non-pro offer plea

[Lightwaves@aol.com]

Greetings dino lovers.

I just watched the PBS show on the African dinos, and boy was I moved.
I cannot believe anyone would abandon that expedition, for any reason.  

I have always dreamed of such a chance, and being involved would be a dream
come true.  For God's sake, new species!  Isn't that the lifeblood of
paleontology?

What does it take to get  invited on such a trip?  I have made a few trips to
the Rockies,  totally in the interest of furthering my own knowledge, and
hoping to aid science in some small way.  I paid for all expenses out of my
own pocket, and have reported a sauropod, found in SE WY, to the Geo. Survey.
 I saw a similar bone, of far less quality, in a western Colorado rock shop (
in the town of dinosaur) with a price tag of $450, and was disgusted.  Not
with the shop owner, but with the rich tourist that will someday use it as a
door stop.

I'd like to submit my name in the hopes I can strike a chord with a
sympathetic professional:

Roger A. Stephenson
512 East Drilling
Morrilton, AR  72110
501-354-6439 home   354-1113 work
Lightwaves@ AOL
Graphic Artist-designer, Macintosh user,age 40, married, experienced desert
explorer and outdoorsman, healthy, strong, and endowed with remarkable eyes.

I do not have a degree, but have higher education in a liberal arts school,
and I am considering returning to college.  However, I feel I can contribute
significantly to this field of science without taking notes and tests for
another year and a half.

I seek no monetary reward, or self glorification.  I am seriously interested
in the gaps in the evolutionary lines being closed, and want to be involved,
somehow.  There needs to be more people in the field, and I want to be one of
them.

I am NOT interested in one of the pay-to-dig hobby expeditions, but will
cover my own expenses and upkeep.

Someday I would love to be paid to be a field researcher, but in the interim
I want to help.

I wish there was a weekly TV series concerning paleontology.  I can't get
enough.

Most importantly I have a wife that is completely supportive, and
encouraging.