As winter neared its end and spring neared its beginning I as a child would begin thinking of all the great things one can do outdoors. To me one of the very first things I wanted to do was fly a kite. When I would think about it the thought of running and launching a kite up into the sky sounded like so very much fun and in thought it also sounded so very simple to do.
This is where I feel I better stop and explain that after flying that kite in my head reality caused me to run into some obstacles I hadn’t had in my day dreamed flight. First dad or mom would take me to Harold Krempeins’ General store so I could pick out which kite in the barrel I wanted and then pay Harold the .15 for the kite and then there was the extra .15 for a spool of string needed to be secured to the kite so when once launched wouldn’t fly away. (I would always forget I had to buy string.) Once we got it home the kite had to be assembled and folks anyone who has had a paper kite from the ‘’50s knows this could be a problem. Especially for a hyper active boy too impatient to tie the two sticks together and then tie them to the thin paper that covered the structure forming your kite. In my case my big brother Ben would step in and assemble my kite for me so as to stop me from just tearing it up as I tried.
Once this was completed Ben would send me to moms’ rag bag and get some material we could use to tear into strips and create a tail for the kite so as to create a balance so the kite would fly straight once it was airborne. Flying a kite takes patience of which I was short on but tried very hard to find more since my previous failures would come to mind and I knew if I rushed I would only face failure. We would head to the pasture field where there was at least 7 acres in which I could work with the kite. More than open ground, a good tail and lots of room to run to lift it into the sky there was one element that only Mother Nature could give and that was the correct air currents needed to carry your kite up into the stratosphere and then keep it there.
Maybe twice in all the years of trying to fly a kite did I truly succeed. But on those two times that I did I got a rush of success and overcoming the elements and feeling quit sure I was the master of my universe. The rest of the years when it didn’t happen I would gather up the shredded pieces of my destroyed kite and shout to the sky I will get you next year.
It is funny how time can fly by it seems even faster than the currents I was trying to put those kites on but time will do that. Twenty-five years passed in the blink of an eye. During most of these years the thought in the spring did not first land on flying a kite but on farming or hanging out with friends etc… But one Sunday in March my wife and daughter Meghan (age 6) came to me and in her hands she held a kite. My wife said our daughter had something to ask me. “Dad will you help me fly this kite?” Not really wanting to show her just how inept I was at kite flying or how out of shape I was I began to give her reasons why not. Now when your wife is standing behind your little girl who thinks you are a great guy and she has hands on hips and the look that I am letting our daughter down all my alibis disappeared. So I took a second look at my family and smiled big and said why of course I can. (There was much doubt in that sentence but I said it anyway.)
So out the back door we went and next door was Michelle Eubanks flying a kite high in the sky and she only a child of nine or ten was flying it with grace and ease. My daughter pointed out she was flying. Now I had to prove I could keep up with the neighbor child also. But this Sunday was one of those March days when the temperature was warmer than the norm and the sun was huge and the sky having not one cloud in the entire sky of the deepest blue it seemed to pick up my spirits and I could feel spring was near. I let out a length of string and someone was an optimist as I had a 500 foot spool of string. I had Meghan hold the kite and began to walk away from her telling her that when I yelled now she was to release the kite. Ok was her answer and off I went saying a prayer under my breadth. When I yelled now she released it and to her pleasure and my shock the kit became air borne on the first try.
As the kite was gaining altitude our other neighbor Joey Hannah and his son and Meghan’s’ buddy Josh appeared with Joey carrying their kite. As they crossed the yard to where we were he began releasing their string and then running a short distance Josh’s’ Kite climbed quickly. Gradually we let out the strings allowing the kites to climb. 100 feet at first and then 200 feet and so on until in about 15 minutes we were out to near the full length of the 500 foot spools. I will tell you now never before or after have I ever got a kite to that height and kept it there for two to three hours. The kites were so high that barely could one make out the design on the kites.
As Joey and I dominated the skies that day a feeling came over me like I have never felt before maybe. I had succeeded at something I doubted I could do and success over ones fears is the feeling that I won out. Second my daughter was excited and thrilled as was Josh and I think maybe even Michelle was impressed. The bottom line that day was two dads caused their children to looked up to us and a father wants no more than that and yes it took my wife to make me do it. Thank you!
Rick Houser grew up on a farm near Moscow in Clermont County and loves to share stories about his youth and other topics. He may be reached at houser734@yahoo.com.