Walking the walk

By now, the 15 life-size prehistoric creatures in the animatronic spectacle "Walking with Dinosaurs -- The Live Experience" have arrived at Chicago's United Center in a convoy of trucks, and their chaperones -- a far larger assemblage of homo sapiens -- have begun setting up shop.

So you might very well excuse that "girl" known as Sue, who hangs out at the Field Museum, if she decided to gather up her big-boned frame, lope down the stairs of her permanent "home" and set off to indulge herself in a little cash therapy and rejuvenation.

After all, no matter how formidable a suggestion of a Tyrannosaurus rex you might be (and Sue is pretty impressive), if you're a fossil you're essentially just a stabile skeleton -- incapable of chasing your prey, chomping away with your razor-sharp teeth or even emitting a periodic fearsome growl. And if a platoon of Australian-bred dinosaurs suddenly invades your turf in what might be described as a living history stage show --well, that just might be the final indignity. And an attempt at querying the Field Museum staff about "the competition" was met with this response from press representative Greg Borzo: " "None of our scientists or people in the exhibitions department feel that they want to comment on 'Walking with Dinosaurs.' But they hope people will come to visit the museum's permanent display, 'Evolving Planet'."

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