According to the girl in the know

Dinosaurs are big. They are scary and they say this "RAAAAAAARR!" So you have to stay on the school bus if you see one. But Miss Melanie has a gun and she will kill the dinosaur.



I knew that Claire knew about dinosaurs, because here in Utah we have a bounty of fossil sites so all kids' museums have related exhibits. I knew Claire learned that all dinosaurs were dead, although we have not talked about extinction, per se. And I can see that a well meaning school bus driver would want to reassure the kids in her care that she would take care of them should any unexpected and dangerous situation arise, such as, say, a dinosaur attack. I did not know Claire knew the word gun.

Last night, at a birthday party for one of her school classmates, while seated near the cake as it was being served, Claire asked the friend's mommy "Do you have a husband?" "No" said V., "but I'd like to have one." "You'll have to go get one" Claire helpfully suggested. "Where should I go to get a husband?"

"Go to the desert. You can get a husband in the desert."