Pinewood Derby

PINEWOOD DERBY TIME....This is not one of my favorite annual events. I have issues with the dads that build the cars for their boys and then hover around the track plotting a win. The various tactics, like achieving the ideal of 5 ounces...not 4.8, 4.9 but a perfect 5.0 is all that will be excepted. Applying graphite to the wheels, polishing of nails, and ideas of how to increase speed by adding weight to the perfect spot so that the car will travel with a higher volocity down the track--all of it bothers me.

Poor Dave, years ago discovered my passionate disdain for this behavior and so he has had to be the supportive dad (and husband) who only does what his sons ask him to help with. Certainly he has conveniently taught them some of the ideas behind success but this year was tough. With Dave working out of town he had very little time to help the boys and we still have two Cub Scouts. The last couple of years we have had a rather poor showing in the Derby realm--tough for the boys but when their cars are up against the Indy 500 of Pinewood Derby cars what can we hope for?

Needless to say luck was with our Derby racers this year. Their cars were a little unpolished looking but apparently fast! There was a total of 16 Cub Scouts and Boyd came in 1st and Brigham placed 2nd.