"I passed the Holidays pleasantly at home in my cave," said Stegosaurus. "It was quite relaxing after all the recent traveling I had undertaken. In late January I was delighted to receive word that Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont desired to make my acquaintance. I immediately accepted the invitation, looking forward to the opportunity to discuss our shared Socialist ideals. I warned him it would be a while before I got to Vermont, since I'm a Stegosaurus and we're slow by nature. At best, we can only run 5 miles per hour on average. In mid February I arrived in the State Capitol of Vermont, known as Montpelier, Vermont. I stomped into the North Branch Nature Center, where I hoped to enjoy a nice meal of the local tree specialty before seeking an audience with Senator Sanders.

I started off with a nice meal of Tsuga canadensis, which I was recently familiar with since these trees also grow in the country of Canada. Then I found an Abies balsamea or two, followed by a small grove of Picea abies. Then I was delighted to find one of my favorites, the Acer negundo. After I had had my fill, I explored more of Vermont's capital city. Feeling tired after my meal I found Hubbard Park and slept by a tower in a place called Seven Fireplaces. When I had fully rested I stomped to the Vermont Statehouse to see if I could find Senator Sanders. The communication I had received told me that he'd be in the capitol visiting his constituents.

Of course when I am around, I am hard to miss. I wasn't sure who to ask about Senator Sanders' whereabouts, but as it turned out, he was the one who found me.

It being cold, I was glad to see him bundled up and wearing his mittens.

"I'm very glad to finally meet you, Mr. Sanders, " said Stegosaurus.

I have waited a long time to meet you too," said Bernie Sanders. "You have a mighty reputation that goes back millions of years, and you are loved by everyone, especially small children, everywhere for some reason."

"Yes, a large part of my fan base is made up of very small mammals," said Stegosaurus. "It has been that way for a long while now."

"Furthermore, I understand that in 2008 you ran for Congress on the Green Party ticket," said Bernie Sanders.

"Yes, I did," said Stegosaurus, sighing. "That did not end very well. Not everything is a success."

"Still, I hope we can spend some time together discussing our shared Socialist ideals," said Bernie Sanders.

"One thing I wanted to ask you," said Stegosaurus excitedly, ".....is, do you know a mammal I much admire, Eugene Victor Debs?"

"Ah, no," laughed Bernie Sanders, and then he stopped himself. "I didn't mean to laugh, I'm sorry, Stegosaurus I did not know Mr. Debs, I'm not that old. But, I do admire his contributions to our cause, and share many of his ideals. "

"It's okay, Mr. Sanders, no offense taken. I really feel that Mr. Debs cares about the plight of working mammal and working dinosaur alike that is why every election cycle I stomp to the voting booth and vote for him. I heard that President Harding let him out of prison recently and I really feel that 2024 will be his year .... that is if we can keep that great threat to democracy from running for office again."

"Yes, I know who you mean," said Bernie Sanders. "Donald Trump."

"No, no, I mean that great, true, threat to democracy, Giant Meteor 2024. It was a narrow escape when Giant Meteor 2016 lost the last election," said Stegosaurus.

Bernie Sanders then changed the subject slightly. The elderly Senator and Stegosaurus stenops talked outside the Vermont statehouse about their admiration for Karl Marx, the Castro family of Cuba, Joseph Stalin, and other famous Socialists of America, such as Emma Goldman. They discussed and agreed heartily on methods to successfully bring about a centrally planned economy that worked for everyone. and Then Stegosaurus made a suggestion of going back to the North Branch Nature Center for lunch. Of course, Bernie knew he wasn't going to eat trees, but he liked Stegosaurus and wanted to continue the conversation with his new friend. So, he climbed up on his back and situated himself safely between Stegosaurus' spiff, sexy plates. Stegosaurus stomped forthrightly, and soon returned to the North Branch Nature Center.

Stegosaurus kept offering Bernie trees, but Bernie always declined politely. With Bernie on his back Stegosaurus happily ate Abies balsamea. Acer pensylvanicum, and Fagus grandifolia. Then Stegosaurus was feeling generous and helpful, so he ate some Rhus typhina to help the North Branch Nature Center clear out its weeds. Finally to top off his meal he ate an entire grove of Pinus nigra, which he was surprised to find in Vermont, which is why he eagerly consumed the entire grove. As is the case with the Pinus nigra, it caused Stegosaurus to expound upon sound economic principles.

He abruptly asked Bernie, "Senator Sanders, how would you counter, exactly, the theory of marginal utility? What metric would you use to gauge the satisfaction level of the consumer? What about a proper pricing structure? Every healthy economy needs a method for establishing a pricing structure."

"Well, Stegosaurus, that is silly. They should just be content as we decide what is best, and lower their expectations. We can't end greed until expectations are decreased. Mammals will learn. I've used the example before but there is no good reason why we need more than one shoe company in America. One company is adequate; diversity of choice leads to greed. What would make you think of such a thing all of a sudden ?? You sound like a capitalist."

Stegosaurus sighed. He didn't want to hurt the feelings of the Senator, but whenever he ate Pinus nigra he just couldn't help but become thoughtful about economic matters for some reason. It was too bad that Corythosaurus, his loyal accountant wasn't available to help him articulate something he suddenly knew was a flaw in the Socialist economic model. Why could he never remember this all the time? If only he had a larger brain .........

"I understand now how you lost your Congressional run," said Bernie. "You have a flaw in that your positions are not consistent."

"I blame my brain for being the size of a walnut. Maybe I am only fit for eating trees and digging for roots," admitted Stegosaurus. "This always happens when I eat the Pinus nigra, and today I have eaten an entire grove of them. I hope we can still be friends."

Bernie thought twice about admitting that he was annoyed... for he was worried that if news got out that he disagreed with Stegosaurus, many mammals who loved Stegosaurus would dislike him, and it would cause a scandal. So he said, "Of course we can still be friends, Stegosaurus. No hard feelings. I would advise you to eat less of the Pinus nigra; it would be good for the environment and the future politics of the Country. We can't have a Revolution succeed if people start thinking and questioning things."

Stegosaurus then returned Bernie Sanders to the Vermont Statehouse, and they parted on friendly and cordial terms. Stegosaurus returned to Colorado, having forgotten sensible economic laws by the time he was halfway home.