Family

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The Kite

The windy filled day in March seemed just like any other day until my Dad came home. I was in for the surprise of my life. Dad was carrying this big brown bag. It was full of stuff that I had never seen before in my life. I was only ten years old. My Dad was a heavy drinker back then and so he didn’t spend a lot of time with me. This day would prove to be different. He dumped the contents of the bag on to the kitchen table. Out came a pile of balsa wood. I also saw a big ball of string and some glue. My Dad then unrolled this long sheet of plastic paper and started cutting it into sections.

My Dad told me to sit down at the table and watch. I was so excited because I knew that what ever he was doing that it was going to be for me. Dad was a master draftsman and so measuring things accurately was easy for him. He seemed to be drawing a sketch of something on a piece of paper. I watched him complete his drawing and it was a picture of a tall vertical box like figure. My curiosity was at a fever pitch but I didn’t want to stop him. He finally told me that he was making me a box kite. I had never heard of such a thing. Every kite that I had ever seen looked like a big triangle with a tail.

The construction process was so meticulous. I never saw my father take such interest in details. It took about three hours to see the finished product. The box kite was yellow and black. It had a tail too. It was awesome. Dad and I left the kite on the table overnight to let the glue dry.

The next morning He took me outside and into the garage. Back in the corner on the floor was a dingy old looking crank. Dad cleaned that crank with soap and water and then applied some oil. He took some brand new nylon cord and tied it onto the spool just like you would a fishing reel. I cranked the wheel and filled that huge spool with that nylon cord.

Dad went in and got the box kite and we went behind our house and on to a big open corn field. He connected that nylon cord to the kite and told me to hang on to the crank.

He took off running with the kite with some slack on the cord and the kite quickly lifted up into the air. I slowly let the cord out from the spool and the kite kept going and going and going. We left it out as far as it could go and then something really incredible happened. My Dad tied the crank down tight and told me to go jump in the car. I hopped in the car and off we went. We traveled about a mile down the road and my dad parked the car right underneath the flight of our box kite. I looked in disbelief. I couldn’t believe that my kite was that far away.

We drove back home and it took us about an hour to get the kite to crank back in because we had to bring it in very slowly against the wind resistance. We didn’t want to tear a hole and see it all come crashing down. I went to bed that night one very satisfied little boy.

I hope that you enjoyed my story. My Dad died ten years ago and I gave the eulogy.

I told everyone at the funeral service this very same story. Time sacrificed is love given and that kind of love lasts forever.

Thank You Lord for that One Day with My Dad

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