“Moooommm! He’s bugging me!!”

Ah, the sweet sound of road trips in the 70s. Those days of yore when getting from here to there involved a big old station wagon, foldable map, and three kids crammed together across a back seat.

Playlists with hundreds of songs? Ha! Streaming movies? Don’t make me laugh. The ability to move half an inch sideways without knocking into a sibling? Clearly you’ve never been one of three small people breathing the same oxygen for five hours straight as you barrel across the countryside.

The back seat of a station wagon was dog-eat-dog territory, and the dreaded cry of “she’s bugging meeeeee!!” spelled almost certain doom. And not necessarily for the bugger. Issuing this particular battle cry required a deft, almost clairvoyant, touch. Do it at the wrong moment – say, when your dad just missed a crucial turn or after someone announces they have to pee even though WE JUST STOPPED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM – and the backlash could be swift.

And if two kids pulled the “he’s/she’s bugging meeeee!!” simultaneously? Let’s just say the ride didn’t look so pretty after that.

Linda’s stream of consciousness prompt drives our Saturday fun. This week’s prompt is “bug.”