Duce's Wild: Cub Scout Chronicles: A Pinewood Derby preview

With our Pinewood Derby only days away, the anticipation has been as thick as winter fog. Last Sunday, I passed my Cub Scouts in the hallway at church holding reminder fliers and excitedly talking about their car creations. "Mine is so awesome," said one boy. "It's a batmobile and it's gonna fly.""Mine has dinosaur teeth all around the edge," said another who's deepest affections obviously lie in the Jurassic period of mammoth raptors and carnivores. "Mine will have flames," said another. "As soon as we make it."As a freshman to the scouting scene, I was understandably worried about designating Pinewood Derby car construction as a homework assignment. Knowing how busy many of our scout families are, I wasn't sure they could fit a wood shop project into hectic schedules. I considered an after-school field trip to a generous man's shop to help the boys cut wood blocks into initial shapes and start sanding. Luckily, I resisted. My husband later confirmed my suspicions that building Pinewood Derby cars is a rite of passage, and quite possibly the ultimate father/son bonding experience at this stage of a young Cub Scout's life.Drama aside, it is a "To Do" item laced with serious pride on the line for both boy and man. I gained a large measure of confidence when my scout with the seemingly least amount of family support had his car finished just days after the kits were distributed. My son hasn't been so lucky. When the race was less than a week away, he started positioning the box of car supplies in the center of the kitchen counter to help reduce the number of times he had to ask, "Are we going to work on my derby car today?"Not one to love a crayon, he quelled his anxiety by drafting multiple pictures of his car with a variety of colorful designs. By last weekend, he settled on a version he calls, "Forest Fire." And then it happened. Not long before bedtime with no hope of escaping the desperate look in my boy's eyes, my husband spread a towel on the floor and found his sharpest hunting knife. Together, they began to make his boyish dreams a reality the hard way — whittling one curled shaving at a time. I have to admit, the scene was making me nervous. I was simultaneously bothered by the length of my boy's hair and how far past due he was for a haircut. So I attempted to add efficiency and a bit of safety to their endeavor by getting another towel out, wrapping it around my boy's shoulders and offering to cut his hair while he watched his father whittle from a slightly safer distance. It actually worked."A little more on the side," he would say — commands meant for his dad that guided my scissor pattern as well. "This is finally taking shape," my husband said admiring the shrinking block, and I agreed that my hair cutting was in good form that night."I think we've got it," we both said together when a sleek car design and a shorter hair line were both accomplished. The next evening was spent sanding and sanding some more. They took turns smoothing the wood and then smoothing the axels. While I can't predict how the painting will go (since my column deadline precedes our finished product), I can say the process has been a positive family affair. So, as a preview to the stiff competition to be found in our Cub Den:We'll see if a John Deere truck painted green with yellow stripes will outrun a bat mobile. We'll see if a dinosaur can overcome a forest fire on the derby track. We'll see if the reigning champion from last year's competition can repeat his prowess with a black and pink Saab replica he and his dad call, "The Reverb."Read next week's column for a race-by-race report on the highly anticipated competition that will have boys sleepless with dreams of speedy runs, take-home trophies and the incomparable pride that accompanies a Pinewood Derby champion.