MARK MY WORD: KIDS LOVE BUGS, BUT NOT THE CREEPY, CRAWLY KIND

Becca sees Bugs everywhere.

Not those creepy, crawly ones, but rather the four-wheel variety.

Our 7-year-old daughter spies those hump-back, German cars in driveways, parking lots and on the open road.

"Look. It's a green Bug," she called out excitedly as we traveled through Cape Girardeau one afternoon.

"Where?" I asked, scanning the interior of our van, searching vainly for a hitchhiking insect.

"I don't see any insect," I informed her.

"No, Daddy," she replied with childish dismay. "That Bug," she said, pointing to a green Beetle that we passed on the roadway.

"Oh," I said in my best fatherly, I-get-it-now voice.

I shouldn't have been surprised. Becca loves those midget cars. Why, I know people with big-screen TVs that are bigger than these vehicles.

They could fit in a dorm room with plenty of space left over.

As for Becca, she just thinks they're cool. A poster of one of those new, bright yellow VWs hangs on her bedroom door.

Even the Spice Girls didn't get this kind of star treatment from Becca.

Our oldest daughter has an uncanny knack for spotting every Beetle in Cape Girardeau. She turns every trip across town into a Volkswagen tour.

If the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau ever decides to set up Bug tours, it can enlist Becca as a guide.

Volkswagen means "the people's car" in German. Becca doesn't know a thing about German. She just sees it as a perfect car, one she can't wait to drive.

Yellow, green, purple, it doesn't matter. She loves them all.

I guess this shouldn't come as a big surprise in our family. When I first dated Joni in college, she had a canary yellow VW.

She accidentally broke her key in the lock. Naturally, I came along to save the day. I helped her break the small side window so she could get into the car.

As it turned out, that small side window cost a small fortune to replace. We would have been better off breaking the windshield.

Even so, Joni and I have a soft spot for that VW, which I'm sure has long since gone to scrap heaven.

Of course, these days we've moved on to more practical vehicles. Like many parents, we have a mini-van.

I can't imagine trying to haul around two children, assorted toys, blankets, shoes, backpacks and homework without a van.

In a VW, there just isn't room for all that stuff, much less anyone that is tall enough to ride the big rides at the SEMO District Fair.

Still, it's tough not to like a car that's nicknamed "Herbie" and makes it big in the movies.

Baby Boomers get nostalgic over VWs, just like we do everything else that reminds us of when we were younger and didn't have mini-vans.

Bailey, our youngest daughter, isn't into cars. Our 3-year-old prefers to point out the two cows that live on a small patch of ground not far from our home.

Becca and Bailey have named the two cows, Blackie and Moo-Moo.

We pass the cows almost every day. They're easier to spot than VWs. They don't move as fast.

Still, they're every bit as reassuring as a John Wayne movie.

We're glad those cows are grazing by the barn on Lexington, oblivious to all the traffic.

They make us smile and wish life would slow down a little.

Then, we'd have more time for gazing at canary yellow Bugs.

~Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.