Top Speed Bacon…
The Pinewood Derby! Being a former cub scout these three little words bring back great memories for me. We would eagerly anticipate receiving our brown paper bag that held the requisite materials to build the race car of your dreams: 1) a block of wood, 2) four plastic wheels, 3) four long nails to hold the wheels in the car. How my imagination would race as to what I wanted to build.Â
Thank the maker for my grandfather!  I would bring everything to GP and we’d get to work, putting in long nights after school in his basement.  The tools he’d normally use to build dollhouse furniture for my grandmother would suddenly find new life as we created the ultimate car together.  He didn’t cut corners either, no sir. I was expected to sand and sand and sand some more. That car, once cut, had to be as smooth as a babies behind. We’d then paint, and sand, paint, sand, lacquer, sand, final coat of lacquer and then the finish paper.
My cars were fierce and I am very happy to say that we not only came in first the year I was a “Bear” scout, but also took that car to regionals. I got a little plaque and my car stayed mounted to that for years after. I LOVED Pinewood Derby!!
Why do I bring this up…because I received two things recently that reminder me of how cool the derby is AND they are both bacon related!
First, this bit from a story in the “Belmont & Mount Holly Banner News” in North Carolina. The story was titled, “Hot Bacon and Greased Lightning at Scouts’ Pinewood Derby”.
His son, Brandon, a Webelo, had a red sporty car with chrome accents he named Hot Bacon.
Brandon said he took the car’s name from a family ritual.
“Breakfast,” he said, laughing. “Mom actually came up with the bacon idea and I added the word ‘hot’ to it.”
Brilliant!! I mean, is there a better name? Wait…I think there just might be…
The second came from my old childhood friend Colleen (SHOUT OUT!)
LOOK AT THAT!!! It’s the MACON BACON!! and the tag – “Where Pigs Can Fly”!! SERIOUSLY!!! Kid is a genius. I want to hang with him!!
So there you go…two little thing that in recent weeks have helped me to remember some great times with GP AND provided content to the blog. KA-POW!
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