Derby day

Yesterday was Aidan's district Pinewood Derby for Cub Scouts, for which he qualified by coming in second among all Tiger Cubs in his pack. We were fortunate that the district races were hosted this year by his pack, so we only had to drive to his elementary school.

The school cafeteria was abuzz with boys and parents. Each Cub Scout got to make a grand entrance (from the kitchen) into the cafeteria as his name was called:


Each Cub Scout's car ran six heats so that each car raced in each lane of the derby track. Here is Aidan watching his car compete in one of the heats:


Aidan's car Fire Whale (don't ask me - he named it) came in second in one of the heats - it is the blue car with the yellow stripe at the far right of the photo:


Sadly, that second place finish was the best the car did in all six heats. Grandma came from Knoxville for the big event and here she is watching the races with James and Aidan:


Although Fire Whale did not place among the fastest Tiger Cub cars, Aidan (and all of us) had a great time:

March madness

Living in Raleigh, NC for sixteen years made me a college basketball fan. Sure, I grew up in Ohio where college basketball is BIG, but it is nowhere near the HUGE that it is in North Carolina. And it is never as big as it is at this time of year, fondly known as March Madness.

Signs of spring? Daffodils blooming are a sign, trees budding are a sign, thick layers of green pollen are a sign...but the most reliable sign of them all is the ACC basketball tournament. I was flabbergasted when I first moved to Raleigh and saw that people brought televisions to work during the ACC tournament; either that, or they just took the day off. All that hoopla and hysteria finally wore me down and I became a fan of ACC basketball, generally, and the University of North Carolina Tarheels, specifically. I will cheer for just about any ACC team (especially those based in the Triangle area) unless they are playing the Tarheels.

And while I am passionate about Ohio State football, their basketball team takes a backseat to UNC. Unlike football, however, I rarely watch an entire basketball game; the first half usually bores me to tears and there is only so much squeaking of sneakers on the court that I can tolerate.

The ACC tournament starts this evening so I will be watching the seoncd half of as many games as possible. And with the ACC tournament budding and blooming, the NCAA basketball tournament won't be far behind...and the madness will truly begin.

GO TARHEELS!