Ash Wednesday

I have been trying to decide what to give up for lent. Fist fighting, poaching, slamming books shut in quiet libraries, putting my feet on the shoulders of whomever is sitting in front of me at church, karate chopping mailboxes, tripping the kids and laughing at them... I don't know. There are a lot of things I don't know if I can stop doing for forty days.

Meanwhile check out this awesome fish. (be sure to watch the video)

welcome to the gun show

My grandfather, Ralph Tracy Clark, is an amazing man. He was born in 1926 in Smithfield, UT and has lived here ever since. He fought in both World War II and the Korean War. I love him very much. I am very grateful for all that he has done for our country and for my family. I look up to him as an example and hero. I hope that someday I can be as good of a person as he is.
I went over to his house this evening and he showed me some of his guns. Some are antique, dating back to the early 1900's. A couple of the guns belonged to his father Carl, my great-
grandfather. He had some very interesting, funny and scary stories to tell as we looked at these old firearms.
I have often wondered what my family would be like if something had happened to grampsie during the war. He told me tonight that he was scared a lot of the time, but that somehow he always knew that he would be alright. I know that he was protected and watched over and blessed because of his faith. He has told me before how hard he prayed during those times and I know that he always kept and keeps the Lord close. I love my grandpa.

shawty

If I were a gangsta', I would call myself t.o.n.z. and when people asked me what it stands for I would tell the "Its not an acronym."

Attention Readers:

There will be a few more of you joining my reading pool. My mother and sister have been made aware of this gem of a blog. Luckily, there is room for all the readers that want to read, this is one advantage over, say, a library book where only one person can read at a time. Library books may be more interesting, however. Plus with library books you can choose what you want to read about and on my frog you have to read whatever I write about. Its up to you. My frog or a library book. For you first time readers: I hope you enjoy what this blog has in store for you. And for you old timer:

In memorium

During his life cut short by euthanization, Mortimer the Lab Rat touched the lives of at least two (2). I had the opportunity and privilege to teach him to touch a wall for a drop of water, flip a switch ten (10) times for a drop of water, and touch a little duck hanging from a string to turn on the light then climb a little staircase touch a little bell at the top then come back down for a drop of water, among other things. He was a good lab rat and will not be soon forgotten. Thank you Mortimer.

Non-nutritive value

One of my psychology professors recently returned from Moscow (Russia). He is working with NASA and the Russian space program to find out WHY they should grow plants in space. At this point they CAN but aren't sure WHY. There are the obvious reasons like if the astronauts want a nice fresh salad, but they are looking at the non-nutritive value. For example, people like to go outside. When feeling stressed out a nice walk through the trees is calming.
A community garden is a popular thing in some communities. Why? It is easier to buy a tomato at the store.
A community garden in a prison has been shown to reduce violence. Why? Is it because they can work together towards something instead of... well, whatever they do in prison.
Gardens in war zones have been grown. During WWI soldiers grew plants in the trenches. One girl in my class said that while she was in Iraq a soldier had had someone back home send him some grass seed and he planted along the top of the dirt barrier that protects from shrapnel. Why?
The point is that during high stress situations, humans have been shown to have a tendency to turn to plants. SO, why have plants in space? Wouldn't it be nice to have a nice ficus tree aboard the space craft?

if you like awesomeness...

I you like awesomeness then you will like melissa marie., my wife. She is so awesome. She is tons more awesome than I am, so if you want to be friends with someone who is awesome then you should be friends with m.m.p. As far as I know she is the only one who reads my blog anyway, and while I am slightly (actually quite) embarrassed to write a blog, her awesomeness helps me feel less embarrassed because she is so awesome. I think I will call my blog my frog instead of my blog.