Surprise!

          Because of our present interest in the price of gasoline, I was reminded of an incident that took place in a small town in the Middle West during the depression of the 1930s.  Gasoline was selling for 20 cents per gallon and money was scarce.

          Sam, a local merchant in our town, wanted to buy a car.  He could have afforded a newer model, but he decided that he wanted one of the big, old, four-door sedans.  Sam found a large black, four-door sedan, which was just what he wanted.  The maker of that model usually painted them a dark color; they could seat six adults easily and a large trunk and spare tire rack were attached to the rear.

          The first day that he owned it, Sam drove up and down the main street a few times and ended up at the gasoline pump, which was located at the front of the local auto repair garage.  Sam parked the car by the pump and told the young attendant “Fill ’er up,” and walked on into the garage.

          Some minutes later the attendant went into the shop with Sam’s bill.  “Well Sonny, how much do I owe you?” Sam asked.

          “Twenty dollars even,” Sonny, replied.

          “Twenty dollars?” Sam shouted.  “Where did you put the gas, on the ground?”

          “No sir,” Sonny replied.

          Turning to the garage owner, Sam demanded, “Where’s your mechanic?”

          The mechanic was summoned and was apprised of the problem, and then he, Sam, Sonny and the garage owner all went out to Sam’s car.  The mechanic slid under the car and followed the fuel line from the engine to the fuel tank.  He came out from under the car with a smile on his face, went directly to the trunk in the rear and opened it.  He then turned to the owner and said, “Sam, you bought a bootleggers car!”

          “I bought a WHAT?”  screamed Sam.

          The mechanic explained.  “The United States is dry—-no liquor, so the bootleggers drive up to Canada, load up these big cars with booze and alcohol and haul it back to the big cities, like Chicago.  They have a repair shop remove the entire back seat, which gives them a lot of room to store the liquor, and then the shop installs a large tank in the bottom of the trunk.  With the tank that you already have in the car, plus the tank that they install, they could drive to Chicago non-stop.”   Then he smiled at Sam and chidingly remarked, “You know Sam, you’re all set to take a very long trip.”

                                                                 Claude Cassady