The Mystery of The Binghamton Dinosaurs - A Year Later

This post is the "all time" favorite on my blog.  So I thought it would be interesting to do a "sequel" but I ran into some problems.  But first, a note of explanation.

The post in question (and a couple of other posts during that time period on my blog) tell the story of Mason Mastroianni, the grandson of Johnny Hart, the cartoonist from this area who did the B.C. and Wizard of Id strips for many years.  Upon Johnny Hart'sdeath, Mason took over the B.C. strip.

It's almost spooky.  Mason almost does Johnny Hart drawing better than Johnny Hart did.

Mason also came up with a wonderful idea called hART of BC, which involved having various local artists do their "impressions"of the dinosaur Gronk from the B.C. strip. These decorated Styrofoam dinosaurs would then decorate downtown Binghamton and other parts of the Triple Cities before they were auctioned off or otherwise purchased by companies or people who had sponsored the artists.


It was a great plan.  There was only one problem.

Vandals.

The dinosaurs had to be taken off the streets prematurely, but it wasn't soon enough for some of them.  At least one was severely damaged. 

They were displayed for a while at the Oakdale Mall, Johnson City's indoor shopping mall.

Now, the hART of BC Facebook page exists, forelorn, its wall not having been updated since last year.

I'm assuming the auction idea went ahead as planned. I tried to do a Google search and there just doesn't seem to be much information about the fate of the dinosaurs. I do know where one of them is.  It is in a local dentist's office (not mine.)  It is visible from a window but I'm not sure they would want to have me lurking and trying to take a picture from outside.  But what happened to the others?  Did the auction raise the amount of money they wanted?  Where are the dinosaurs?  Does anyone care?

How sad that I just came from a part of the country that treasures its heritage - some of it more than 400 years old - and yet Binghamton has trouble with something from last year.

It isn't the first time this area has tried to promote a good idea, only to have it turn to dust  It probably won't be the last.

This isn't the sequel I wanted to write.