toddcast

     A city boy, Kenny, moved to the country and bought a donkey from an old farmer for $100.00. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day. The next day the farmer drove up and said, “Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died.”      Kenny replied, “Well then, just give me my money back.”      The farmer said, “Can’t do that. I went and spent it already.      Kenny said, “Okay then, just unload the donkey.”      The farmer asked, “What ya gonna do with him?”      Kenny answered, “I’m going to raffle him off.”      The farmer said “You can’t raffle off a dead donkey!”      Kenny said, “Sure I can. Watch me.”      A month later the farmer met up with Kenny and asked, “What happened with that dead donkey?” Kenny said, “I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a p...

I played my last organized football game on Thanksgiving Day 1978.   I was a senior in high school and, as tradition had it in Massachusetts, Thanksgiving marked the end of the regular season and for our team, an abysmal 1-8, the last game of our season.   Growing up I had dreams of football glory and had actually displayed some signs of gridiron proficiency, but as time went on my 5'5" frame made it clear that a future in football would be relegated to the world of dreams.   I was deep on the depth charts, but on Thanksgiving Day every senior got to play.   This would be the day I would prove everyone else wrong.   This Thanksgiving every coach would rue the day they overlooked the diminutive #18.   And I did get to play I was on the kickoff team and my primary goal was to make a tackle and hear my name announced over the public address system.   To hear "Todd Catteau makes the tackle" echo through the chilly New England air would be at l...

Years ago we had a dog, a Welsh corgi named Callie.   I don't dislike dogs, but I've never really been a "dog person."   My wife is much more the animal lover.   She was the one to care for her, walk her, and be the kind master every dog deserves.   I must confess, Callie never did get too much attention from me.   In fact, I often considered her a nuisance more than anything else. We got Callie as a puppy, and she was all puppy.   She raced around the back yard moving those little legs faster than you thought was possible.   When anyone would go out in the back yard Callie would race to their side.   We would later get her a companion, Jem, and they would frolic in the back yard together chasing each other and doing that dog wrestling thing that dogs do.   But then one day, we noticed Callie was slowing down a bit.   She had even developed a slight limp. So, we brought her to the veterinarian to see what the problem migh...

Back in the 70's when I was just a teenager the movie Freaky Friday came out.   The premise is that an often-bickering teenage daughter and her mother wake one Friday morning to find themselves in the other's body.   After the initial shock wears off, each realizes how difficult it is to be the other, and both gain a greater appreciation of the trials of the other's life.   After a while they return to their own bodies having learned quite a bit by swapping places.   This freakish, cosmic accident works out to benefit mother and daughter.   It was remade in 2003 when my daughters were young.   It was interesting, to say the least, to observe their reaction to swapping places with their mother. The idea, however, is intriguing.   Although most mothers and daughters would cringe at the thought, there are probably some people you would like to change places with.   Wouldn’t it be cool to inhabit the body of your favorite athlete, singer, or...

I am the fourth of four children and the only son.   I appeared late on the scene and by the time I was a teenager my older sisters were grown and out of the house.   Technically, I am not an only child, but for practical purposes I was one during my teenage years.   There are some advantages of being the last child and having your parents all to yourself.   When asked where to go to eat, I had the lone vote.   When asked what movie we wanted to see, I held the children's majority.   When I had a ballgame, there were no other sibling conflicts to work around.   Life was good as I was the center of my parent's universe.   Their love for me taught me a lot about God's love for his children, but on the other hand I fell victim to a somewhat egocentric and distorted view of God's love as well. I am the father of four and, although my oldest two are now out of the house, at one time I was the father of four teenagers.   (There ought to be some kin...

The Dining Room Table It has been quite a couple of months at our household.   My oldest daughter graduated from college in December and got married in January!   Both events evoked so many memories and so much emotion some of which center around an ordinary dining room table. When my wife was a college student she moved into a house with a few friends and her mother bought her a dining room table.   Just an ordinary table from some garage sale.   It was around that table that she shared meals with her friends.   With those college friends she played games around that table and on that table she studied her way through college.   Upon graduation that table went with her.    More meals and times together with friends followed.   She moved from Texas to Pennsylvania where she met me.   We married and that table became our first dining room table in our first home in southeastern Pennsylvania.   We shared our first meals...