Kite Lines - Vol.1 No. 3 - KiteLife

The EditorToday I went kiteflying with some ofmy friends in the Maryland KiteSociety. You could say it was like manysuch days I've experienced, and yourassumption would be superficiallycorrect . But on a deeper level it wasentirely new and fresh .First of all, each outing brings out adifferent assemblage of people, so thatthe mixture of personalities alwayscreates new sparks of recognition,exchange and discovery. We enjoyedboth "new" and "old" people and their"new" and "old" kites .Second, the flying conditions werenot quite the same as on other occasions .The wind and sunshine were just right,but the site was not quite as idyllic asin years past . New construction iscruelly cutting into the open space .There is still plenty of room left forkiteflying, but it is now a more enclosedarea and a less majestic vista .It is hardly for kitefliers to say thatthis development is wrong, for we area small group and we visit HarpersFerry but once a year . The land ownermust have had his reasons for permittingthe change . But a hill thatonce saw 188 kites flying on a singleline is now being bulldozed into oblivion. We regret the loss, for it cannever be restored .Third, I relearned something veryinteresting today. Kiting is an individualchallenge in relation to construction,but in flying it's usuallysocial . True, one can enjoy it as asolitary sport . Also, the requirementfor open space tends to reinforce theindividualness and keep fliers separateon the field . But the urge to shareand be involved with others in kiting isstrong, and overcomes limitations .Kiting is a group sport as well as anindividual one, a combination that israre among human pursuits .This natural social extension of oursport was in happy evidence at HarpersFerry. Talk was constant, and veryoften it referred, quite unconsciously,to "the magazine," apparently notout of any special deference to me aseditor, but out of the natural course ofinterest in kites . A medium of communicationhas much to do with theenthusiast's ability to call kiting hisor her avocation . "The magazine" iswoven into the fabric and shape ofhuman lives, the fancies in their brains,the expenditures of their hours, thepatterns of their personal relationships .One of these days, an auditor isgoing to come look at the magazine'sbooks and pronounce upon their conditionfrom a hardheaded businesspoint of view . As I write this I haven'tmuch notion of what he or she willtell me . That news will be important tohave, of course, but whether the outlookis cloudy or sunny, I will find itdifficult to adopt so limited a pointof view . For me, kiteflying in itself isa rainbow of such incredible, magneticpleasure that a pot of gold at its endwould be irrelevant, redundant, cheapening. Or, to put it another way, kitefliersare among the richest men andwomen of this world .Windily yours,