Redemption

Neal has been plagued for many years by a childhood trauma that only he and his brother Eric can fully relate to. This painful memory occurred when he was ten years old and involves the infamous......pinewood derby.

As a young boyscout, Neal relished in the thought of building the fastest car in the pack. Together with his Dad, Neal assembled his car in high hopes it would sweep the competition victoriously. Neal, Erik, and his Dad thought it would be a great idea to polish their car with lacquer to give their cars an irresistible shine. This would be the perfect finishing touch.

The night of the competition arrived and Neal and Erik anxiously awaited for their Father to come home from work and take them to scouts. It was around this time that the boys examined their cars only to discover that the lacquer was still a sticky wet sludge. Panic stricken, Erik and Neal looked to their Dad to remedy the situation who in turn decided that the situation called for a BLOW TORCH. Slowly the lacquer began to melt off....along with the brilliant paint job that was painstakingly and lovingly applied. Erick and Neal stood there gazing at the offensive impostor that once resembled a car destined to win the derby. Hoping that all was not lost, they scrambled to spray paint both cars in an attempt to cover the torched burns and prayed that all would go well on the track. Sadly, Neal and Erik's cars not only didn't win the race, but they both failed to even cross the finish line!

Neal left scouts that night with feelings of shame and embarrassment. He still vividly recalls walking home alone that night with tears plunging down his cheeks. Not only had Neal lost the race but he lost his pride as well. Perhaps the only solace that Neal found was through one word that seemed to echo in his head:

REDEMPTION!

Neal vowed that one day he would be made whole again....through his son.

Last month Britton entered the scouting program and was given a block of wood to shape into a race car. Hours were spent researching the best designs together and talking on the phone with Neal's brother, Erik, who has since redeemed this boyhood trauma himself through his own sons. The secrets were uncovered and Britton and Neal set out to accomplish their mission of building the fastest pinewood derby ever known to race. Neal even felt it necessary to buy a $100 scroll saw to achieve the best design possible. Britton and Devin eagerly assisted Neal as he labored over carving an ordinary block of wood into a fleeting force to be reckoned with. The kids and I left for Utah for a couple weeks and Neal continued to spend many nights laboring over this fine piece of workmanship even taking it to the dental lab at work. Neal continued on his mission of drilling, melting, carving, measuring and weighing and sanding the race car during our absence.

We returned the day before the race with still much to accomplish. The axles hadn't been put on and the wheels had yet to receive a graphite coating. Neal had a 12 hour surgery the next day and raced home with only 20 minutes to spare before we had to leave for the derby. This scene unfolded with an eerie resemblance to Neal's experience 25 years prior as we were pushed for time. Like the previous experience we had no other choice but to throw some spray paint on Britton's car. The paint was drying as we rushed to the church with Neal's pockets full of emergency supplies for any possible scenario. Britton weighed in his car at exactly 5 ounces. Perfect! (Neal actually took the car to the grocery store the night before to check the weight on a produce scale.) While applying the axles at just the right angle, Neal pressed a little too hard and a chunk of wood broke off. Ahhhh! Britton looked at me as I tried to mask my panic and replied "Don't worry Mama. Daddy ain't no dummy!" This is a family phrase that Neal and Britton frequently exchange. Sure enough, Neal whipped out his emergency stash of super glue and all was well.

The races began. Each scout got to race his car a total of six times so that each car was raced on every track against every boyscout. This measure was taken to guarantee total fairness. It was so exciting to look at Britton's face....and then Neal's face as his/their car took first place every single time! Britton won six first place ribbons in all with each run down the track at less than two seconds. Britton couldn't be more proud and Neal was practically giddy! The awards were handed out and Britton absolutely beamed as he received the "Fastest car in the pack" award. This was such a fun experience for the whole family. Who would have thought that 25 years later Neal would finally know what it feels like to receive the "Fastest car in the pack" award. Needless to say Neal went to bed with a huge smile on his face. Oh, and so did Britton.

Neal fine tuning the car just minutes before the race.

Going for a test run.

Still trying to perfect things...

Super glue to the rescue! (Boyscouts are always prepared, right?)

Yet another test run. (Everything must be just right.)

Britton feeling pretty confident about the race.

Britton wins the race!

Britton's car is on the right. He's whippin' them all! Wahoooo!

Winning sure feels good!

Neal is reveling in the glory of first place!

Britton's car takes first place again!

Livy cheering on her brother! Gooooo Britton!!!

Britton eagerly collects another 1st place win!

Devin and Livy eagerly watch the races.

Another win for Britton!

Britton on cloud 9!

Britt admiring his first place ribbons.

And the winner for fastest car in the pack goes to...... BRITTON CURTIS!!!

Britton can hardly believe his eyes as he gazes at his new trophy.

Congratulations Neal! You've waited 25 years for this moment! xoxox

My two Champs!

Photo op with the winners.

Devin clearly had more important things on his mind. We love our Dev!♥