Title: "Digging for Brown Gold"
It was a dry, hot day. I desperately hoped the ranch owner I was headed to was someone who enjoyed hot weather. Anything to put him in a good mood.
I parked my car at near the ranch house. I walked to the door and rang the bell. Nothing moved. Surely I hadn't driven all the way out here for nothing! I rang it again.
With no response, I headed back to my car for some paper. Perhaps I left a note on the door, Mr. Engler would be willing to give me a call. His ranch was very near the area where palentoligists had found Tyrannesaurus and Stegoserus fossils. I just knew it would be the perfect area for my dig.
If I could only set this up, I knew I would get results. Twenty-one different kinds of dinosaur fossils had been discovered in Texas over the years. I'd always loved visited my grandmother when she lived in Texas and I had a feeling that a dig in Texas would yield the results I was looking for.
I reached my car but a sudden noise made me turn.
His face was creased by the wind and his expression was anything but welcoming.
"Uh, Mr. Engler. Are you Mr. Engler?"
"I am, Young Lady," he replied with a scowl, seeming to judge me more by my gender than by my educational credentials. "Just what were you doing over by my door?"
"Sir, I wanted to ask you about using your land. You see, I know a man such as yourself would be interested in furthering our knowledge about prehistoric times."
"Just why would you assume that, Missy? I don't like strangers messing around on my property. It disturbs the cattle." He folded his arms and glared at me under his cowboy hat.
"If I could just show you my studies .... " I said, opening my car door and grabbing my files.
"You see, Mr. Engler, on this map. Through my research, I have discovered that your land might contain what I am looking for. Why that hill over there might be a treasure trove of Stegoserus coprolite. If you could just let my team and I have three weeks to search, I'm sure we could..."
"Missy," he interjected. "What do you mean by coprolite? I've heard of a stegoserus but coprolite? What the heck is that? Some kind of special bone?"
"Sir, actually it's, well, it's the dried waste products the stegoserus left behind. Through the study of coprolite we can discover...." My voice trailed off as I watched Mr. Engler choke and wheeze. Was he having a seizure or some kind of heart attack?
"Sir, are you ok? Can you breathe?"
"Shit!" He choked out, amid his laughter. "Shit! You tell me that you want to get a bunch of them scientists out here to dig around looking for shit?! Why didn't you tell me before? We have plenty of fresh cow patties in the back pasture. You're really looking for shit?!" His words broke down into deeper chuckles.
"Why, sir, I guess you could say that. You see, my doctorate professor, Dr. Gary, often told me that the area of coprolite is under-studied. No one has published good findings on stegoserus coprolite in over 5 years."
"Shit!" Mr. Engler laughed again. "You tell me a little lady like you has nothing better to do than write about dino shit. Well, let me tell you, young lady. I haven't laughed that hard in half a decade. If you really want to dig around and try to find dino shit, I guess I ain't a-gonna stop you. That laugh was worth a little disruption around here."
"Oh Mr. Engler!" I cried, shaking his hand. "You won't regret this!"
"I certainly hope not, little Missy. I hope you find what you're looking for, though it seems to me that a girl like you ought to spend her time looking for a nice fella instead of digging around and writing about dino shit."
We made the arrangements and I got in my car. He said yes! I couldn't believe it. And the dig could start in a mere two months! I couldn't wait to email Dr. Gary and let him know my good news!
I parked my car at near the ranch house. I walked to the door and rang the bell. Nothing moved. Surely I hadn't driven all the way out here for nothing! I rang it again.
With no response, I headed back to my car for some paper. Perhaps I left a note on the door, Mr. Engler would be willing to give me a call. His ranch was very near the area where palentoligists had found Tyrannesaurus and Stegoserus fossils. I just knew it would be the perfect area for my dig.
If I could only set this up, I knew I would get results. Twenty-one different kinds of dinosaur fossils had been discovered in Texas over the years. I'd always loved visited my grandmother when she lived in Texas and I had a feeling that a dig in Texas would yield the results I was looking for.
I reached my car but a sudden noise made me turn.
His face was creased by the wind and his expression was anything but welcoming.
"Uh, Mr. Engler. Are you Mr. Engler?"
"I am, Young Lady," he replied with a scowl, seeming to judge me more by my gender than by my educational credentials. "Just what were you doing over by my door?"
"Sir, I wanted to ask you about using your land. You see, I know a man such as yourself would be interested in furthering our knowledge about prehistoric times."
"Just why would you assume that, Missy? I don't like strangers messing around on my property. It disturbs the cattle." He folded his arms and glared at me under his cowboy hat.
"If I could just show you my studies .... " I said, opening my car door and grabbing my files.
"You see, Mr. Engler, on this map. Through my research, I have discovered that your land might contain what I am looking for. Why that hill over there might be a treasure trove of Stegoserus coprolite. If you could just let my team and I have three weeks to search, I'm sure we could..."
"Missy," he interjected. "What do you mean by coprolite? I've heard of a stegoserus but coprolite? What the heck is that? Some kind of special bone?"
"Sir, actually it's, well, it's the dried waste products the stegoserus left behind. Through the study of coprolite we can discover...." My voice trailed off as I watched Mr. Engler choke and wheeze. Was he having a seizure or some kind of heart attack?
"Sir, are you ok? Can you breathe?"
"Shit!" He choked out, amid his laughter. "Shit! You tell me that you want to get a bunch of them scientists out here to dig around looking for shit?! Why didn't you tell me before? We have plenty of fresh cow patties in the back pasture. You're really looking for shit?!" His words broke down into deeper chuckles.
"Why, sir, I guess you could say that. You see, my doctorate professor, Dr. Gary, often told me that the area of coprolite is under-studied. No one has published good findings on stegoserus coprolite in over 5 years."
"Shit!" Mr. Engler laughed again. "You tell me a little lady like you has nothing better to do than write about dino shit. Well, let me tell you, young lady. I haven't laughed that hard in half a decade. If you really want to dig around and try to find dino shit, I guess I ain't a-gonna stop you. That laugh was worth a little disruption around here."
"Oh Mr. Engler!" I cried, shaking his hand. "You won't regret this!"
"I certainly hope not, little Missy. I hope you find what you're looking for, though it seems to me that a girl like you ought to spend her time looking for a nice fella instead of digging around and writing about dino shit."
We made the arrangements and I got in my car. He said yes! I couldn't believe it. And the dig could start in a mere two months! I couldn't wait to email Dr. Gary and let him know my good news!