I don't know which I hated more: as a Cub Scout getting the little box with a block of pinewood, 4 wheels, and 4 nails/axles or handing the boxes out as cubmaster. As a Cub Scout, I shuddered at the blatant competition that depended on skills I didn't have. And as a cubmaster, I felt so much pain and empathy for the kids who wouldn't have a chance to work on their own cars and might not even be allowed to hold them. So often dads think they have to take over the job of making the car or get frustrated when the kid doesn't want to shape it the way dad does. I think there's some merit in the way some packs have two races, one for the dads and one for the kids. Each can then design and race his own.
But that problem wasn't evident at the Loveridges of Sacramento. Ed made sure that Tim and Jake had plenty of input on what their cars should look like and they were tasked with all the hand sanding and painting that they could do after he (Ed) had gotten the cars in roughly the shape they would end up in. This year Tim has decided his car should look like a Number 2 Pencil while Jake is going after the Monster Car look.
Ed pretty much used the power tools in getting the blocks ready for final sanding and painting. He did let each boy try out what it felt like to use a power sander. I'm always amazed how much you can shape a block of wood with just 20 minutes and a rotary sanding drill. More news will come in a few days if we manage to attend the actual derby.
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