The Pinewood Derby et al

Now that Joel is the big 8 he is eligible for the cub scout program at church which includes the legendary PINEWOOD DERBY. Last Tuesday they made their cars and Friday was the derby. I tried to tell Kelly that people use all kind of trickery to make their cars as speedy as possible. I encouraged him to look on the internet for these family secrets that have been passed down from father to son since Adam used sandpaper to round the wheels of Cain and Abel's cars.

But Kelly felt that all these alterations were a bit deceptive and dishonest. He foolishly thought that Joel should do most of the work himself and that it should all be about the kids. An ostrich burying his head in the sand for sure! Doesn't he know that the Pinewood Derby is a place for the dads to prove their manhood? To see whose car is really the most powerful and explosive of all? A place where men can make up for the shortcomings they felt in childhood. If you were a wimpy kid who got beat up a lot you can reassert your missing macho by turning that humble pine rectangle into a real speeding bullet.

In the final standings Joel was ranked number 83. Out of 84. Told ya Kelly!

He did win one race, and he was so HAPPY! Jumping up and down and grinning from ear to ear. I love seeing hime like that. (Hence the reason I wanted Kelly to help him cheat:o)

They added a new twist tho since my older brother was a pinewood derby participant. The Bishop's car. Anyone who wants can race the B's car at the end, and said car is designed to go very s-l-o-w-l-y. So all the cubs can at least beat the Bish thereby leaving their ids, egos and superegos fully undisturbed and intact.

Unscarred, maybe the next generation of pinewood derby dads can actually let their kids take the lead and leave themselves at the starting line. We'll see.