Father's Day
June 20, 2004

Meet today's cast...
Fr. Charlie: Quite a wit, pastor of our flock. Like many of our parishioner, he will be heading to the Cape after this weekend. We hope to see him again in Septmeber.	Scooter: Always "scooting" around, going in all directions, busy, busy, busy, trying to learn to take time to slow down.	Bubba: Good natured, loves the beach and surf-boarding, simple-minded and silly

Grampa Bill: Freddie's grampa is a kind, gentle, elderly man who is full of wisdom. He loves to explain God's love to Freddie and the other children in Puppetville through the use of visual "objects" to help them remember a special message.	Freddie: Freddie is a shy, young boy whose father is no longer around. He loves to learn and try to figure things out, always with a positive attitude. He helps Fr. Charlie and his Grampa Bill teach the other children about God.

FR. CHARLIE: Good morning, boys and girls. Do you know what today is?

KIDS: Father’s Day

FR. CHARLIE: Yes! What a wonderful day….. (hears loud voices arguing)…
What is that noise? Who is arguing back there! Come out here!

BUBBA and SCOOTER enter

SCOOTER: My Dad is better than your Dad!

BUBBA: No sir…is not!

SCOOTER: Is too---My Dad knows a lot! A whole lot…..just ASK him. He's real smart and knows EVERYTHING!

BUBBA: No he doesn’t cuz he has all his hair. My dad’s smarter! His brain is thinkin’ so much that he’s lost all his hair!

SCOOTER: That’s not from thinkin’..that’s from livin with you! Anyway, my dad’s more talented! After he drinks a glass of Pepsi, he can burp the BIGGEST burp in the whole world!

BUBBA: Oh yeah, well my dad can drink ANYTHING and make the biggest burp—you can probably even HEAR it around the whole world!

FR. CHARLIE: Boys, boys! That’s enough! Shouldn’t you both be thinking of what to do for your fathers today instead of arguing?

SCOOTER: We’re sorry Fr. Charlie…I guess we got carried away…but we HAD been thinkin’ of what to get our Dad’s.

BUBBA: Yep, and I have an achin’ head. I’ve been thinkin and thinkin and I think I have over-thunk! My head is killing me. Maybe I broke somethin in here (hits head)

SCOOTER: Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that, Bubba…There’s not much up there to break!

FR. CHARLIE: Scooter!! Now, before I forget, Grampa Bill and his grandson, Freddie are coming to see me today.

BUBBA: Oh, poor Freddie…I guess he needs to talk to you…because…because….

SCOOTER: Because his Dad isn’t around anymore. This is going to be a hard day for Freddie and Grandpa Bill, Fr. Charlie.

FR. CHARLIE: Well, in some ways it will be hard…but his Grandpa is special to him and they are coming to show me a Father’s Day present.

SCOOTER & BUBBA: (Look at each other) FATHER’S DAY PRESENT????

Knock at the door---in comes Freddie and Grampa Bill. Freddie is carrying a bag.

Grampa Bill and Freddie say hi to everyone and they all respond.

GRANDPA: Good morning! Fr. Charlie, Freddie has something to show you…Freddie, go ahead, give the bag to Fr. Charlie.

FREDDIE: (Gives the bag to Fr. Charlie) Look inside Fr. Charlie! It’s a Father’s Day present.

FR. CHARLIE: (Fr. Charlie takes out a toolbox) WOW! Look at the toolbox!

BUBBA and SCOOTER look at each other confused and then Bubba speaks up..

SCOOTER: Oh, I....get it…..It’s a gift for FATHER Charlie! Today is FATHER’S Day, so it is for FATHER Charlie!

FREDDIE: No, it isn’t for Fr. Charlie—it’s actually a present Grampa gave to ME for Father’s Day!

BUBBA: To YOU??? . Oh, now my head reaaalllly hurts! I’m so confused!

GRANDPA: Fr. Charlie, open up the tool box and show everyone what’s in it.

Fr. Charlie takes out a ball of string.

BUBBA & SCOOTER: (Look at each other) STRING?????????????????

GRANDPA: That’s right! I found this toolbox that I had given to Freddie’s dad when he was a boy. I put the string in it for Freddie just as I did for his dad. I told him it could become INVISIBLE STRING. When he sees it, he will know that he’s never alone. Fr. Charlie can you help explain this?

FR. CHARLIE: Sure. Boys and girls, today many of you will celebrate Father’s Day with your fathers but there are other children who will spend time today with their Grandfather, like Grampa Bill, or a special uncle, or even their Moms….but…there is another Father…the SAME Father…who is with ALL of us today and every day! Who do you think that is?
Asks the boys and girls: “GOD”

BUBBA: Duh, I’m confused Fr. Charlie. What does this have to do with invisible string? I know! You’re gonna do some magic tricks. You got a magic hat with a cute little bunny you’re gonna pull out of it? Here bunny, bunny, bunny…(looks around)

FREDDIE: Bubba, there are no magic tricks. Grampa told me that if I’m afraid or lonely that God is always with me…and Bubba and Scooter, your dads can always be with you, too!

SCOOTER: That’s impossible! My dad can’t always be with me if he’s at work or away on a trip. He’d be far away and I’d be here!

GRANDPA: Ah…but this string becomes INVISIBLE STRING made of love. Pretend that your Dad ALWAYS has one end of the string and you have the other. So, Scooter, when your Dad is away from you and you miss him, your love will travel through the string and he will feel it tug in his heart.

SCOOTER: And when Dad feels it tug in this heart, he will send the tug back to me and then I’ll feel it?

GRANDPA: Yep, that’s right.

BUBBA: Well, now wait a minute…how far does the invisible string reach, anyway?

FREDDIE: Grandpa told me it reaches anywhere and everywhere.

BUBBA: You mean if I go to MacDonald’s it will reach there…or Chuckie Cheese it will reach there? ….MMM, dad told me someday I’d send him to the Funny Farm….I don’t know where that is yet…..but, will it reach there?

FR. CHARLIE: Bubba, EVERYWHERE! No one is ever alone.

FREDDIE: That’s right! You have your Dads, I have Grandpa Bill, other kids have their Mom’s or someone else special today...I even think my Dad is with me sometimes even though I can’t see him……..but FOR SURE….we all have the SAME BIGGEST, BESTEST Father in the whole world—GOD!

BUBBA: Oh, (looks disappointed) you mean there’s no magic hat? I thought I could’ve given dad a bunny rabbit for Father’s Day!

GRANDPA: You are funny, Bubba. So, have you and Scooter decided what you’re going to do for your fathers?

SCOOTER: I was thinkin of some golf balls cuz Dad keeps losin’ his….but now I’m trying to think of something with STRING. I know! I’ll get him a kite….that’s on a string. We can go fly it way, way up in the sky……and then I’ll tell him about the INVISIBLE STRING.

BUBBA: Hmm, somethin’ on a string…..I know, a yo-yo! YO! I hope he doesn’t get mad and give me…you know…THE LOOK (the other kids gasp), and send me to my room! Well, I’ll just talk fast and tell him about the invisible string thing, and the tug hug. Then…he’s really gonna say that he hopes I have a son like me some day!

FREDDIE: Fr. Charlie—I was thinkin’—since it’s Father’s Day and all of us have a Heavenly Father who is always with us, well, I was kinda wonderin’..

FR. CHARLIE: Wondering what, Freddie?

FREDDIE: Well, I was just kinda wonderin if maybe I could say, that is, what if I were just to stand here and in my loudest voice say, ( whispers so no one can hear)

FR. CHARLIE: Sorry, Freddie…I couldn’t hear what you said.

FREDDIE: I got kinda embarrassed. I wanted to say in my loudest voice, “Happy Father’s Day, God” but I was embarrassed thinkin’ about talkin’ to God, you know, all alone, by myself. I guess it was a silly idea.

FR. CHARLIE: No…it wasn’t silly at all. God wants us to talk to Him, we love Him and He loves us. I have an idea. What if everyone here would say that with you?

FREDDIE: All of us? With me? You mean, like together? In our loudest voices? Do ya think we could? Do ya think they would?

BUBBA: Yo, Freddie, stop with all the questions! Yeah, we’ll do it together! Ok, y’all, as my daddy would say….I’ll give ya to the count of 3 and in your loudest voices say, “Happy Father’s Day, God”…READY 1….2…..3

“HAPPY FATHER’S DAY, GOD!”

FR. CHARLIE: WOW! I bet God felt ALL of those tug hugs!

And today's Puppet Pulpit Password is God loves you!

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