long. Maybe they were, millions of years ago. Dragonflys were bigger then; or maybe Twinkies just shrink as they age, rather than rot.
8 hours later, after putting the pieces of Pangea together (which looks like a Flintstones stealth fighter) the dinosaurs are all parked at one end of the arena. We have to weave in and out between the Rex, the Brachiosaur, an Ankylosaurus and of course a Stegosaur and a Taurosaur (think Triceratops) to get out.
For some odd reason, the Raptors are still inside their boxes, staring out through the clear acrylic sides. Maybe I should bring several steaks when I come back......
