kites

On my drive home from work today, something caught my eye. It was a kite in the air flying high above the trees. As I got closer, I could see a dad and his 3 or 4 kids standing on a high place along the road putting their kites together. The one I had seen was already in the air, and one or two more were nearing completion. It was such a nice thing to see after spending all day at work watching grumpy moms and dads and tired kids playing the consumer game. Here was a family having fun together outside without spending money, other than what they paid for their kites.

It struck me as funny then, that seeing a kite was odd. That's because I tend associate kites with the beach. I grew up near the coast and there usually isn't enough consistent wind anywhere else that would lift a kite. It also reminded me of my first kite. My dad bought it for me when I was probably 3 or 4. It was a bright sky blue and it had some kind of brightly colored design on the front (I can't remember what the design was). The kite was fairly simple, and it was held together with wooden dowels. I do remember the first time I got to take it to the beach and being so scared that I was going to let it go because it went so high in the air, that at the time, it was hard to watch it and hold on too. I remember letting it go once and dad had to run after it, but man, I loved that thing. I remember bringing it out at home and trying to make it fly on my own. I could never seem to get it going and usually ended up in trouble because I made a mess out of the string and miscellaneous pieces. Eventually, I lost the dowels that held it all together, and so ended my kite-flying days. However, I still enjoy watching others fly them at the beach...or on the way home from work. :)