Whew! Baby T-Rex nearly chomped on C.J.'s camera

"Walking With Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular," starting tonight at Target Center, may be too intense for young children.

This statement is based on the fact that I almost required a diaper when the show's baby T-Rex was sicced on me at FOX 9. I am not a young child. If a heart-rate monitor had been attached to my wrist, it would have indicated my momentary distress. That reaction was just ridiculous. I knew the thing wasn't real. I could see the legs of the man operating the fake dino. (He was wearing gray tights augmented with a pouch to rival the most-talked-about aspect of the costume worn by Christopher O'Donnell in the 1997 "Batman & Robin" movie.)

And, yet, I was seriously freaked out. It was a lot more terrifying than that balloon ride the Disney Pixar people treated me to at the Dome for "Up." There's T-Rex video -- I seem cool except for some arrested breathing -- at startribune.com/video.

The dino wrangler in the video is Matthew Rimmer, spokesperson for the North America tour, which is bringing 15 snarling "live" dinosaurs to Target Center for shows through Sunday. Rimmer is married to Nana Visitor, who played Major Kira on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." If I read Rimmer's lips correctly, he whispered these words to the guy in the T-Rex costume: "Go attack that camera."

A concert to remember "Took about 10 people" to the Bruce Springsteen concert at St. Paul's X, Gene Gittelson told me Wednesday, "including two good doctors, just in case something happened. I had a urologist, you'll never need one of those, Dr. William Utz, and a general, Dr. Tod Worner, they're both my doctors. Both had never been to a Springsteen concert. They were flipping out." So was Dr. Utz's wife, Dr. Maureen Utz, who can now be known as the dancing dermatologist.

"During the day on Monday I get a call from Nils Lofgren; Springsteen calls him the world's greatest guitarist," Gittelson said. Nils remarked that they hadn't talked since last he was in town, at which time the owner of Gittelson Jewelers bankrolled dinner at Oceanaire. Nils arranged for backstage passes for the Gittelson party, which included Gene's sister Marilyn Percansky and nephew Marc Percansky.

"Nils came out, looks great, kisses us. Told us he had double hip replacement. It's hard. He has to work out every day. It's taken a toll on him."

Special connection Bruce Springsteen already had a Minnesota doc hook-up.

Lake Waconia's Dr. Janet Bergeron connected her best friend since kindergarten, Mary Dahlquist, with Springsteen's band. Dahlquist was diagnosed with breast cancer in December; she and Bergeron were together on a beach in Mexico when the bad biopsy news was delivered. "It's so nice to have a doctor at your fingertips," Dahlquist said.

Bergeron's support has been longstanding; Dahlquist's first daughter was born with heart and lung defects, and her husband was diagnosed with brain cancer nine years ago.

When Dahlquist learned she had to have surgery, she joked, "I want you to arrange for Bruce Springsteen to come sing to me in my hospital bed." Bergeron pulled unknown Notre Dame alumni strings, Dahlquist believes.

When I talked to Dahlquist in February, the plan was for drummer Max Weinberg to take them backstage to meet the band before the concert. I couldn't locate Dahlquist for a concert follow-up. WCCO.com has video of Dahlquist's rock and roll odyssey.