Kites --

Some time ago we went to Southern California and visited the beach. It was amazing the number and different types of kites we saw. The construction of a kite has become a feat of engineering and skill. I guess there was more than one type of kite in the seventies, but not many more and most of them were made of paper. The ones they sold at our stores were the normal five-point or an occasional box kite – which no one wanted those. Now kites are made of all kinds and things and can do amazing tricks.

As a kid we lived across the street from an old elementary school that had a playground made of asphalt, maybe that’s why it isn’t used as a school anymore or maybe it’s because it’s one of those two story jobs that doesn’t have an elevator to get up and down the stairs if you have a disability. I think it’s just old; it’s a cool looking building and now is a community center with all kinds of activities.

The kite we all wanted was the five-point type, black and white with the scull and crossbones on the front. Unlike those at the beach in California, we only flew our kites in the spring. That could be because that’s the only time the stores sold them. I know they had different colors but that wouldn’t put fear in your opponent like the skull and crossbones would. Now in order to understand the fear part you need to know we didn’t just fly our kites as a leisurely activity - this was war.

I found out later in life that this was something done in many parts of the world but to us we thought it was our idea and the highlight of the spring. It wasn’t just the like bumper cars at the amusement park – but more like bumper cars with knifes. Knifes would have been to heavy, so our kites were lined with razor blades. The more agile and movable your kite the greater the damage it could inflict on your enemies. During such battles there was always someone that tried to avoid encounters, hoping to let everyone else get damaged before he decided to engage. This might have worked for a short period of time until someone figured it out and then alliances were formed to eliminate the coward. I usually didn’t win because the others cheated and would real in their kite a little so you couldn’t hit it – this was hard to detect until they cut your string and it was floating to the ground.

In the long run that wasn’t so bad as it’s easier to fix the string than a big slash in the middle of your paper kite. By the end of the day it looked more like tape than paper. One day I was the only person flying my kite. I don’t remember if it was for leisure or I was honing my skill for the next battle. Now being the only participant it’s hard to lose – but it seemed to happen anyway. All of the sudden I looked up and I had a hole in the middle of my kite. As it floated the hole started to get larger and started to lose elevation. Not knowing what had happened I looked around and happened to see someone in the upstairs window of the house right behind me.

This was one of my supposed friends with a pelt gun in his hands. He had shot my kite out of the air. Now I understand the feeling of ancient warfare when they had always used swords and spears and all of the sudden someone invented a gun. How do you defend yourselves from that? I started to yell at him and he acted like he wasn’t there. He never apologized or bought me a new kite – I really didn’t expect him too. That was one of the lessons of warfare; this was the kid that always lost the other hand-to-kite combat, so you have to give him credit for finding another way to win. Actually, it was an amazing shot.