She wasn’t the prettiest car. Wasn’t the sleekest design. She wasn’t tried and true. She wasn’t experienced or skilled, wasn’t high dollar, wasn’t refined or cultured…. One thing she was?
She was the fastest pine wood derby car in town tonight. 🙂 Yes, our first time out into the arena of Grand Prix Racing, and my boy, the rookie, took first place.
During the painting process, about half way into the making of the car, he picked up the chassis while it was still wet and smudged the window paint.
I pulled the classic adult whine, “What did you do that for?! Get a paper towel, hurry before it dries.” He ran back into the garage and said, “At least we’re working on this together and having fun, right Dad? I mean, that’s the most important thing.” I smiled, thinking ‘he must get that from his mother.’ Always a great feeling to have your kids remind you that it’s not about the stinking paint, huh dads?
In the end, our car had hand-crafted, lead flames shooting out the back end, a highly polished deep blue paint job, white-wall tires, and 5.000 oz of maximum street-legal weight. She was a lean & mean machine with a need…..for speed.
vrooom.. vroooommm….. vrooo-rooooooooooooooooooom…. rooooooooooommmmmm roooooooooom!
What can I say. It was my boy’s first trophy, and the look on his face when they called his name was priceless. In 7 out of 8 races he took 1st. I don’t care if he never wins another one. We had a good time.
The announcer said that in 27 years it was the first time he could remember that, in the adult/kid class, an adult didn’t win. It was an 8 year old wet-behind the ears up-n-comer. 🙂
