Building a race car

I have many fond childhood memories of building and racing soap box derby cars. My dad decided that he wanted his kids to race soap box derby cars so he shared this dream with anyone who would listen. Eventually he had people from various churches in the state of Minnesota convinced that this would be a great way to make a difference in our communities.

I can remember working late into the night with my dad at the elementary school to build that first soap box derby car. Old 200. I remember when he asked me what number it was going to have I said "200" because that was a bigger number than I could count to. I was not very old. We painted the car yellow and blue. If you are imagining some sleek torpedo shaped car where barely the top of a helmet is seen when occupied by the driver you have the wrong image in mind. It was a wedge shaped box and when you pressed the brakes the spoiler would tilt as if to say "goodbye sucker." It had wheels from a morgue gurney on it which was sort of morbid except for the fact that they were very fast, today they have made their way back onto the gurney that sits in my workshop.  It has not retired completely despite its 100+ years of age. It holds power tools.

Tonight, I will be working with my kids to finish building their cars for the big race. We will spend most of our time at the band-saw that sits on top of that gurney. The wheels are still blue and yellow and every time I see this connection to my dad I smile. I hope he gets to read this blog post. Having such a good dad is part of what made me love being a dad so much.

The pinewood/grand prix race will be on Saturday at Mountain View Wesleyan Church. Come on out and cheer on your favorite kid.