Stuckey’s logo (By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20727541)

When was the last time you thought about that Stuckey’s store formerly at the intersection of Interstate 20 and Highway 110?

I loved that place.

It’s hard to keep track of how long ago it closed, but last week a stop in the new Bucee’s in Terrell brought back memories of Stuckey’s.

Their pecan logs were probably the big draw, but they had so much junk in the place it was sensory overload for a kid like me.

How many of you ever got one of those wooden paddles with a rubber ball attached with a rubber string? That had to be one of the most popular, but utterly useless toys ever made. Wonder how long a kid with an iPhone would spend trying to master a toy like that?

If my memory is correct the store had lollipops with ants or spiders inside. The appeal of that one was really lost on me.

Did they have chocolate-covered ants? Does anyone remember?

The company website indicates store locations in Texas and beyond. Turns out the Duke’s Travel Plaza in Wills Point is owned by the corporate parent.

If you were a road warrior on your family vacations, those blue-roofed stores were quite iconic and it seemed the clean bathrooms were a draw with all that merchandise they crammed into the joint. The waffle house phenomenon was another iconic Southern experience.

Bucee’s has taken what Stuckey’s did back in the day and put it on steroids. It is basically the Wal-Mart of pit stops.

You can buy a smoker right by the front door or deer corn on the way to the lease if necessary.

They even have a computer kiosk where you can custom order a breakfast burrito.

Who knew?

If you have any memories of some of that stuff they used to sell in Stuckey’s send it to us at isitjustme@tylerpaper.com and we will share next week.