Flashback to high school biology

The morning after torrential thunderstorms, the big dog and I ran across this froggie who brought back memories of high school biology. Just the night before, he was one of thousands croaking from flooded swales and culverts. But now he’s silent.

I took biology in 9th grade, freshman year of high school. I’m amazed I remember the name of our teacher, Mr. Hecksher. We dissected two creatures that year, a worm and a frog.

The worm was boring. One cut down the length, take note of a few organs, and that was it.

The frog was more exciting. Muscles, tendons, organs, and eyeballs. But not as fresh or colorful as the one laying on my street. You can see every part of this guy. And he wasn’t the only one. Dozens of his relatives hadn’t hopped fast enough to escape passing cars, either. Most of them were mush instead of a science fair project.

The deceased was four inches long. It would take quite a few like him for a frog leg appetizer. But the crows won’t let him go to waste. He’ll be gone before noon.

I don’t remember much about high school biology. I’m sure we prepared slides and looked at them through microscopes. I must have learned the parts of a cell. And we got to dissect a gray, formaldehyde-soaked frog.