I'm Becoming a Jet-setter

I'm leavin' on a jet plane...I know when I'll be back again. I'll be back on Thursday.

I'm going out to the Midwest again to visit my granddaughters and their mommy. Those three girls of mine are turning me into a jet-setter! I can't wait to see them! But you know how much I love to fly...so keep me (and my pilot and my plane) in your prayers! Thanks!

One Last Hurrah

Back on June 2 (the same day our twin granddaughters were born), our son's high school lacrosse team lost in the quarterfinals of the play-offs, and I was lamenting the end of the long and wonderful era of cheering on my sons from the sidelines. High school sports were over for our family, forever, and that made me a bit sad.

Well, yesterday we got one last hurrah, one last opportunity to watch our youngest play lacrosse. He was chosen, along with 29 other boys from around our state, to play in a game called the "Twin State All-Star Lacrosse Game." We traveled about 2 hours to watch him compete in a game against top players from a state that borders ours. He played extremely well (in the picture, he's the one in the red jersey); but what was even more satisfying to watch was how he embraced his new team as if he'd been playing with them for ages. They had a 1 hour and 15 minute practice session in preparation for the game; then they ate lunch, watched a girls' high school all-star lacrosse game, and had a team photo taken. Beyond that, they had only a 1/2 hour warm-up before game time. There wasn't much of a chance to really get to know each other. Some of the players had teammates from their high schools there with them, but our son was the only one from his team. He was acquainted with a couple of the guys from his youth lacrosse days, but he really didn't know anyone there all that well. If I'd been in his cleats, I'd have felt so shy and out of place. Not him. He was talking to his teammates as if he'd been able to spend a lot of time with them, and fist-bumping with the goalie and the other defensemen whenever his team scored a goal. He's not an extrovert or anything, but he manages to feel comfortable in most settings. And this boy is nothing if not a team player.

Our state's all-stars beat the other state's, 13-10. Woo hoo! It was a really fun game to watch. But the most enjoyable thing of all was watching my youngest son show, for one last time, that it never matters to him if he has a good individual performance--because with him, it's all about the team. I am so very proud of this boy!

T-Rex Toys: They're Not Just for Kids

I had so much fun doing "T-Rex Week," reminiscing about how much my boys all loved to draw T-Rex and play with T-Rex toys when they were little fellas...then I remembered this amusing picture. It was taken just last Christmas, when Santa (forgetting, apparently, that these four ranged in age from 17 to 25) left some stocking stuffers that were a hit. Look at the Christmas joy on those faces; it reminds me of Ralphie when he got his Red Rider B-B Gun in the movie "A Christmas Story." This just goes to show that a man usually has a little boy inside him, and that little boy is never too old for T-Rex toys.

Today's post had to be a quickie, because we're going to watch our youngest son play in a senior All-Star lacrosse game with a neighboring state. It's a two-hour drive and we're going to be gone all day, so I've got to get ready now. But I just couldn't resist sharing this picture of sons #2 through 5--they're fine young men, but still kids at heart.

"T-Rex Week" (Episode 5--the Finale)

The T-Rex drawings my youngest son did when he was very small were actually quite amazing, because in drawing--as in everything else--he was always playing "catch up" with the others. He was always trying to copy his four older brothers, who were his heroes and role models. They were good at drawing dinosaurs, and he was determined to be good at it, too. I almost chose a wonderful picture he did at age 7, but then decided on this fairly recent effort instead. It had been ages since he'd drawn a T-Rex, and at the age of 16 he sat down and did this, just to see if he still "had it." (He did!) So far this week, I haven't showcased a T-Rex "head shot," so I thought this was a good piece of artwork to use today.

Did you know that Tyrannosaurus Rex translates to mean "King of the Tyrant Lizards"? And T-Rex, a fearsome beast who ruled supreme, was indeed the undisputed king during the time it roamed the earth. Scientists who've analyzed the skulls of different species of dinosaurs have found that T-Rex actually had a large brain, at least as far as dinosaurs go. So as if size and brute strength didn't give it enough of an advantage, the T-Rex could probably outthink it's prey as well.

To end "T-Rex Week," let's recap what we know about this amazing prehistoric creature:

~T-Rex stood 15-20 feet tall, was about 40 feet long, and weighed 5-7 tons

~T-Rex could run, upright like an ostrich, about 15-20 MPH

~T-Rex chomped on its prey with a force of 1,500-3,000 lbs. and had a septic bite

~T-Rex had a head the size of a small sedan and teeth from 6-13 inches long

~T-Rex had incredible eyesight and a keen sense of smell

~T-Rex had quite a large brain (for a dinosaur), and was a cunning as well as ferocious hunter

I have really enjoyed "T-Rex Week," and I hope you have, too. It's been a great opportunity for me to show off the artistic talent of my five sons; but it's also been fun talking about T-Rex, the fascinating monster that captured their imaginations when they were little guys and moved them to create some of their most inspired works of art.

"T-Rex Week" (Episode 4)

This scene, which looks like something out of a Discovery Channel documentary, was drawn by son #4 when he was 12. He's really captured a moment here, hasn't he? Don't you feel sorry for that poor Brontosaurus? That big old herbivore wouldn't hurt a fly; just give it some leaves and assorted greenery and it's a happy camper. It will fight to the death with Tyrannosaurus Rex to defend itself, using its enormous tail as a weapon; but its big, slow-moving body and rows of short, flat, plant-eating teeth are no match for the likes of the ferocious, carnivorous T-Rex.

It has been estimated that the head of an adult T-Rex was about the size of a small sedan (that's an interesting little factoid I found while preparing for "T-Rex Week")--so imagine the jaws and teeth that went along with that massive head! In 1996, a team of Stanford scientists determined that T-Rex chomped on its prey with anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 lbs. of force--a force comparable to the bite of a modern alligator. (FYI, in comparison, an adult human can bite with a force of only 175 lbs.)

Some experts believe that rotten, bacteria-infested meat lodged in its numerous, razor-sharp teeth and gave T-Rex a "septic bite," which may have infected and eventually killed its wounded prey. So T-Rex had not only an incredibly strong bite, but most likely a toxic one as well. It seems that most of the dinosaurs on which it preyed stood very little chance against it. Of course, Triceratops had its mighty horns to take jabs at the king, and Stegasaurus had its rows of protective, armor-like plates along its back and its spiked tail for whipping; but once a Tyrannosaurus Rex was able to sink its teeth into its prey, it may have been all over simply because of the toxicity of T-Rex's bite.

The final episode of "T-Rex Week" airs tomorrow.

"T-Rex Week" (Episode 3)

Today's Tyrannosaurus Rex artwork was produced by son #3 when he was about 9 and 1/2. He's the one who'll say he wasn't that great at drawing, but I think this picture proves him wrong!

I hope you're enjoying "T-Rex Week" so far! These creatures, along with all of their many dinosaur friends, played such a huge role in this house for so many years. We have countless books about them, and as you can see, the boys spent countless hours drawing them. I miss good old T-Rex! We have saved our enormous collection of dinosaur toys, so if any of the grandchildren become interested in these prehistoric animals, they're going to love to play at Papa and Grammy's house.

When the first dinosaur remains were uncovered, it was thought that dinosaurs were cold-blooded, slow-moving creatures, like reptiles. Since then, scientists have determined that T-Rex appeared to be a very fast runner who led an active lifestyle, and therefore may have actually been warm-blooded. Through analyzing T-Rex fossils and comparing them with existing fossil remains, they believe T-Rex had about a 30-year lifespan.

No one has a clue why T-Rex's arms were so short and useless-looking. (Really, what is up with those arms? In every other way, T-Rex is so fearsome to behold, but its arms are faintly ridiculous.) Maybe they were used to clasp its prey close to its chest? That's as good a guess as any, I suppose. I think that's more plausible than the theory of some evolutionists, who believe the arms would have eventually disappeared altogether if T-Rex hadn't become extinct first.

The female T-Rex was larger than her male counterpart, outweighing him by as much as a few thousand pounds. After all, she had to produce and lay all those T-Rex-sized eggs. But a few thousand pounds--no fair! The female T-Rex was probably always asking her mate, "Do I look fat in this outfit?" And he was probably afraid to say yes, or she might eat him.

I think I better quit while I'm ahead here, because this began with some nice, official, scientific facts and has devolved into silliness. But stayed tuned: there are still two more episodes to go!

"T-Rex Week" (Episode 2)

Today's T-Rex artwork was done by son #2 when he was 10. It is a fine rendering of that famous scene from the movie Jurassic Park, when the electricity fails and the dinosaurs break through the security fences, wreaking havoc all over the compound. Here, the escaped T-Rex is eating the tire on one of the jeeps that brings visitors on a tour throughout Jurassic Park. The rain is coming down in torrents and two terrified children, Tim and Lex, are trapped beneath the jeep screaming.


This movie was a favorite of all of our boys, but especially our baby. He would have it on in the background while acting out the scenes with our vast assortment of JP toy dinosaurs, vehicles, and figurines. And he did a mean imitation of a Tyrannosaurus Rex--throwing his head back to make the same roaring sound as the beast in the movie, while holding his arms close to his body with two crooked fingers and stomping around the house. It was really quite hilarious. And spot on, too! It was an inspired bit of acting, you really should have seen it.

The thing about the scene depicted above that always bothered me, though, was that after Dr. Grant rescues Lex from the jeep, the T-Rex approaches and he tells her not to move, because T-Rex's visual acuity relies on motion. Apparently, if they don't move, the dino won't see them. (How this could be determined from studying bones, I wasn't quite sure; but for argument's sake, let's say this is true.) However, as Dr. Grant and Lex are smashed up against the jeep not moving, the T-Rex's nose is mere inches from their bodies; he's sniffing and snorting, and yet he doesn't appear to realize that two tasty snacks are right there for the taking. I always thought: C'mon, they could smell, couldn't they? Wouldn't that be handy for a carnivore to be able to smell its prey?

I decided to do a little research on this; I did some investigating on-line and found that there have indeed been studies done on the olifactory cavities of dinosaur skulls, and CT scans have proven that T-Rex's olifactory capabilities far surpassed those of any of the other huge predators that were examined. That's right, T-Rex was found to be the undisputed king of smelling. This would make sense, as it would give T-Rex the ability to locate prey and patrol a large area of territory. So it seems a bit of creative license was taken in Jurassic Park as far as that scene by the jeep, where the T-Rex comes off as being unable to either see or smell what's right in front of his nose. But it makes for a great dramatic effect, and I hate to find fault with a film that delighted my dinosaur-loving sons by bringing these prehistoric creatures to life in a way that had never been done before.