The Race

Dane's Cub Scout Troup had their Pinewood Derby this past Saturday. Dane and Don have been working on my little guy's car for months. First, they selected a design from pictures they found on the Internet. Dane wanted a Spiderman Car. Then, Don purchased the "Kit" from the Boy Scout store, which consisted of a block of pine with two score marks across the bottom for the wheel axle. Then Dane drew the shape of the car on the block of wood and he and Don cut it. Next was the sanding, which must have taken a whole month in and of itself. They started with a coarse sandpaper and progressed down incrementally to finer until the car was almost slick. Then, it had to have two coats of primer and the painting began.

Several coats of paint later, they began the design. They drew a spider on the top of the roof with legs extending down the sides and a web across the front. Once the black paint of the spider dried, Don outlined it in silver. But he was concerned about the weight of the car. Seems as though you need to have the car at the maximum weight of 5 ozs. to make sure it gets enough momentum on the hill to make it through the straight-away.

Don drilled holes in the bottom of the car, up into the body. He carefully weighted out fishing weights and then stuck them in the holes. Next, he plugged the holes with wood plugs and sealed them back in place with wood glue. A little touch-up paint, and you couldn't even tell there had been holes on the bottom.

They attached the wheels and then began the waxing - first, rubbing compound, then Turtle Wax. This is supposed to make the car so smooth and slick that it glides through the air. A little graphite on the wheels and, presto, the car is done (after 3 months of arduous work and Don's "workshop" in the corner of my kitchen).

So, we were thrilled to have finally reached "the day"!! Dane had to be at the school cafeteria, where the race was being held, by 8:45 to register. The race was to begin promptly at 9:00. Don took the two boys with him early while I finished my bath and dressing, and then Deanna and I were going to scoot down. We were late. I prayed the whole way that they'd either start late or Dane's Den wouldn't be the first to race.

I certainly didn't need to worry. I don't believe the races really got underway until 10:00. We made it in plenty of time. The track was stretched across the length of the cafeteria with tables barricading it off. The boys were huddled as close as they could get to the tables with looks of longing and excitement in their eyes, each one knowing their car was the fastest. The cars were laid out on the Registration Table, each with a sticker containing a number and an letter on its belly. The letter signified the Den - T for Tiger Cubs, W for Webelos, WO for Wolves. The numbers began with one and ran through the total number of cars in that Den. Dane was T-6.

I stood looking over the cars. None look as professional or cool as Dane's. There were two that ran a close second, though. One was cut in the shape of a sports car and was painted all in gold. Another had a most unusual shape, it looked like something out of a James Bond movie, and was painted cream. This car, it turned out, was the fastest. Some cars were decorated with stickers. Some were painted with cool designs. There were a couple of pick-up trucks. One car I saw had Canadian coins glued to the bottom to provide extra weight. Several cars had metal pieces nailed to the front for their weight, looking like a grill on the front of a Bentley. One car was coated in pecan husks that had been painted and a turtle head with google eyes made from a pecan came off the front. It was very clever. It really did look like a turtle. But it ran like a hare and won several heats in its category.

At last, the races began. There were going to be 72 in total for Dane's Den. Each car raced every other car twice on each track. (There were two tracks - one yellow, and one blue.) Dane's car won in race after race. Some cars didn't do as well. Dads were working between heats to add graphite or to straighten wheels. Some of the Moms gathered in a small cluster and discussed how to make their sons cars run faster. Don was helping the boys and I was taking pictures. About 35 heats into the races, Dane's car lost. The look of shock on his face was amazing. I felt numb. It's amazing how a few wins can make a loss feel all the more painful.

My friend, Rachel, and I discussed the situation. In the end, I decided Don needed to graphite Dane's car to make certain it had the most advantage. I ran over to the opposite side of the table, as close as I could get to where Don was sitting by the track, and yelled to him above the din, "You need to do something to Dane's car. It lost. It needs graphite."

Don responded simply, "No". No explanation, no other words. Just a simple answer.

I abandoned the idea, temporarily, and busied myself doing other things. Dane won a few more races, which pumped me up, and the Moms and I laughed about our competitiveness. Before long, Dane lost yet another race. I was struck to the core and ran, once again, to Don.

"Honey," I yelled, "you've got to do something about Dane's car. He lost another race. Please, honey, please!! At least look at it."

"I can't," was the response.

"What do you mean you can't?" I asked. "What can't you do?"

"It's against the rules to do anything to the cars once they've been registered," he said.

"Well, everybody else is doing it," I yelled to him again. "It may be against the rules, but nobody else is obeying the rules. All the dads are messing with their son's cars between heats." As I yelled this last part, the room suddenly became very quiet. Where, before, I had been yelling against noise louder than me, now the only sound you could hear was me yelling.

Everyone heard. I almost died of embarrassment but one of the officials, who had been passing out graphite between heats, responded, "And we were corrected for that, Patti." The noise started again, I hung my head and mumbled a quiet, "Oh!" but he went on.

"We didn't know the rules didn't allow for repairs between races. But we've been told and we won't do it anymore."

In the end, Dane only lost two races. Everyone thought he had been the Den winner until Deanna told me that another boy had only lost one race. Dane came in second for the Den, which doesn't account for anything, except the pride of a mother.

I learned several things from this experience. One was that these races are unbelievably long and, next year, I need to make sure to take toys and food with me for the children. Second, I learned that mothers, or some of them anyway, are way more competitive than dads. Don threatened me halfway through the races. He said that, if I didn't behave, he'd not allow me to go to the races next year. He also threatened that he and my friend, Rachel's, husband, Paul, would start their own Blog and write about competitive women.

Rachel and I agreed that we are happy to have husbands that are different from us - men that are gentle and quiet and aren't concerned about winning for it's own sake. They're a wonderful balance for us wives that feel it is essential to win at all costs. The biggest question is, what are we, in combination, teaching our children?