i love kites!!!
they look so cool with all those bright colors floating and flapping around way up in the sky. can you believe kites been around for 3000 years! wow! thats a really long time. way back then they got used for fishing, wars, magic and lots of other things.
now their mostly for fun. you can get all kinds of kites. theres stunt kites, fighting kites, racing kites and lots of other ones in all kinds of sizes, bright colors and every shape you could ever think of. all over the world theres kite days, contests and festivals. zillions of people are flying kites and having lots of fun doing it.
the most fun time for me was when me and my brother andrew made our own kite. we got some old pieces of wood, a used up old white shower curtain that had neat swirlies on it and some old rags we tied up together for a tail. everyone laughed and said that big ol ugly lookin kite wasnt ever gonna fly. but andrews a good builder and he dosnt give up so easy on something he believes he could do and i just knew he could get that kite flying. so, we just kept changing it up a little after every time it crashed and that was a bunch of times. ugh! one day on another try i held it up high over my head and andrew ran as fast as he could pulling that long string over his head and while everyone was laughing at us that kite just jumped right out of my hands and went up up up into the sky. WOWEEEE! it was soooo exciting! it was bigger than any kite i ever saw and its long raggy tail was wagging real proud in the wind like it was saying ha ha told you so to all the ones who had been laughing. me and andrew held tight on that string together. we let out a bunch more string and watched that kite go higher and higher in the sky til it got so high it didnt look like an old shower curtain anymore and looked like a big beautiful white bird gliding way high up on the wind. it was the best and most beautiful kite in the whole wide world. since that time i got lots of store bought kites in lots of pretty colors and shapes and had lots of fun flying them. but i just gotta tell you the best one ever was that ugly white shower curtain kite me and andrew built and flew together.
have some fun! ...go fly a kite!
…hugs from lenny
now their mostly for fun. you can get all kinds of kites. theres stunt kites, fighting kites, racing kites and lots of other ones in all kinds of sizes, bright colors and every shape you could ever think of. all over the world theres kite days, contests and festivals. zillions of people are flying kites and having lots of fun doing it.
the most fun time for me was when me and my brother andrew made our own kite. we got some old pieces of wood, a used up old white shower curtain that had neat swirlies on it and some old rags we tied up together for a tail. everyone laughed and said that big ol ugly lookin kite wasnt ever gonna fly. but andrews a good builder and he dosnt give up so easy on something he believes he could do and i just knew he could get that kite flying. so, we just kept changing it up a little after every time it crashed and that was a bunch of times. ugh! one day on another try i held it up high over my head and andrew ran as fast as he could pulling that long string over his head and while everyone was laughing at us that kite just jumped right out of my hands and went up up up into the sky. WOWEEEE! it was soooo exciting! it was bigger than any kite i ever saw and its long raggy tail was wagging real proud in the wind like it was saying ha ha told you so to all the ones who had been laughing. me and andrew held tight on that string together. we let out a bunch more string and watched that kite go higher and higher in the sky til it got so high it didnt look like an old shower curtain anymore and looked like a big beautiful white bird gliding way high up on the wind. it was the best and most beautiful kite in the whole wide world. since that time i got lots of store bought kites in lots of pretty colors and shapes and had lots of fun flying them. but i just gotta tell you the best one ever was that ugly white shower curtain kite me and andrew built and flew together.
have some fun! ...go fly a kite!
…hugs from lenny
I love kites too! We live in a really windy place so my kids are always asking to fly their kites--sometimes it's TOO windy. :o)
ReplyDeleteHave a great week, Lenny!
It sounds like you and your brother have a lot of fun together! I've never flown a kite, but I love to watch other people fly theirs. :)
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like SO much fun. I haven't flown a kite in a long time...
ReplyDeleteandrew sounds like a very wise fellow...
ReplyDeleteand a good example of endurance to those of us who write. we try our first draft, and it doesn't quite fly, so we tweak it a little, and still it doesn't work- so back to the shop again, and again, and again... then one time we test it out and it takes off and it flies so high- we can't even recognize it.
i loved your kite tale, lenny!
thanks for making me think! :)
It sounds like you and Andrew had a lot of fun! (How many brothers do you have?) I've never been able to get a kite off the ground...But my husband and daughter flew one on the beach in Florida one time. It was a lot of fun to watch. I think the best part of your story is that you and your brother made and flew the kite together. :)
ReplyDeleteWow, I didn't know kites were used for fishing and for war -- or for magic! I like history, but I don't know anything about the history of kites. Sounds like something I should look into, sometime!
ReplyDeleteI'm terrible at flying kites, but I love to watch them go. My kids flew a dragon one last summer on the beach with a friend and it was amazing to watch.
ReplyDeleteIt's been forever since I've flown a kite! Thanks for the reminder to get out there and fly one! I think I should make a trip the beach where I fly one, it's the best kind of breeze you can get out there!
ReplyDeleteMaking your own kites are the best!!! I remember when my two sisters and I would get together and make our own (much like your shower curtain one) they were the best because they were homemade and you could tweak them to the proper specifications!
Thank you for the smile. It was a good time to have one. Your story sure lets all those people who say, 'Go fly a kite!' know that sometimes their advice is actually good. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know kites had been around for so long! I've not flown a kite for ages! Thanks for the reminder of how fun it is, Lenny.
ReplyDeleteKites are great! You know, there's a public holiday here in Greece, called 'Clean Monday', I can't remember why it's called that, but everbody on that day, doesn't have to go to work, and as the tradition, the parks are filled with people flying kites! It's an amazing sight! I'll try and find a picture for you and send it your way! :o) xx
ReplyDeleteHi Lenny .. I absolutely agree - kites are magical aren't they .. I love just watching as they're manipulated through the sky ..and the colours .. just brilliant -
ReplyDeleteI loved them as a little girl too .. my Dad made them for us .. Hilary
Lenny, I just loved this post. So much heart. I once made a kite with my dad (who is an engineer). We used a garbage bag (the black kind), so it wasn't pretty at all, but that thing flew. One of my favorite memories for sure.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you and your brother never gave up!