I am not handy. I don't have a very strong track record when it comes to fixing things around the house. All of the tools I own fit neatly into a small toolbox, which lives in a lonely corner of the basement.So when Zach's Boy Scout troop holds its annual Pinewood Derby, I set my expectations accordingly. My goals are generally: 1) For Zach to have a good time designing and building a car with me, and 2) to not come in last place.
Since my woodworking skills are limited, we keep our car designs simple. The less carving, whittling, cutting, and sculpting we have to do, the better. But even given these limitations, we try to be creative.
Last year, we designed and raced a car shaped vaguely like a shark. We cut out and glued flat pieces of foam for the fins, and cut a chunk out of the front of the car for a mouth, which we accentuated with foam rubber teeth. We kind of messed up on the wheels, so it wasn't a very fast car, but it looked pretty good. It didn't come in last -- we finished 16th out of 24 -- and Zach enjoyed himself. Mission accomplished.
This year, we decided to model our car after a Wii remote. There were two major advantages to this design:
First, since the Wii remote is pretty much shaped like a solid block, there was very little carving to be done. A little sanding to round the edges, a coat of while paint, a little glue to stick some wooden buttons to the top and some drawing of the markings on the face of the remote, and we were finished.
Second, there are few things more intoxicating to 8-12 year old boys than video games. I figured that if even if the car wasn't fast, it would get a lot of attention from the other kids.
So we were thrilled, then, last night, when Zach's car won its first race. And the next. And the next. And the next.
The first five races, his car came in first place. In the last few rounds, he came up against some faster cars, and ultimately placed 4th out of 30.
But the best part of the evening was that he won big in the Best of Show voting, earning him a trophy.
Next year, the stakes are raised, as Ben will be old enough for Scouts. I'll be on the hook for two cars. The bar has been raised.
I have one year.
