Dinosaur

On the way home from work today--a commute that took 1.5 hours--I saw a dinosaur. Highway 62 is usually nothing more than modern buildings and dense traffic. There is, however, a stretch of the highway that has a thick cover of bushes and trees on the south side. As we crept along, eastbound, I noticed behind the trees a giant head with sharp teeth. This beast head was perched on top of a neck that dived below the trees and out of site. The teeth of this monster clamped onto a few substantial branches and ripped them off the tree with ease.

I was in such a daze on the way home that this piece of machinery--not a dinosaur after all--really did appear like some sort of beast. And, no kidding, for a little bit I felt a rush of fear or panic...something. After panic came relief and humor. But I'm beginning to wonder if I should worry. Am I losing my mind that much that for a good seven seconds I can't reason whether this mysterious thing I see peering from behind the trees is a piece of modern excavation equipment or a prehistoric animal. Or maybe worse: Is my work day that mundane and lacking of creativity that my mind is resorting to hallucinations to spark a sense of imagination into my soul?

Of course, a lot of things go through your mind when you see a dinosaur eating the only stretch of trees on a metro highway. In particular I thought of Joni Mitchell's song "Big Yellow Taxi" when Joni sings "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot." What on earth did the D.O.T. want to build in between the highway and the frontage road?!