FurBabies by Nancy Beiman for August 18, 2023

I would so have been one of Kate’s pals.

Nicely done, Kate.

What kind of women’s rights-limiting notion is that?? Of course girls can play with dinosaurs!

Poppy’s in for a rude awakening. Girls can do anything. I had a red Tonka pickup truck as a kid, right along with my Barbies and Six Million Dollar Man doll (loved the little visible bionics). No Ken – Steve Austin made my Barbies swoon. Yeah, I was weird.

Don’t tell her what it is Kate. Keep her in suspense with ”you’ll see.”

Good for you, Katie.

You tell her, Kate!

I blame Poppy’s parents for her behaviour.

Ohyeah! You tell her, Kate!

I think I raised a Kate, and I encouraged her imagination and free thinking. I did not believe in girl and boy toys as separate. As a child not quite one, she got her hands on a screwdriver somehow. I carefully watched her, and she crawled as fast as she could with it in one hand and was almost screeching with joy. She went to her Hot Wheels and proceeded to try to dismantle it. She was too young to properly use the screwdriver although she tried, but you can imagine the fun I had with her and small appliances in the house as she got older.

Poppy’s head games aren’t working on Kate. People like her have been bothering me since I can remember. They’re threatened by any competition. They’ll tell you you’re doing something wrong just because it’s different from the way they do it or just to get in your head.

I feel a bit sorry for Poppy – she’s really limiting her options here. I hope she grows out of that sort of thinking.

Go KATE – you can play with and become anything you want! I know I did, and spent my life doing things “girls don’t do” – after school, I joined the USAF and became a metal worker for Civil Engineering squadrons all over the world; I learned to weld, make and repair just about anything made of metal, and even do a bit of blacksmithing. After that, I went to college and became a biologist. In my spare time, I have also been a volunteer zoo keeper, which was great fun.

I was obsessed with dinosaurs. My dream was to be a paleontologist. In college, every single one of my college professors told me no, get out, stay away because it is a boys’ club. They said no matter who good I was (and I know I would have been very good, heck, I would have been great), I would always be working for a boy who would take credit for my work.

That was 50 years ago, and from what I can see, things have not changed much.

That’s a cute dinosaur. She should be proud.

I was at the zoo today, and two kids came out of the gift shop carrying toy stuffed dinosaurs and I almost ran in the store to buy one for myself. Of course, the only dinosaurs at the zoo are the birds, but I sure would like to see a real velociraptor or such.

My 4-yo granddaughter was watching a cartoon with dinosaurs and telling me all the names and what they ate. It used to be a boy thing, but I don’t think it’s true anymore.

Why is Poppy’s name in quotation marks?