Sometimes it is difficult to plan when to purchase gas for our cars. It seems like gas prices don’t stay the same for long. I’m fairly certain that it is easy for gas stations to change their prices. I’m not sure how it’s done, but I figure it’s electronically altered from the offices of the chain outlets. 

When my dad owned his Sunoco service station in the 1950s and ’60s, our prices didn’t change often because it was a major project to adjust them. Each pump had to have its outside covers removed and then several adjustments had to be made. We had to change the flow of the fuel and match the new price with that flow.

We then needed to pump a gallon into a container to ensure that the new price per gallon was correct. Once that checked out, we reassembled the pump and moved on to our second one. We were lucky that we had only two pumps.

Sunoco sold only one grade of gasoline at the time, but that changed a few years later when blend pumps were introduced. Each station had to have new underground fuel tanks installed. 

We now had two types of gasoline. The blend pump allowed customers to purchase six blends of gasoline. What was really cool was that the hose from the pump held another hose inside it and the two blends of fuel never mixed until reaching the nozzle. 

Changing the prices on these complicated pumps was a challenge. We also had to manually change the large sign that advertised the price. I smile when I drive past a station and there is an employee dealing with a price change on a non-electrical sign.

Back then a service station owner purchased the gas from the distributor when it was delivered. All the fuel in the underground tanks was owned by the service station owner. It was great to have a friend who was employed at the fuel distribution center as he knew when the price of fuel was going up. This allowed us time to order and receive a truckload of fuel at the current price. Then when the price rose we had fuel at the lower price and could sell it for the new price.

The trucks that Sunoco used at that time to deliver fuel were semis with double fuel tank trailers. As I remember they delivered 7,200 gallons at a time. If you have ever attempted to back up a vehicle that is attached to a trailer, you know that it can be difficult. Backing up two attached trailers is nearly impossible. All service stations needed to be designed to accommodate these vehicles.
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I once heard a story about one of the semi drivers. It seems that he was challenged to drive a loaded double trailer around Monument Circle. When stopped by the police, he claimed to be lost.

A couple of weeks ago I was having breakfast at Bob Evans with some friends whom I met when my dad and I had a small fleet of buses that we contracted to Perry Township Schools. We discuss a lot of “important” things while telling and retelling equally important stories at these monthly meetings.

We talked about driving buses when you had no radio contact with schools or transportation centers. We were basically on our own. 

I remember driving my high school and junior high route one morning during a bad snowstorm. When we arrived at school I was notified that it had been canceled because of the weather. I then had to return those students to their homes.

When driving home from breakfast I thought about how interesting and difficult it might be to explain all the new communication technology to my father. 

After we sold our buses to the township, dad started working as the maintenance director of the township’s fleet of buses. At some point two-way radios were installed in all the buses.

My next job took me to Southern California, where I was part of the training team for a school bus contractor that had more than 700 buses. I was issued a large 103-passenger bus, which was equipped with a two-way radio. I still remember my call letters/numbers: WBI79-104. We used call numbers like 10-4, 10-8 and 10-20 and seldom said real words.

As I was thinking about how I would explain today’s electronic gadgets to my dad, I thought about the cellphone that my wife, Lyn, uses. I got a new one too, but it isn’t as up-to-date as hers. I figured it might take an hour to explain texting to dad. I don’t text much, usually only a few words as I have to punch the No. 7 key four times to get the letters to appear in a message. Lyn’s phone has a keyboard.

I have watched her send and receive messages from the same person for more than 30 minutes. On occasion I have inquired as to why she didn’t just call the person. She responds that she enjoys texting.

Now that we have these phones I have noticed that she has changed her way of texting. She can now tell her phone what to text. I will hear her talking and think that she is talking to me. But no, she is texting someone. 
I’m beginning to understand texting better. When I hear something like, “Can we meet for lunch tomorrow, question mark”? I understand she is telling her phone to write a message. She must tell the phone what punctuation to use after a sentence.

I can’t imagine trying to explain to my dad about having the ability to talk to your telephone and tell it what to type to a friend. Then the friend answers and that message requires you to compose another message. This can go on for quite a while.

I can only imagine what my dad would say. I’m sure it would be something like, “Why in the h--- don’t you just call them?” It would be difficult to explain to him, but I’m sure it was a chore when he had to teach me about our home phone when I was young. Party lines were interesting and sometimes hard to explain.

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. 

My sister, Kathy, who lives in Austin, Texas, graduated from Southport High School and Indiana University with a master’s degree in education.

She and her college roommate, Sandra Byrne, accepted teaching positions in a suburb of St. Louis. Kathy moved to Austin several years later to continue teaching. 

She worked in the Round Rock School System for the rest of her career. Kathy and her husband, Paul, are retired. Well, sort of. For years Kathy has been involved with Therapy Pet Pals of Texas. Kathy started many years ago working with her therapy dog and visiting nursing homes and hospitals.

At some point she began helping in the office and became good friends with the founder of Pet Pals, Katheryn Lashmit. Kathy and her dog, Jillie, still visit nursing facilities. My sister is a member of the board of directors and the advisory council of Pet Pals.

Kathy got me started on becoming part of a therapy dog team. My previous canine companion, Sam, and I got hooked on visiting nursing homes. We worked together until his health required us to stop. My next dog, Stuart, is a registered therapy dog, and he is following in Sam’s path. Stuart “writes” an occasional article for The Southsider Voice. 

A few weeks ago I was talking to Kathy on the telephone. She started telling me about “Good Bones,” a television show that she likes on HGTV. The program is about a mother/daughter team that purchases and renovates older houses and resells them. Karen E. Laine (mom) and Mina Starsiak are doing some amazing things with older homes in Indianapolis.

Lyn and I have watched a few episodes and have enjoyed them. The homes that these gals have renovated are mostly in Fountain Square. 

The ladies’ business is known as Two Chicks and a Hammer, and you can bet they have a great time doing shows. I recall seeing a truck with that business name on the doors.

 When Mina discovers something strange or yucky in a house, she shouts, “Holey moley.” 

It is cool to watch these shows because family members of my parents lived in some of the neighborhoods where these homes are located. 

Karen and Mina have been renovating Indianapolis one house at a time since 2007. The second season will begin in January. Reruns of the first season are on at 10 p.m. Tuesdays. 

It’s interesting that I learned about a great television show based in Indianapolis from my sister in Austin.