I enjoy remembering Christmases of yore. 
My parents were close to their families. For several years my paternal grandmother lived in a specially built little house behind our house. I thought that was cool. My relatives on Dad’s side of the family visited us often throughout the year, but on Christmas we went to their homes to see what they got from Santa.  
One of my older male cousins always seemed to get underwear. He appeared excited and thankful for his presents and always showed us each garment up close. As I grew older I tried to be in a different room when the undies were displayed.

Our mom had two brothers who lived in Indianapolis, and we also stopped at their homes on Christmas. Mom’s parents always had a family gathering on Christmas Eve, when lots of presents were exchanged and much food was consumed. 
Mom’s younger brother, Calvin, and his family lived in Wanamaker. He once told us a story about stopping to get his family some White Castles while heading home one evening. The aroma got the best of him, and he had to have one or two or three. ... Upon arriving home he discovered that only three sliders remained. He knew that would not satisfy his wife and three children, so he finished the remaining sliders while sitting in the car.

Mom had a brother who resided out of the state, and Dad had a brother who lived in Rushville and a sister who at that time lived in Okinawa, Japan. Presents from our out-of-state relatives arrived in the mail, and I didn’t like this because I was in school when the mail was delivered. The knowledge of presents in the house always made the days before Christmas seem longer.

Since my sister was not old enough to attend school, she probably witnessed the delivery of those packages and watched as they were stored in a secluded location until it was time to open them. 
One afternoon when I was playing basketball with my buddies, Mom came running outside and was upset because she couldn’t find my sister. We looked everywhere to no avail and were getting a bit worried. I don’t recall why, but I opened the closet door in my bedroom. There she was, sitting on the floor amid many unwrapped Christmas presents. The closet was dark when the door was closed, so she was seeing the presents for the first time when I opened the door.

I yelled that I had found her. By the my parents came flying into the room, my sister had placed her famous “I’m so sorry; please don’t be mad at me” expression on her face. It never failed her; 5-year-old girls get away with all kinds of stuff. But at least we got to enjoy a several presents a few days early that year.
My wife, Lyn, Stuart, our therapy dog, and I hope everyone has a merry Christmas.
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 second automobile ended up being a terrible mistake. My father advised me against buying it, but he also knew that if I bought it I would learn a number of valuable lessons.
The car was a 1956 single-seat, turquoise Thunderbird, which had a V-8 engine with a three-speed transmission and removable hard and convertible tops (white). The car was 5 years old when I bought it shortly after graduating from high school.

It soon became apparent that my dream car had lived a rough life. Rust began appearing in several places, and I was shocked to discover that the top was full of holes and virtually useless. 
It was a sporty ride, and I enjoyed driving it every day. On one occasion I had a date and our plans were to attend a movie at the Meridian Drive-in Theater. It was summertime, so we figured it was a perfect evening to remove the top.

Upon arriving at her house I remember her father coming out to inspect my new ride, which was looking good. I explained to him that the car had two tops and that the hardtop was in my parents’ garage. I sort of remember him telling me that there was a threat of rain later in the evening.
Soon we were pulling into the theater. We found a perfect spot to park in the back of the lot, and I scampered off to the concession stand for snacks and beverages. About halfway through the movie it started raining. We tried pulling up the top that was stored behind the seat but were unsuccessful. 

We got soaked. We hopped into the car and left. I drove to my parents’ house to install the hardtop. I was working on a plan for the rest of the evening as I got some towels to dry the car’s interior.
I figured I could quickly change into dry clothes and then drive to her house so she could do the same. Then we would start all over again. She explained that parts of my plan were doable, but going back to her house for her to change clothes wasn’t going to work. She was sure that her parents would declare an end to our evening. 

After some discussion I provided her clothes from my closet, and the change to dry apparel was made at my house. We then were ready to start our date over. The car was now in a position to keep us out of the rain.
My main problem at that point was a lack of cash. I didn’t have enough money to re-enter the theater and go to the Tee Pee Restaurant afterward. 

A quick decision was made. We headed to the Eastside, where Al Green’s drive-in restaurant showed free movies. You could watch a movie from your car while having food and drinks delivered to you.
The movies weren’t first run, and the menu was limited, but it worked. We had a interesting evening, and I got my clothes back in a few days.