Putting one foot in front of the other

Willkommen!



Today is the first day or the rest of my life. Why you may ask? Well the reason for that can be found here at my brand new blog. For anyone that cares, they will be able to gain insight into my wonderful mind and partake in my insightful ramblings. I feel like a first blog post should be some sort of an introduction to me. So I've decided to do that by discussing the interesting dichotomy between my two grandfathers.

"Why grandfathers?" is probably the first thing that comes to your mind. Why wouldn't I discuss my parents? Well I feel that parents are come from these two distinct upbringings and after living with each other for quite some time, they have, like me, been able to balance these two differing backgrounds. So I have decided to go directly to the source.

I'll begin with my mother's father. His name is Bernell Evans and he was born in 1931 during the depression. Based on this upbringing he has developed a strong sense of frugality and charity. He is willing to go out of his way to do almost anything for anyone he cares about and we frequently have to go after him for doing things beyond what he should be doing given his age and the fact that he has a pace maker and has survived five heart attacks. G-bop, as my brother calls him, also has a strong sense of community pride and civic duty. He has served as Mayor, city-counicilman, Stake Clerk, temple worker, and Bishop. Most of this occured after he spent a good portion of his life teaching math and woodshop. I've always admired this about him. I know of no other person so willing to put others before himself and I've tried to emulate that in my own life but I've found it's almost an impossible standard to live up to. I've also found that I have a strong sense of civic duty as well. I've long been of the opinion that people need to have some sort of principle in their lives that guides there actions in regard to their fellow human beings. For many people it is religion; however, for me, it is this sense of civic duty. I should attempt to be functioning part of society how acts in a way that should help and not hinder those around me. Tawni says that my blog should have pictures and not so many words. I guess she won't be reading my blog. Anyway, so that is my Grandpa Evans.

Part Two: Grandpa Mark. His actual last name is Hanson, but I've always called him Grandpa Mark or Jimmy. Longstory as to why his nickname is Jimmy is his name is Mark Hanson, but I'll probably save that one for later. Jimmy has a brash and brazen manner about him. He was born and raised in Salem, UT and until about a year ago, was a construction worker. Jimmy has always been what I like to call a "straight-shooter". He's the kind of person that will tell you what he thinks and doesn't sugar coat things. Some people can't handle that but I can respect it. I tire of the "fake-ness" that exists in our fair state of Utah and all the bullshit that people throw around. If I have something to say, I'm gonna say it.

So, basically, I've tried to achieve a balance between these two very different personalities. I've tried to highlight the good parts and stay away from the bad aspects of these personalities, which I have also received. I am a product of my upbringing and my environment. This concludes entry 1 and be prepared for follow-ups.