Personal Essay: About Kites and Windy Days - AARP Bulletin

About Kites and Windy Days

My dad and I lay on the soft earth watching our creation bounce and dip

What I know about wind I learned from my father when I was 6 years old. Buffeted by blustery wind, my dad and I walked the few blocks from home to the abandoned farm at the edge of town, carrying a homemade kite with a long fluttery tail. We crafted the kite from newspaper, string and balsa-wood sticks. I thought my dad could build anything. Would it fly or would it crash? After some trial and error, the kite rose into the air like a bird on the wing. Getty Images My dad and I lay on the soft earth watching our creation bounce and dip. We talked about many things, especially the wind and the weather, and how nature worked to nurture this great land. I invited others to our next flight, and by the end of the summer that old farm had dozens of kites flying over its rooftops every day. Last March, I took my 6-year-old granddaughter and a homemade kite to a kite-flying festival. Our silly kite was humble and small among the beautiful high-tech flying machines dipping and diving around us. It didn't fly as high as those technological wonders, nor did it fly as far, but as we lay on the soft green grass with the sun warming our faces, I told her wondrous stories of kites. Stories of the boy who flew a kite across Niagara Falls to help build a massive bridge; of Ben Franklin, and his experiment with electricity using a kite. And I told her about the times I lay in the soft warm earth of that old farm with my dad. That goofy kite crafted from paper and strings connected generations and sparked the imagination and wonder about the world around us. Jennifer O'Rourke is a reader from Chico, Calif.

Your Turn

Tell us what you really know about patriotism. E-mail your essay of up to 400 words to . Or mail it to "What I Really Know," AARP Bulletin, 601 E St. NW, Washington, DC 20049. Please include your name and a phone number or e-mail address.

Related

Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures

Close In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.