A dinosaur got stuck in Trinidad. Was it by choice? Did the dinosaur want to savour for as long as possible the experience of being reunited with friends and family? Even though she is only a skeleton, Dinosaur Sue made no bones about the fact that she was happy like pappy in Trinidad. Sue claims it is not her fault. According to a media report, DINOSAUR SUE, the largest Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur ever found, was stuck at the port of Port-of-Spain for the past two weeks. However, she has been cleared and a crew was expected to arrive from Chicago to begin assembling her for the grand show which will be held at the National Academy for Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port-of-Spain.I am sure Sue will find a kindred spirit at NAPA, which might not be designed for Chutney and that sort of thing but is able to accommodate dinosaurs. I won’t say that the minister of culture is a Tyrantosaurus Rex but she has been bearing the brontosaurus of the accusations.Sue seemed quite at home among the antiquated rules and procedures at the port. There at the seaside she must have found many Saltopuses and others who created problems without cause.According to the same media report, this will be the first time that a dinosaur exhibition has come to Trinidad. This is not surprising, given that bringing a dinosaur to Trinidad is like carrying coals to Newcastle, ganja to Jamaica, teaching Brian Lara how to bat, or introducing “choke-and-rob” to Georgetown.Trinidad and Tobago has its own political Jurassic Park here and even Sue will be hard-put to compare. First of all, it has its own Pandaysaurus.It is a combination of Tyrannosaurus and Corythosaurus. It growls like a lion, raves and rants at every opportunity, and when threatened reverts to its familiar, “That’s insulting! That’s insulting!”Then there is the Patrickosaurus which would like the “Rex” or King after its name. Some people prefer “wrecks” but that is because they have their own political agendas and probably have been looking at the Brian Lara Stadium.The Patrickosaurus is a cross between the Megalosaurus (maniacus) and the Torosaurus. Toro is Spanish for “bull”. There is the Panoplasurus, better known as Pan Trinbago, who keeps on making the same mistakes every Panorama.Also, the Sinosauropteryx or Ear-Nose-and Throat (ENT) specialists whose first recourse is expensive surgery. Then there are the Camarasauruses, politicians who gallery and pose instead of doing their jobs. There are some that are allowed to grow into huge beasts like Gigantosaurus Udecottosaurus and even the dreaded Jeremieraptor. There are those with tremendous appetites resembling Gorgosaurus, the 30-foot carnivore, that devour everything in their path – the famous Calderhartosaurus is an example.Still to be classified are the many Service Commissions, the presidency and the Commissioner of Police.Also defying classification is Jack Warner who continues to threaten legal action. Unfortunately, the name Sue has already been taken.
