GO FLY A KITE!

Remember those days as a kid when you would rummage through the garage to find the small newspaper or cellophane kite you made at day camp the year before? Once you found it, you had to ask permission to go to the school yard with your mom or dad to fly it. And when you got there having a great time watching your dad run along with a kite dangling from his outstretched hand.

I do.

Kite flying actually became a big part of my father's life for the last 10 or so years of his life. He loved being out in the fresh air near the ocean (usually where the best wind is) trying new techniques to get his two line kite to fly its best. He was very good at teaching new flyers the ins and outs of the art of kiteflying...and yes it is an art. The intricacies of where the lines should be in regards to how strong the wind is can only be understoon by an engineering mind (which I do not possess).

There would be weekends when dad and I would go down to Harkness Memorial State Park to hang with his friends and fly kites. There was one day we got there rather early and I was able to put my single ling 'pink pig' kite up about 100+ yards up and then we flew the double line kites for a while. About 11 a.m. the wind died and no one was able to fly anything...but my pink pig was still flying strong. That is a fond memory I have with my dad.

If you are interested in finding more out about kiteflying as a hobby check out the following sites:

ConnectiKITERS
American Kitefliers Association
A Farewell to my dad, Jef "Sarge" Cleaves