There’s always time for a Toad story

As a town we continue to lose people to cancer. Our ski school has lost too many people this year, as well. It is my duty to announce yet another memorial reception, this time for the renowned Toad (Todd Olson).

On Dec. 20 at Buttermilk we will celebrate the life of Mr. Toad, the Toad, Mr. Towed (all the same person). At 3 p.m. we will rededicate Toad’s road, a kids trail at Buttermilk, with a wrought iron figure of a toad. At 4 p.m. there will be a memorial reception for Mr. Towed at Bumps restaurant hosted by the Kid’s School of Buttermilk and Toad’s family. All friends and co-workers are invited to attend.

One more story of the Toad is, indeed, in order. Toad and I were checking out his new Mazda on our way to a construction job in New Castle.

Toad said, “Let’s check out how fast this baby will do.” Traveling at high speed on I-70 we came around a curve and somebody gave us his headlights in a blinking fashion. Toad stated maybe he better slow down.

At the next curve we spotted the Colorado Highway Patrol escorting about 5,000 sheep on I-70. Fishtailing to a stop, Toad and I both exclaimed at the same moment, “No lamb chops for dinner this day.”

With a big sigh of relief we both sat there doing our best to entertain the sheep with our best Baaaaaah Baaaaaah. Both of us did very good imitations as we were both from sheep country. The sheep just stared us down. Goodbye Mr. Towed, we will all miss your very elephantine sense of humor.

Andy Hanson

Aspen