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 As an adult, I've learned that many people have played this
so-called game. In fact, so many people still play it that I've
considered getting a Volkswagen Beetle just to witness the mayhem as
I drive down the road. I wonder if Volkswagen ever planned for this
display of violence when people saw their creation.
Over the
years, my children have played the game and added some twists to it
to make it "fair." First, you had to call the color, just in case
there were two in the vicinity and also to be sure that someone
actually saw it. It would be easy to say you saw it, but not if you
had to say the color, too.
Second, if one didn't want to get slugged back, he must verbalize
that desire by saying "No take-backs!" after slugging someone. This,
of course, meant that the slugger was not willing to "take back" the
slug. When she was younger, my daughter always thought that the
words were "No kick-backs." So, nobody ever kicked her back, but her
older brothers did give her the closest version of a punch they
could without actually punching her; mostly because they didn't want
to get that stern lecture from their father about why boys shouldn't
hit girls.
Still, she thought it wasn't fair that she was getting her punch
back even though she called "No kick-backs." So she made a new rule
that if she put her arms over her head in the shape of a bubble, it
would be considered her Punch Bug Shield. No one was allowed to
reciprocate when she had her shields up.
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 That sounded kind of "Star Wars"-ish, so the boys agreed. Now
when a Volkswagen is spotted, there is a flurry of activity in the
back seat as someone yells "Punch Bug!" and everyone else puts up
their shields.
The slugger sometimes would slug someone even if their shields
were up. The arguments that ensued were about the speed at which the
shield was deployed, the possible malfunction of the shield in
question, and whether or not a potential sluggee can, in fact, stave
off a slug by deploying his own imaginary shields.
Since there are generally more potential sluggees than sluggers,
the consensus was that potentials can, indeed, put up shields to
deflect an attack. It was also decided that, whether you are the
slugger or the sluggee, in order to be sure that your shields were
operating at full capacity, that there were no holes or weak spots,
and to signify that they were fully deployed, one had to shout
"What!" in the manner of a rapper with an attitude, after
deployment.
If the Volkswagen Corp. could be a mouse in the back seat of my
minivan when a Beetle goes by, they would hear: "Punch Bug. Orange.
No kick-backs. Shields up. WHAT!!"
What a legacy!
[By LAURA SNYDER]
Laura Snyder is a nationally syndicated columnist,
author and speaker. You can reach her at
lsnyder@lauraonlife.com
or visit www.lauraonlife.com
for more info. |
