My mother sometimes climbed into the pickup truck with dad when he was driving to one of his West Texas preaching engagements.

Mom and dad (the late Ed Robb) considered it the best fun to drive together because they took their time and didn't stop at restaurants. Instead, they made their leisurely way across the Great State of Texas while munching on candy and potato chips. They didn't bother with water or diet drinks but consumed can after can of real Coca Cola.

Stopping at Dairy Queen for an ice-cream cone or a "blizzard" was also a big favorite.

They always came home laughing.

I remembered those trips when I decided to write a column on "What do women really want," a question Sigmund Freud first asked and one that has since become a cultural theme.