Todd in Class

This morning in 5th hour, my students were discussing something we had read, and one student in particular was giving some very insightful comments.  I was keeping in the background, as I had arranged the discussion to be entirely student-centered, but after a few comments, it dawned on me that this boy's voice was unusually raspy.  So I said, "Todd, you sound like Clint Eastwood today."  A lot of kids laughed, but Todd replied in a dazed tone, "I feel like crap."  I told him I was sorry he felt bad and I had just been trying to make him laugh.  The discussion continued and Todd again contributed with intelligent commentary.  We were all just listening and I was marking down his points.  Then, completely out of the blue, he concluded with, "And I just want to say that a .44 magnum is the most powerful handgun in the world."  We all lost it.