By Joyce Johnson
Before I wrote this tale, I checked the internet for facts,…and, ahem, ended up in the tumble dryer of conflicting info as usual. One source stated “Dinos went extinct 62 million years before man arrived.” (Another source said 65.) Then I happily found, “A study says that early mammals were evolving before a massive asteroid hit the planet 66 million years ago and therefore lived briefly with dinosaurs.” Also, a new study published in the journal, Current Biology, says that our “Human ancestors did live with dinosaurs for a short time before the beasts went extinct,” which explains ancient rock art that shows man drew dinos, and though eye-popping, riding one but which “science” poo-poos even evidence, for some reason. So I tell the tale anyway, and in my way:
The History of Civilization happened in a simple series of poignant Firsts: One day in what is now Montana, our great great, etc, grandfather, Neanderthal man, and friends, saw a growling, slobbering T Rex the size of a mountain as the story was later told, and was about to pounce on an unknown caveman for lunch. But instead of running like heck the other way, our brave Neanderthal made a pivotal decision and said to his fellow cave-dwellers, “[grunt] Ooga gak ugh mookaga guhpooey!” It sounded like he had a frog in his throat, but the translation was, “Hey guys, if we work together, we could take that thing down.” It was the birth of T-eam work! Get it? Anyway, they pulled the poor guy to safety just in time and together threw all their spears, clubs and assorted stuff laying around at it, and one of the rocks hit the big bully on the noggin just right, and its eyes rolled and it went down with a thunderous ka-boom! They took the grateful stranger to their cave nearby where he locked eyes with a pretty young female,... and stayed. That was the next step in the civilizing thing—the romancing of other tribe members, instead of clubbing each other and stealing women. They decided to talk things over instead or at least grunt and act out their thoughts which was the first game of charades, well, really. The next step to our ancient civilizing was they befriended and fed a doglike creature because it was following them and helped them hunt. The wild thing hung around the cave too, and the women and kids tamed it. You know the rest.
Finally, one day, exhausted and stressed out, our hero Neanderthal with stinging eyes and a heaviness in his chest, dragged himself to a remote corner of the cave, and threw a mammoth skin over his head. He then slumped down into what became the first lotus position, and went inside himself to the mysterious unknown, or perhaps there met the Nagual, his guardian animal spirit. After a while the burdens of violent daily survival, and the disturbing moving pictures behind his eyes went away. He felt forgetful of it all—the first Inner Peace. So, he got under the mammoth skin daily at dawn, and became the chief.
Cobras, super surviving, limbless dinos (sez me), are however sacred in Asia, and admired because they... (gulp)... swallow rats whole and don’t choke. But also, the formidable snake, in cycles, feels uncomfortable in its own skin as it outgrows it, so a few times a year it finds a cave and curls up in a corner, loses its sight, and sheds its skin. It grows a new skin, and it’s sight comes back, and of course then slithers happily back out into the sunshine with “new clothes.” Humans shed their body cells regularly too, and our outdated attitudes if smart, when “uncomfortable in our own skin.”
Our Ancients watched and respected many animals, in fact wore their skins for decoration and power as well as survival warmth. They worshiped nature in general. The sunrises and sunsets were mesmerizing and humbling and he was awestruck by the lights in the night sky (we still are). And when fire was mysteriously “captured,” or the secret to making it was revealed, paleo experts suggest that our ancestors hit a new level of growth. Interpretations, epic legends and myths are old and unending around it all. But slam-dunk down to Earth, mankind still must just daily deal with what is in front of him, whether it is a stubbed toe or a T Rex, who still exists in various forms and man’s “creations.” The Dino’s existence ended on earth, sure as the sunrise, but that day our ancient kin acted on a timeless spark waiting in the heart, lit by the Light that will always transcend the Dark.