“So basically, punch buggy is what happens when you see a Beetle going down the high way. If you see it first, you have to shout “PUNCH BUGGY!” and then you get to slug me in the arm.”
“That seems easy enough,” the sullen little brown haired boy said as his older brother, his idol, a lad seven years his senior, who stood at the epicenter of the younger sibling’s entire world, explained the rules of the game.
“The catch…” the cruel teenaged sibling continued, an evil grin spreading across his lips, “Is that if I see a Beetle car, I get to slug you.”
This game has been one played for decades. Even after its debut in the early 1960’s, the Volkswagon ‘Type 1’ Beetle has been a rare sight on the road, cultivating a reputation of scarceness, perfect as the object of a sight seeing based game predicated on random shouting and physical humor.
“So when do we know when to play the game?” the younger sibling asked, after a moment of silence.
“That’s the thing,” his brother replied, the grin turning to one of conniving as he looked down upon his kin, “The game is never not being played. A punch buggy can appear at any moment, any time. No matter where we are or what we’re doing or what’s going on, once one of us sees it, the game is in effect!”
In the wide world of rules orbiting around the game of punch buggy, few are eligible for amnesty. Indeed, it’s said that only those who possess a Beetle or live within the household where one resides, are able to seek sanctuary from the inevitable bruises that beleaguer their arms in the heat of game play.
In truth, punch buggy is seen largely as a juvenile past time, enjoyed predominantly by adolescents who are merely looking for an excuse to dole pain out to one another. Adults are known for playing the game as well, though the ramifications are not only non-physical, but are flat out non-existent. Often, when a pair of individuals are in a car and one is driving, it’s not necessarily advisable that the passenger punch the driver nor for the driver to punch the passenger. Simply being the first to call attention to the rare automobile in question is sufficient. Sighing as he stared down at the sidewalk beneath his feet as he sat along the grass idly watching cars pass by, the younger boy, no older than seven or eight, tried to comprehend what the older male was explaining. “I don’t know if I wanna play.”
“C’mon!” The elder sibling chided! You hafta! I just took all of that time to explain it to you!”
“I mean, I guess.” The younger boy replied as he watching his brother divert his attention from the road towards him to protest. The boy tried his hardest to hide the devilish smile threatening to spread across his face as he eyed a stark white Beetle rounding the corner. As the sound of his brother’s protesting voice trailed faintly in the distance, the young boy’s world began to congeal with the thrills of victory and satisfaction. Looking up at his brother, mouth hung agape, oblivious to his surroundings as he chided at him, the young adolescent drew his fist back and landed a hit square into his older sibling’s kneecap, leveling the teenager as he screamed “PUNCH BUGGY!” victoriously at the top of his lungs, rising to his feet and jumping in the air while shouting in jubilance.
While not playing slug bug, punch buggy or another juvenile game, Casey Meehan is writing for Your Import Car Doctor, the Best Auto Repair In Colorado Springs.
