The Kite Story

The Kite Story

by: Scott M. Anderson - Scott is the youngest son of my best friend Richard Anderson - Read about Richard here.

I was around twelve years old. My dad said, "Hey, son, I got an idea! Let's go fly a kite." I was thinking, ain't I too old to fly a kite with my dad? Bet when he said I got an idea, I knew there was probably more to it.

So we jumped in the work van and took off to the Sports Farm off of Campbell Road.

This farm was for middle-aged men who enjoyed the game of softball. My dad's team around this time was the Mooseheads. I remember him playing right field. He was a good batter. There was a gigantic wooded barn in the middle of the complex that sold beer and peanuts.

When we arrived at the big gravel parking lot, I got the orange kite out. Just a normal kite for kids, nothing special. Then around the back of the van, my dad pulls out a small boat motor. The kind you hook up on the aluminum boats at the park. It had a small battery that powered it.

After that, he showed me some rope that was spooled about six inches wide. "Go and get that kite flying!"

So I got the kite flying about twenty feet high on its own string. "Bring the end of the kite back here," he said. I gave it to him and then my mind went puzzled. He tied the end of the kite line to the big spool of thin rope. Next, the spool was fitted around the end of the boat motor. He had taken off the blades of the motor and was going to use the spinning shaft as a rope winder.

When he put the motor in reverse, the kite drifted away. Slowly. That was it? Instead of using the kite rope, we are now using the rope off the spool and motor. That was it?

Then, about ten minutes later, the kite was getting high. I mean really high.

Five minutes after that, I could barely see it. Five more minutes later, I could not see it anymore.

"Dad, look at the spool! It's almost running empty!" So he stopped the motor. We sat there for about ten minutes, looking into the deep blue sky, seeing nothing but clouds.

"Pretty cool, huh son?" No kite in sight. "Pretty cool, Dad!"

I wondered if anyone has ever tried this. "How did you come up with this?" I asked.

Dad quipped back and said he just got the idea. "Hey, let's put the motor in forward and see if it winds back in."

After about ten minutes, we both started laughing so hard together. "I see it, Dad. I see it!"

The orange kite, finally visible to the eye, was descending. After another ten minutes, it finally reached arms length.

"Go get it, son!" I ran as fast as I could and grabbed the kite in my arms.

After holding it for a moment, I was thinking, "Did this kite go to outer space?"

Turns out, flying a kite with my dad was a pretty fun experience. And we were laughing the whole ride home.