There was a time when parents would pile their children into the family car — a station wagon in our home — and take a “Sunday drive” through the country. Of course that was after church when we would be instructed to change into our play clothes.

The Sunday drive for our family usually meant a ride through the winding countryside of Marshall County to Moundsville to visit our aunt and uncle. Our dad always made it a point to drive us past the West Virginia State Penitentiary and remind us that if we didn’t behave, we could end up there. If we did behave, we might stop for ice cream along the way.

Some of my friends said that when they went on long car trips, they would play games. One such kind of competition was to see how many different license plates you could spot on the road. It was a way to keep kids amused and not pester one another in the back seat.

Another such amusement was conducted on night trips.

That’s when you would call out to be the first to spot a vehicle with only one working headlight.

Those cars were called “padiddles.” I have no idea where it originated, but it was a common word for kids in my day.

These car riding games are no competition for kids today whose eyes and noses are buried in some sort of screen as soon as they get into the car or truck.

They wear ear pods to block out everything around them in order to play a video game. In my day, we improved our reading skills by learning to read the highway signs as we drove along the roads.

Nowadays I play my own adult car riding game, when I am a passenger. Instead of counting license plates, I count how many Dollar General stores I can see.

As for the Dollar General stores, I am happy to see that there is a store being built on W.Va. 88 at Peters Run Road in Ohio County. Don’t laugh. It’s a big deal to have a store, any kind of business, located in an otherwise retail-barren area.

Those living or working within a few miles of the store will relish the idea of a “quick trip to the store” rather than 25 minutes to town for a gallon of milk or needed school supplies.

If all goes well, we could be buying Thanksgiving decorations at the new store as rumor has it that it hopes to open its doors sometime next month. I also plan to continue my patronage at the Family Dollar Store located in West Liberty.

Competition is always a good thing.

Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.