Lovebug

I was traveling recently in a van with a contingent of youths in the back. One was hammering something while another was kicking the back of my seat.

The mother, in the front passenger seat, leaned back beyond my row to suggest to the kids they play “Love Bug.”

What a blast from the past. I loved that game. For those who don’t remember or never played, you are challenged to watch traffic until you spot a VW Beetle. Then you point, shout “Love Bug” and slug the other player hard in the shoulder.

I loved that last part. Except my sister would argue she’d seen it first and slug me back. She was bigger.

I never exactly understood the purpose of the game, since no one seemed to win. And why would Mom countenance the slugging and shouting?

Then my sister and I became aunts. And, one time when we had our nephews in the back of her car, we understood. Keep them busy, otherwise occupied.

We’re not talking Travel Yahtzee here. It must have some promise of kid-on-kid violence, though that can still be kept under control.

And Mary and I came up with an even better version for our purposes: Karmann Ghia.

Sitting in the passenger seat, it was my job to lean back and suggest they search for Karmann Ghias in traffic. Cars passed for a half an hour before we heard from the back seat.

“Um, what’s a Karmann Ghia?”

“You don’t know (dig at male car pride)? I’ll let you know as soon as I spot one. Who do I get to slug?”

Silence. Blissful silence.

From this blast from the past came an urge to look up online what’s new in backseat car games. There are such sites. Family.go.com has word, number and pit stop games. Let me share a few:

• Eating an Alphabet
Let your half-starved brood describe how hungry they are in this game, best played about half an hour before you make a pit stop for food. This version of the "I'm Packing for a Picnic" game begins when you announce "I'm so hungry I could eat an aviator" ("alligator," or "apple").

•
Crazy Menu. On a paper restaurant menu, take turns crossing out key words. Then have your kids read aloud the new and often grotesque combinations they've created. Anyone for Pepperoni Cake with Strawberry Lettuce?

• Raindrop Race. On a rainy day, each player traces the course of a raindrop down the car window. The first drop to reach the bottom wins.

Now, in my view, the next one is the least likely to be considered fun and games by the younguns

• Billboard Poetry. Take turns picking out four words from road signs. Give the words to the other players who have 1 minute to turn the words into a four-line, rhyming poem using one of the chosen words per line.

There are, amazingly, other sites. Have fun and drive safely this vacation season.

 I still want to slug my sister.