I chronicled our first experience with this event last year (albeit 11 months late) in “The price of winning“.
This year’s Pinewood Derby has come and gone. I promised myself not to get too worked up over the inequalities that were glaringly blatant like I did last year. My blood pressure stayed under control, and I actually managed to have a good time. I did notice however that the attendance this year was almost cut in half. I’m wondering if the missing families let the unfairness get to them.
Wave after wave of races occurred. Children won, children lost. There were poor losers and even poorer winners. I watched as a child threw a tantrum because he came in 4th place over all (yes, I said OVER ALL!). He wanted to be first. His mom just let him scream his little head off.
I watched my son and his races and we cheered him on. Although his car was much faster than last year’s, he didn’t place at all, but his vehicle speeds were right in the middle of the pack. This didn’t bother him in the least. He was just happy to be with his friends, and was genuinely happy for them when their cars did well. I was enjoying his outlook.
My son’s Den Leader was absent, and I ended up being the de-facto Den Leader for the day. One of my duties was to find a “Best Sportsmanship” recipient from my son’s den. My son had that one hands down again, but I couldn’t bring myself to put him in for it, since I was acting Den Leader. It just didn’t seem right. I watched all the other kids and found a suitable alternate, and moved on.
I watched intently as the names, scores and standings went up on the projection screen. No surprises there. Same kids (parents) from last year. I overheard the winner’s dads chatting about how one of them had the track set up in his shed for months, and how one of the other dads had their cars built midyear last year. I rolled my eyes and went about my business. I congratulated my son on his outlook, and how much better his car did this year. He was happy.
In the weeks before the race we spent time in our freezing garage using all my power tools to build his racer. He designed his own car (nothing elaborate, but still his own), and was genuinely interested in the build process this time. He got the thrill of using dad’s uber-dangerous, appendage ripping, widow making tools. I got to keep my sanity. We both had a good time. I’m chalking this derby up as a win for both he and I.
Congratulations, well done.
You should both be very proud.
Xbox4NappyRash’s last blog post..Your Cup Runneth Over
Congratulations! I remember back in the day when my brother was a scout. He loved the little car derbys!
manda’s last blog post..Mommy, I Know A Bad Word!!
Sweet. Thanks for sharing that.
Huckdoll’s last blog post..Love Me or Hate Me
@ Xbox4NappyRash,
Thank you. I am proud……of both of us.
@ manda,
They are a fun experience in the right mindset. I know that now.
@ Huckdoll,
You’re welcome. Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
My downhill racer was awesome. You want to talk controversy? My dad read the rulebook on the darn thing and found what the maximum weight could be. He then drilled holes in the wood and with a soldering gun, filled the 20 something holes with lead. Although we really made no attempt to hide what he had done, we won by a landslide. Looking back, now I feel a liitle bad. ( Well not that bad)
damonm55′s last blog post..DREAM ON
@ damonm55,
Oh no! Was your dad one of “them”?
big win!!
lovely post. happy to have discovered your blog. thanks for the kind comment on CFT. will check back with you soon, take care!
christine’s last blog post..Icebreaker
Great job Dad..well done! My son’s race is this weekend..he is a Wolf also. We have had Wolf scouts at our house in the freezing garage building their cars this past weekend!!
Alison’s last blog post..Our Adoption Journey, Part 8
@ Christine,
Thank you, thank you! Come back soon.
@ Alison,
Thanks! Good luck on your son’s race this weekend. Good eye with the “he is a Wolf also” comment.
Hi Mike…thanks for all the great comments on my blog…they mean alot to me!!
I love going the glass blowers in Benicia. I used to take my kids when they were younger and in strollers!! I think they are old enough to go again and I know they will love watching the artists!!
Do you still live in the “orb” house? Those pictures were taken at a girl scout camp we go to every year! It definite has ghosts. I actually get orbs in pictures in my house!!
Alison’s last blog post..Thankful Thursday
@ Alison,
We moved out of the “orb” house a little over a year ago. No more orbs in pictures.
For those that are curious Click here to read Alisons post on Ghosts
Very cool car. You guys did a great job.
Stephen’s last blog post..Here I am.