The book & party for Phil (long)

["Patty Ralrick" <pattyralrick@hotmail.com>]

Hi all,

I wanted to thank everyone who participated in the creation of "Mesozoic
Vertebrate Life" (MVL) and who made the surprise party in honor of Phil
Currie's 25th year in paleontology such a success!

First please forgive me if I recap anything that was all ready written as I
receive the mailing list once a day as a digest.  I also want to mention
that Darren is in the field until the 18th, so if you write him and he
doesn't respond right away, don't be surprised.

"Mesozoic Vertebrate Life" is gorgeous!  What a fantastic piece of work!  I
know that Darren, Ken, and everyone involved worked very hard and it shows!
It is a beautiful book full of new research that will be of interest to
many.

I would like to clear up one complaint that I've heard about the book all
ready - the title.  It was said that MVL is misleading since it is "just
another dumb dinosaur book".  Quite honestly, it didn't start out to be a
book specifically about dinosaurs.  Originally, there was quite a plethora
of Mesozoic subjects to be included (mammals, turtles, plants, etc.), but
unfortunately, due to deadlines, all of these authors (and some dinosaur
ones) were forced to pull out.  Even with these omissions, I believe that it
is a valuable book and well worth owning (of course, I may be a little
biased!).

Anyway, the party was a huge success!  There were well over 100 people in
attendance (I attempted to count once, but threw my hands in the air after
about a minute) including Tom Holtz and Greg Paul from Maryland, Tracy Ford
and George Olshevski from California, Chris Ott and Lisa Buckley from
Wisconsin, a whole gaggle of folks from Colorado, and a bunch more from
Chicago.  But the long distance traveller award must go to Jorn Hurum who
came all the way from Norway!  Rodolfo Coria would've attended, but for some
unfathomable reason, the Canadian government wouldn't allow him in (I
suspect it was the Mad Cow scare).  Peter Larson (who also couldn't attend
due to government concerns) sent a witty and poignant letter.

Everyone seemed to have a great time.  As the hostess, I attempted to spend
time with everyone, but there just wasn't enough time.  So if I missed
chatting with you, I'm sorry.  It was purely unintentional.

It was fun to watch the usually unflappable Phil Currie.  Phil was honestly
surprised by the party, then he was stunned by who was in attendance, the he
was "overwhelmed" (his word) by the book.  Even the next day Phil would look
at Darren and me and smile and shake his head.  I must say that Phil's wife
Eva did a wonderful job of keeping him in the dark.

Thanks to everyone who took pictures with the cameras provided.  I'll see if
we can't get some of the pictures posted somewhere at some point.  With
Darren in the field right now, it may take a while.

I'd have to say that one of my favorite moments was when we gathered Phil,
Darren, Ken, Mike Skrepnick, and Bob Sloan (with Indiana Univ. Press) for
pictures.  Phil kept making faces at me when no one was looking and making
me laugh hard enough to hope the pictures are clear.  I also had a wonderful
time talking to everyone.  The night just flew by!

The next day, 27 of us went on a hike into the core area of Dinosaur
Provincial Park (DPP) led by Phil and Darren.  A few people had never been
there and found what an amazing place it is (right Tom?).  It was a lovely
hot and clear day with a cool breeze - perfect for tromping around in the
badlands.

Afterwards a whole gang of us once again decended on the Patricia Bar for
dinner where Tom Holtz got me laughing over the movie that should be made
where they turn the paleos loose on Jurassic Park.  It would be something
like the Red Lobster (I think) commercial where the kid on the beach sees
the shark and everyone rushes the surf yelling "Get him!"

Unfortunately for me, after that the fun was over (well until SVP anyway) as
I am now back in hot (95 degrees) and humid (95%) Omaha doing what I must to
pay the bills.  If nothing else, this trip reinforced to me that going to
grad school next year is just too far away!

Once again, thanks for everyone's support.  I'm amazed that we kept it a
secret with so many people knowing about it.  I am honored to have been a
part of it all.  Everything worked out and it is an event to be remembered!

Now I should attempt to get some work done.  I know that as soon as I hit
the 'send' button, I'm going to think of 50 other things I should've said.
Thanks for reading.

Patty

***********************************************************
When the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride,
He shouts to scare the monster, who will often turn aside.
But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail,
For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
  Kipling, "The Female of the Species"

Patty Ralrick
2108 Power Dr.
Bellevue  NE  68005



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