For several years my wife, Lyn, and I have enjoyed season tickets to the Indiana Fever’s games. Our seats are close to the team’s bench, and I like watching the coaches and players, especially when they are on the sidelines.
Sept. 21 was the final game for coach Stephanie White and Tamika Catchings. Ironically, there was little press coverage of the team losing that game and being eliminated from the playoffs. 

Most of the professional and social media coverage and discussions centered around the fact that the entire Indiana team knelt on one knee during the national anthem. I was surprised to see them kneeling, but I decided to take Lyn’s advice and not make any quick or not-well-thought-out comments at the time.

I tried to put all of those thoughts aside and watch the game. I did fairly well with that and only on occasion drifted back when I noticed fans disagreeing with the officials’ calls. I refereed basketball for several years, but that is a story for another time. All I can say now is that visual angles make a big difference sometimes. 

I was eager the next morning to watch the local news and read the daily newspaper. When I discovered that White wasn’t aware of her team’s plan to kneel during the “Star-Spangled Banner,” I began to think about the players’ discussions to go forward with the demonstration ... peaceful protest to African-Americans being shot dead by police officers in various cities across the United States. The players are keenly aware of what is happening in the country.  

I’m sure some of them have family members who are or were in the military. Probably some have family and friends who are police officers. 

Had they as a team contacted local media and told them that they would like to hold a press conference regarding their thoughts, I doubt if that would have received the coverage their honorable kneeling achieved. 

As I viewed the television coverage the following morning, the team’s unity was evidenced during the national anthem when the players locked their arms together while honoring the flag or bowing their heads.

I’m certain that all of the players have been questioned by lots of people in the past few days, and it’s my guess that none of these ladies have said they were influenced by the football player who sat with his arms folded during the national anthem. 

My thoughts are that they took a basic idea and modified it so that if people watched them and thought about many of the problems we have in our country, that maybe each of us would try to make positive changes and encourage all of our family and friends to do the same.

I know there has been a great deal of discussion about the team kneeling. Having some knowledge of the players’ backgrounds and their willingness to help out with many community programs, I would have joined them had they asked me. I say this because I am certain that they were not disrespecting our country or our flag. They were doing something to get us all to think.

Go Fever! I’m sure looking forward to next season.

Stuart, my therapy dog, and I made our normal visit to the Madison Health Care Center Sept. 6. Several staff members and residents were aware that the following day was Stuart’s 12th birthday. He was wished a happy birthday many times as we visited residents and staff.

I enjoyed a lunch with several of my former high school classmates at Arni’s Restaurant in Greenwood on Sept. 7. 

Shortly after I returned home, Lyn and I loaded Stuart into the car. It was time for his birthday party. We drove to Ritter’s Frozen Custard to get him one of his favorite treats – a cup of vanilla custard topped with a dog cookie.
On Sept. 8 Stuart and I visited South Grove Intermediate so students could read to Stuart. The program has proved to increased the students’ reading skills. When we arrived at the library there was a birthday gift on the table for Stuart. 

That evening Lyn and I had settled in for a quiet evening before I received a phone call from my good friend Richard Smith. He and his wife, Marsha, were going to be at our upcoming class reunion for Southport High School’s class of 1960. Richard went into this long story about them being out shopping and wanting to view the inside of my childhood home, which is now The Longacre Bar & Grill. 

Well, Lyn and I drove in the pouring rain to the pub. Upon walking in I was surrounded by many former classmates and bus drivers and friends, all of whom had showed up to roast me. I was shocked. Over the next several hours I made several passes through the building and each time spotted someone who I hadn’t seen or had an opportunity to visit with before. 

I remember Richard Smith talking to everyone over the PA system. He was telling about the times that I had pulled something over on him. I remember Nancy Wilcox-DeBaun also speaking and remembering our junior high and high school days.

I was presented a T-shirt with the following words on the front of it, “Good Morning. It’s Not Bad for a Monday.” 
Our reunion Sept. 9 started with our class attending the Southport-Terre Haute North football game, which we won 52-17. On Sept. 10 we met at the Perry Township Education Center (the former high school) and enjoyed a dinner and tour of the facility. Our class only spent our sophomore year in that building. At the start of our junior year the high school and junior high traded buildings. 

On Sept. 11 morning I watched a program about 9/11. One of my best friends, who was a retired Indianapolis firefighter, drove area first responders to New York later that day. A few years later we lost him to cancer.
My tear glands worked perfectly while getting quite a workout over the long weekend. I want to thank all of my great friends and former classmates. You guys and gals are the best.

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. 

Saturday through Tuesday was a busy time for me. 

My sister, Kathy, was supposed to join her 1965 Southport High School class to celebrate its 50th reunion. She was coming from Austin, Texas, and was only going to be able to stay a few days in addition to the reunion days. 

To make this more complicated was the fact that my Southport 1960 graduating class had a reunion planned for the same days. What are the odds of that happening? 

It took us some time to work out a plan where we could attend our reunions and still have some family time to get caught up. Shortly after our plans had been finalized, some bad news came from Austin. 

Kathy’s husband, Paul, had some difficulty with a stress test and might be needing some additional medical procedures. Since it turned out that he will require more surgery, Kathy decided to stay home.

I decided to partially take her place. The first thing on the agenda for her reunion was a tour of the old and current high school buildings. I received permission to assist with the tours of the older brick building at Orinoco Avenue and Banta Road. 

It was a fun afternoon. I got to visit with several of my sister’s classmates, including Jackie Ellis, who was a neighbor of ours when we were growing up. I had also seen Jackie at our Edgewood Grade School reunion. I probably hadn’t seen Jackie for 55 years or so and then I saw her twice in one month.

That evening my wife, Lyn, and I headed to Greenwood for a picnic reunion. I visited with Bill Wasson; earlier in the day I chatted with his cousin Don Wasson at the tours of the schools. 

The picnic was a lot of fun, and the food was delicious. It is so much fun to visit with former classmates, even those who I didn’t know very well in school. I also enjoy retelling stories with good friends who I have remained close with over the years.

The following afternoon Diane Spaulding-Eberhart, one of my sister’s best friends, came over to our house for a nice visit. She was excited about being able to meet Stuart, our therapy dog.

Both classes had golf outings Friday. Pat Benner-Rau set up the outing for my class, and I heard lots of folks thanking her.

The 1965 class met at Primo Banquet Hall Saturday evening. My class met at The Hilton Hotel Downtown. 
I really enjoy these get-togethers ... so many stories and wonderful times recalled. We are already planning one for next year.

This week is also going to be busy as the Beech Grove Fall Festival starts today.
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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. 

It is amazing that I remain in contact with so many of my former high school classmates (Southport Class of 1960). I have breakfast with one group on a monthly basis and lunch with another group several times a year.

This weekend we are holding our yearly class reunion. We will attend a home football game Friday and a dinner Saturday evening at the former high school, which is now the Perry Township Educational Center. 

Last Friday I answered a call on our home phone. The lady on the other end informed me that she had my cellphone. I glanced at the table beside me and saw it resting there. I told her that. She then told me that the phone had my name on the screen and my home number and cell number. 

I checked with my wife, Lyn, and she was in possession of her cellphone. I again explained to the lady that we had our phones. I hung up and my cellphone rang. It was the same lady, and she was still trying to discover who owned the cellphone. 

I explained to her that we had just been talking. She then told me that she was at work at the Whiteland Orchard, where the phone was found.

After that second call I thought that maybe the phone belonged to someone I knew or someone pretending to be me. I decided to make a trip to Whiteland.

Upon arriving I asked the lady if she had discovered the owner of the phone. I asked her to call my phone, hoping that the name of someone I knew would show up on my screen. That didn’t work. 

As the lady was going through other functions on the phone, I saw a name on the screen that I recognized: Shirley Zimmer. The lady told me that Shirley had been in earlier. We were almost sure that it was her phone, but we couldn’t call her because she didn’t have her phone.

I have known Shirley since grade school. We didn’t attend the same elementary school, but our mothers were in a club together. We went to junior high and high school together. Our work lives even connected as we drove school and charter buses. I have seen her at some of our class lunches and reunions. I knew her parents, and one of her sisters was in my sister’s class.

I asked the lady to scroll through the list of names and watch for a person named Wilma. I was fairly sure that Wilma and Shirley were sisters. I then asked her to call Wilma’s number.

When Wilma answered her phone, she didn’t say “Hello.” She said, “Why are you calling me?” She asked that because at that time she and Shirley were in the same house. 

The orchard lady explained why she was calling.

I’m glad that Shirley got her phone back and that I didn’t have someone trying to pilfer my identity. I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of my former classmates this weekend, especially Shirley.