The Flying Monkey of Doom

Last Wednesday was Joseph's first Pinewood Derby. He was so very excited. He designed his car. Kermit cut it for him. Joe painted it red with a blue monkey face. He named his car The Flying Monkey of Doom. We had a flying monkey in our house once.

Daniel and Kermit were at the front door on their way out. Suddenly, Daniel collapses to the floor, clutches his head and screams like a banshee. Neither Kermit nor I could figure out what caused this distress. And then Kermit saw an orange plastic monkey toy on the floor not too far from Daniel. Looking up he saw Joe on the other side of the room with a triumphant smile and a particular gleam in his eye. It didn't take too long to figure out that Joe had taken his brother out with a flying monkey, or as Daniel dubbed it "The Flying Monkey of Doom".

Little Joe was very excited about the derby. He was excited about his car. He was disappointed to find that his was not the fastest car. He wanted to win. The fastest cars were all a flat design. Joe has decided that next year he wants a flat car. He wants to win. I'm a little disappointed in this. Those other cars may have been fast, but they were boring. I liked that his car was inspired by a lightning bolt and an orange monkey. I like the derby cars that are not slick. I like the ones with character. My fear is that the need for speed will be more important than style. Oh well, there is always paint.