It’s a little hectic around our house from May to mid-June. Our therapy dog, Stuart, added to that busyness by serving as master of ceremonies for the inaugural pet parade at the Southport Spring Festival on May 2. (Check out his article on the pet page of this week’s newspaper.)

We enjoyed Mother’s Day at our daughter’s house. As there were impending storms, Stuart (he hates thunder storms) was invited to join the family for the festivities. 

My high school class is having a reunion in a few months. Several years ago I was asked (drafted) to become a member of the reunion committee because my good friend Richard Smith was removed from the group. It seems that he wouldn’t come to Indianapolis from Austin, Texas, to attend a few meetings over a six-month period to help plan the reunion. We had one of those dinner meetings this month, and things are shaping up nicely.

Lyn and I attended a birthday party for Rosie Click earlier this month. She is married to Tom Click, one of my best friends and a former classmate. Rosie has struggled through a difficult year of medical problems.
For years when I tried explaining something to her, I would at some point be exposed to her infamous eye roll. It was so gratifying to be treated to one of those during the party. She seems to be getting back to becoming the Rosie we all loved, enjoyed and put up with for many years. 

Her husband and their daughter, Laurie French, have supported Rosie through her recovery process. I was shocked when I was explaining something to Laurie. As she was listening she tilted her head to the side and presented me with one of Rosie’s eye rolls. 
The day following the party, Lyn and I made our way to Crawfordsville to celebrate the graduation of our grandson Trevor from Wabash College. 

Stuart and I have completed our reading programs at Hornet Park and South Grove schools in Beech Grove. The initiative gives some really cool students an enjoyable opportunity to read to Stuart. In the past Stuart hasn’t totally understood summer break. I’m thinking for the next few weeks he will be confused because we won’t be going to the schools.

We have some high school graduation parties coming up. Alicia Taylor, who was a first-grader when I her drove to school as a bus driver, will graduate from Canfield High School in Ohio. She was the self-appointed assistant superintendent of Bus No. 5.

 Briana Markland will also be graduating. For years I worked with her mom, Angie Markland. I have had the pleasure to watch these young ladies grow and mature.  
I again have a scheduling problem as our daughter Michelle is getting married on that same day: June 14. Several people have informed me that I can be at only one place at a time. I will get together with Alicia and Briana to set up a time for us to celebrate their graduations.

Memorial Day gave me the opportunity to remember one of my high school classmates who lost his life serving in the Vietnam War. Pfc. Stuart Ernhart died Jan. 25, 1966. RIP Stuart, thank you.
Shonk is a 1960 graduate of Southport High School, a ’63 grad of Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis) and a retired bus driver from Beech Grove Schools.

In the mid-1970s I was developing a sales territory and learning to  become an outside sales representative for a large industrial supply company. This was a total commission position, so it was important that I didn’t waste time. 

Traveling a six-county area, I seemed to be quickly building a  profitable district. Each workday I laid out my area to be covered, a list of potential customers and a list of accounts to call on. Diligent about completing my duties, I sometimes grabbed a quick sandwich on the run for my lunch. I was keeping to my plan until I discovered David Letterman on the radio.

I had seen him giving weather reports a few times on a local television station and knew that he enjoyed his work. One day, quite  by accident, while dialing through the radio stations in my car, I came across Letterman, who was hosting a talk show on WNTS-AM. The station was licensed in Beech Grove and operated out of a small  building on Raymond Street. 

I was hooked in about 20 minutes. I never knew what he might talk about or who his guest would be, but I did know that he seemed to have a blast. Because of my interest in his show, I realized that my enthusiasm to reach a destination and make a presentation was waning. 

When it came to Letterman’s attention that he had left a job before utilizing his vacation time and had started a new one with no time off coming, he started a segment called “Vacations for Dummies.” The skit was aimed at folks like himself, who had lost vacation days in a  job change, and myself, who had no time to get away.
Letterman made phone calls to resorts like Nashville, Tenn., or Disney World and explained to the person answering the phone that he was making a “Vacation for Dummies” call. He then asked the  person to tell his listeners what was going on. Letterman might ask vacationers to thrill us poor dummies at home by giving highlights of their day. Can you imagine receiving a call like this from a guy at a radio station hundreds of miles away?

I can still remember listening to him in my car and laughing. 
Well, that laughing will come to a close tonight as Letterman does his final “Late Show” before stepping off into the wonderful world of retirement from television.

May is always a hectic month for me, and it got off to a busy start with The Southsider Voice’s first cruise-in of the season on the first.
The event, held at 6025 Madison Ave., attracted more than 120 classic and custom cars and 200 people. Stuart, my therapy dog, and I enjoyed looking at the cars and visiting with all the folks. The next show starts at 6 p.m. Friday, June 5, and it will surely be a blast. 

At our house, my wife, Lyn, is the human mother to Stuart, Guessie our cat and Alberta, Betty and Jackie, our chickens. Lyn loves working in the yard and her various gardens. She collects mowed grass and fallen leaves for her compost piles.
Lyn needed help gathering leaves and grass since raking was taking too much of her time, so Stuart and I were dispatched to Lowe’s on Emerson Avenue to check out lawn sweepers. Lowe’s is one of Stuart’s favorite places to visit.

Amy Briner-Graves, whom I used to work with at Beech Grove Schools, assisted us in finding the best lawn sweeper. She volunteered her daughter, Abby, to deliver the sweeper. Just as it was delivered, Lyn came home. She was surprised to find a large box with pink and blue bows on it and a Mother’s Day card from me and the critters. The lawn received a thorough sweeping over the weekend. 

Southport’s Spring Festival was May 9, and Stuart served as master of ceremonies for the pet parade, which received a police escort. Stuart excitingly sat on my lap as we rode toward Southport Park.
My longtime friend Jerry Cosby drove his car and provided transportation for Elizabeth Karushis and Naomi Johnson, the two young ladies who were princesses for the parade. We truly arrived in style.

Stuart got to meet some new canine friends that participated in the festivities. He was surprised when noticing a handsome rabbit riding in a wagon as a part of the parade. Everyone had a wonderful time.
Stuart and I saw a lot of our friends. We hung out at The Southside Animal Shelter’s booth for a while. Stuart and I met at the shelter. We also visited the Southport Lions Club’s area. Stuart’s canine buddy Gundy – a leader dog for the blind who is going to retire at the end of the month – was there with Pauline Ulrey. 

At some point in the afternoon I remembered that our car was still parked at the corner of Southport and Madison. We worked our way to the area near the police station and asked if there might be a way that we could get a ride back to get our car. It turned out that wasn’t a problem at all.

Stuart and I climbed onto the rear seat of a golf cart and we were given a ride. This was a first for Stuart as he had never been on a golf cart before. As soon as we arrived at home, Stuart took a well-deserved nap.
Sunday we went to daughter Michelle’s house for Mother’s Day. It was another great weekend in May.

My wife, Lyn, and I have resorted to having appointment calendars to help remind us of our daily activities. It seems strange that this was never needed when we had full-time jobs.
We really enjoy our volunteer work. Lyn has been involved with The Lord’s Pantry at Anna’s House for several years and is a member of the choir at St. Jude Church. She and her friends have several scheduled meals each month. 

I also have a few things on my plate each week. Stuart, our therapy dog, and I visit either ManorCare Health Services or Madison Health Care Center and a couple of schools in Beech Grove, where students enjoy reading to him. I also have several breakfast gatherings with former co-workers and classmates, and there are a couple of lunch engagements each month. On occasion I have to finish my breakfast with the guys in time so I’m not late for my lunch date.

Last Wednesday was one of those days. I had a 9 a.m. breakfast appointment at the Hotcakes Emporium Pancake House & Restaurant on Bluff Road with several of the guys who I graduated with at Southport. Joyce, our favorite waitress, once again took great care of us. Attendance was up a little this month. We have several guys who claim they move a bit farther south during the winter and can’t attend.

Danny Woerner is one of our regular attendees during warm weather. This time he brought Ed Tenholder, a former classmate. I know that decades have passed since we graduated, but I didn’t recognize anything about this fellow. Later, he told us a story about competing on the wrestling team and being in a weight class under 100 pounds. Ed said he needed to lose 2 pounds to be in that division, but when he tried dropping weight a growth spurt was triggered.

I remember him being about 5 feet 2 inches in high school, but he seems to be over 6 feet now. Ed said he remembers his father grumbling about having to purchase him new pants about every time he turned around for a while. It was great to see him again.
I scampered home from breakfast, picked up Stuart and headed to Hornet Park Elementary for a reading program. The next day we went to South Grove Elementary for the same program. Sometimes I read a few of “Stuart’s articles” that have been published in The Southsider Voice. These visits are enjoyed by everyone involved.

On Saturday we will be at the Southport Spring Festival, where Stuart will serve as master of ceremonies for the pet parade. He will arrive in a convertible at noon with a police escort and will be accompanied by two princesses: Elizabeth Karushis, a seventh-grader grader at Southport Middle School, and Naomi Johnson, a third-grader at Mary Bryan Elementary.
We are looking forward to the festival. I hope I get to ride in the convertible with them.