The text came through just as I was about to punch out and head home. I silently groaned because at this time of day it really only meant one thing. I didn’t even need to look at it because I was sure it began with…..
“Can you stop and pick up”……..and then it would list 1 or 2 grocery items that we were either out of, or running low on and needed immediately. Usually it was milk or lettuce or some other vegetable we used in our nightly salad. Sometimes it’s some item that my teenage son just absolutely needs, and although I ask him every week before I go shopping if there’s anything he’s running low on or out of, sometimes the text is that he needs soap or deodorant. And if you know about the various smells of a growing, active teenage boy you’ll also know that it is kind of an emergency if they are out of soap or deodorant.
The text was the standard variety…milk, lettuce, cucumber and colored peppers. I sighed, this typically happens at least once a week and at that time of day, I just wanted to get home, get out of my uniform, forget about work and get on with my evening. Also by that time of day I’m usually hungry, and the worst place to be when you’re hungry is a grocery store. Additionally, the store is usually crowded with people like myself, on their way home but needing to stop for just 1 or 2 items, which means the checkouts are backed up and even the self-checkouts are busy, clogged with people who are having problems using them.
It was with great annoyance that I entered the store that day, my mood worsening as I realized I had entered the wrong side of the store. I had entered the general merchandise side of the store and would have to walk all the way over to the grocery side. I’m always amazed at the little things that can annoy me. Days later I’ll think back and wonder why such a silly thing had me annoyed, but I was tired and hungry and self-reflection wasn’t happening at that moment. I was trudging my way over to the grocery side, weaving past the mothers pushing carts with kids in them and the older people riding the store scooters. I walked past the display barely noticing it and only stopping once I was about 5 feet past. I retraced my steps and stood in front of a display of kites.
I instantly was taken back to my childhood. My father would buy my sister and I a kite every spring and since we lived out in the country we could fly it right in our yard. We’d wait for a windy day and then launch it, taking turns holding it trying to get it higher. Sometimes we’d add more string to it to get it really high and watch it dip and swoon. Eventually, the kite would swoon too much and land in the trees or power lines, or the wind would be too strong, the string would break and the kite would go sailing away on the jet stream. We’d try to follow it to retrieve it but I don’t ever remember finding a kite after it broke away. We’d trudge back home tired, a little disappointed, our faces wind whipped. This kind of became a spring tradition, kite flying.
I stood in front of the display, since it was already the middle of May, the kites were marked down on clearance. All of them were under $5 and some of them were only $2. I knew I would buy one, and after much deliberation, really way too much deliberation, I settled on a Batman kite. I was sure this one would fly high and true, after all it was Batman and he wouldn’t let me down, he never lets anyone down, he’s Batman.
My wife was less than impressed with my kite purchase, she was just happy I remembered the vegetables so she could finish with dinner prep. I put the kite in the garage and promptly forgot about for a week. There were track meets to attend and Mothers Day flowers to buy. But one afternoon I noticed the wind had picked up, it was then that I remembered about the kite. After dinner I quickly assembled the kite, pulled my son away from his phone and headed to the front yard. We were slightly delayed as upon seeing the kite my son declared that Batman was “the lamest of superheroes.” This led to a very brief discussion on superhero rankings, but since I really wanted to fly the kite and not discuss superheroes, I told him to just hold the kite until I was ready.
A moment later we launched, the kite caught a gust of wind and rose as I let out more line. It dipped, it swooned and then fluttered harmlessly to the ground. Looking at the flagpole I noticed the wind was no longer blowing as hard, the flag hung limply on the pole. We tried again, and the kite once again fluttered to the ground. My son tried, the results were the same. We trudged back to garage and vowed to try again on the next windy day.
DAY 2
I usually check the weather app on my phone when I awaken. I work outside so I like to know how to dress for the day, whether I should wear shorts or pants, should I grab my raincoat. Now I was checking to see the wind conditions for the day. Light and variable winds were forecasted, sounds nice but not for kite flying.
DAY 3
Waiting
I wondered what the Wright brothers did when they were waiting at Kitty Hawk for favorable winds.
DAY 4
Still waiting, but I did notice that a severe thunderstorm was forecasted for Sunday with 15-25 mph winds. Sounds promising. I seemed to recall a story from history class about Ben Franklin, a kite, a key and a thunderstorm. Could history repeat itself?
SUNDAY
A beautiful morning with the wind increasing by the hour. Finally in the afternoon I checked my weather app, the radar looked ominous, the storm would hit in about an hour. Now was the time. My son was working, my wife lay disinterested on the couch napping. I would have to do this myself. The skies were darkening, the winds fierce, the kite went up quickly. I was immediately concerned the string would break or the kite would be torn apart by the wind. I should have been more concerned about the flagpole because the kite caught a gust of wind and swooned right into it. It was unharmed and I moved farther out in the yard. Soon I had let out all the line and the kite danced on the wind, its tail fluttering. It did a couple of nosedives, but I saved it from crashing and I was beginning to get the hang of it as I steered it right then left. My son soon pulled in the driveway, the kite swooned and almost hit his car, he rolled down the window and informed me there was a tornado warning and that a funnel cloud had been spotted in a neighboring town about 10 minutes away. The skies were dark, the winds were blowing hard, but I didn’t want to stop. Did the Wright Brothers stop because of a little bad weather? Did Ben Franklin put his kite away in the face of a thunderstorm? I was pondering all this when I heard the warning sirens, and I decided that caution was the better part of valor, so I quickly rolled up the line. As I reached the garage, the skies opened and the rains began.
I flew a kite the other day, just as I did when I was a kid. It was fun, perhaps not as fun as when I was a kid, but then again, I’m not a kid anymore. But sometimes it’s good to do something you used to do when you were a kid just to have that feeling again, if only for a little while.
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