In a previously rare event, today I had my mom and dad and son all in the car with me. We were driving Dad home from the hospital. Dad was up front with me, Mom in the backseat with ZBoy.
Mid-sentence, I reached around behind me and tapped Z's leg - "GREEN PUNCH-BUGGY!"
"Aw, man...." he responded.
Dad looked at me quizzically and I had to explain: Usually, ZBoy sits up front with me. The kids these days apparently have a car game called "Punch-Buggy" which entails spotting Volkswagon Bugs (new or old), punching your sibling and simultaneously yelling "(color of bug) Punch-Buggy!" triumphantly.
At which point, I reached around again - "RED PUNCH-BUGGY!" Mom giggled. Dad chuckled. ZBoy groused, "It's like she's got radar. I used to win all the time, but then she started seeing them everywhere!..."
And I tapped his leg again, "CREAM PUNCH-BUGGY!"
Z mis-understood, and when that same car pulled up next to us at the light, he tapped my shoulder and said, "WHITE PUNCH-BUGGY!"
"Ooooo... are we playing by European rules?" asked Dad. "Because if we are, I think Z just earned a noogie."
"What? Why?" asked ZBoy.
"Because your mom already called that one."
"She said "green punch-buggy!""
"No... she said cream, as in off-white. If you call the same punch-buggy, you get a noogie. If you do it again, you get a wedgie," Dad explained patiently.
"An atomic wedgie?" asked Z.
"Oh no!" I said, "You do NOT want one of those! That's where they pull the back of your underwear over your head!"
As ZBoy's head swirled with all this new information, Mom asked, "Does anyone ever do Indian burns anymore?"
"Indian burns? What are THOSE?"
I told him I would show him sometime. He said that was okay, he didn't need to know that badly.
Dad laughed. "Your mama can be a mean one, boy. Just ask your Uncle John... She finally quit beating him up when she was about 11. When he tried to retaliate, she told him that you can't hit a lady..."
I couldn't turn around and look, but I imagine ZBoy's eyes were big as saucers. He's only known his Uncle John as a big, strong guy - and me as a short, soft mommy.
The things you can learn during a car ride...
9 comments:
Your right...sometimes riding in a car is the best time for conversations like yours. We played that game when I was young..only we said..Padoddle. Also did the indian burns..Ouch!
We played the same game when I was little, only it wasn't called punchbuggy and there wasn't any punching. Our version was BUG.
With my kids, we added Jeeps (only the 2-door canvas type)to the game. Bug/Jeep. And it doesn't matter what conversation is going on in the car...even during arguments or scoldings... bug or jeep will ultimately be splurted out mid-sentence. It's so engrained in me that I have a hard time controlling myself from splurting it out when I'm riding with people other than my kids!
Red River. Remember that?
I forgot about Indian Burns! I can imagine the look on ZBoy's face as he heard about his sweet momma beating up his big tough uncle LOL
We called it SLUG BUG, and my daughters slugged hard.
THEN... when the ugly PT Cruisers came out, the game went to my grands and it was called CRUISER BRUISER
You forgot Dutch Rub. When you grab someones head in an arm clinch and rub your knuckles hard over the top of their head
I don't remember Red River... Of course, my mind is going.
Pamela: Dutch Rub = noogie. Not fun, really.
Ow. Indian burns and red bellies.
Hee! Like Pamela, we called it the SLUG BUG game.
I think your Z-man sees his sweet mommy in a whole different light, now!!
ha ha. "a noogie".
I think it was similar to Indian burns only there was a story that went with it. But then that may be the same thing... now my brain is foggy!
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