(More than) Fourinarow.net

Well, it’s Derby Time for the Boy Scouts.  You know?  The Pine Car Derby?  The most important thing EVER?  For the DADS, I mean.

A month or so ago, the kids were all given their Pine Car kits so they could start working on their cars for the upcoming derby.  They were also given a list of rules – what you can and can’t do to your car, weight limits, etc.

Last weekend (we like to plan ahead), I printed out some car templates for Jack to choose from.  He picked one and Dan “helped” him cut it out.  Then I smoothed it with my Dremel and Jack sanded the whole thing down.  The next day after school, I gave Jack some paints and decals and he went to work decorating his car.  When he was finished, he was VERY proud and is sure that it’s a winner.  All it needed was to have it’s wheels attached.

Or so I thought.

Then Dan came home.

It needed much more than wheels, he informed us.  It needed graphite applied to the axles, it needed weights drilled into it’s undercarriage, it needed to have the wheels smoothed of dimples… on and on and on.

Back to Al’s Hobby Shop went Dan and Jack for more supplies.  They returned with a bag full of stuff and MORE advice.

The next night (after Jack was in bed, mind you) Dan stayed up late working on the car.  Drilling, smoothing, patching, lubing… and still wasn’t finished when he came to bed.

After running to Al’s with Jack again for a quick weigh-in last night, Dan worked on the car some more and was pretty sure this morning that it’s all ready to go.  It fell on my shoulders to take the damn thing back to Al’s this morning (kids in tow… in a hobby shop…) to weigh it on last time.  “It has to be 5 oz.,” Dan informed me.  “If not, you’ll have to do some more drilling and add more weight and then putty it so that it will all be dry by the official weigh-in tonight.”

“Ummmmm….,” I said.  “Aren’t you allowed to have a car that weighs LESS than 5 oz.?” I asked.

“Yes.  But I want the car to weigh the whole 5 oz.,” Dan informed me.  WHATEVER.

So off to Al’s this morning I went and guess what?  The car only weighed 4 oz.  Shit.  Shit.  Shit.

I stopped at Target and bought a scale – enough of the back and forth to Al’s.  I came home, fed the kids lunch and went to work.  That car is so shot full of lead, we should be calling it the “Bonnie and Clyde”.

With no more room to add weight, I placed the car on the scale…

4.8 oz.

[You are not going to believe this, 'cause I don't.  But as I'm writing this post, Dan is texting me and asking me for a status on the car weight.  SHEEEESH!]

Well, it’s going to have to be good enough.  And, the damn thing better win.

The Bonnie and Clyde