Every Easter my siblings and I would receive kites from the Easter Bunny. First thing after dinner we would head to the park four blocks away to assemble and fly them. It was a great park for kites, open with few trees on which to snag the string.
This Easter I treated myself to a new kite, higher quality
than the flimsy plastic K-mart kites of my youth. I assembled it over a few
days’ time, careful and meticulous with the wingtip nock, standoffs, spars and
tail. The tail could make or break the kite’s ability to soar and twirl and
dip.
Yesterday I drove to the park of my youth, only to find that
it now contained an aquatic center, skate park, soccer fields and baseball
fields with nary enough space to gain the speed needed for launch.
I got back in the car, my kite placed carefully on the back
seat and drove to find a suitable space. None of the parks would do, but I did
find a lovely unplanted field. I didn’t see anyone around and since I would do
no harm by merely running across the field and watching my glorious kite lift
into the semi cloudy sky on the ample breeze, I figured the owner of the field
wouldn’t mind.
I held the spool of string in one hand and my kite in the
other. I ran into the wind until I felt a tug on the kite and let it go, moving
both hands to the string. I watched the kite soar as I fed the string out. It
lifted higher and higher, soon becoming nothing more than a speck in the sky.
I must say I was shocked when the kite seemed to develop a
power of its own, or maybe it optimized its hold on the growing wind. The
string was fully played out but securely tied to the spool which I gripped
tightly in both hands. I was lifted off the ground and raised to the heavens,
following the kite across the field and further into the countryside, feet
skimming tree tops. Below I saw a patchwork of fields with tiny houses and
barns. Cows were slow moving dots on the landscape.
What an amazing experience! I guess at some point, I’ll have
to figure out how to get down, but for the moment, I was flying and living my
wildest dream.
