The box kite

When I was about ten years old, dad brought a kite home. Not just any old kite either. It was huge! Instead of little wooden pieces wrapped with paper, this one used aluminum poles and was wrapped with nylon, like from a parachute. It was six feet tall, three feet square and a really bright orange. It came with 1/4 inch rope that was coiled up in a large pouch. Dad said it was used as a signaling device and gunnery practice during the war. If a plane was shot down near an island, the pilot could fly the kite and be seen from miles away and he could be rescued.

The instructions were quick and to the point! (yes I read the instructions) I had lots of time to kill waiting for the right conditions. The instructions said to tie the line off to the kite and a tree before assembling, and wear gloves, as the line could cut into your hands as it caught air and lifted off.

It didn't take long to assemble, or take apart, and we had the best place to fly it. The wide open field out in the middle of the railroad yard. Now all I would need is a weekend when the trains were not out running around, and of course some wind. Do you know how long it takes to have the stars line up with a weekend, with wind? To try running to get it into the air would be impossible. It was way too big for that. I had a couple of false try's because of my eagerness and the lack of wind on weekends.

Finally, a Saturday, some wind, and my buddy Rob from the next block over gave me a hand. We carried everything out into the field. I tied the line to a power pole that was in the middle of everything, stretched it out and started assembling the kite. I had some garden gloves that were a little lite duty, but that's all we had. We were both used to having to run with a kite, not just waiting for it to lift off. We set everything up and waited. Nothing was happening. Maybe not enough wind? We didn't know, we were only like ten years old. Rob said, why don't we run with it like we always do with little kites? I said if all else fails we'll do it our way! Well, nothing was happening fast enough for a couple of ten year olds.

We left the end of the rope tied to the pole. The rope was really long, so we thought we could get the kite to lift off and then let the rope out until all of it was out again. We tried several times. Not enough wind. This kite is way huge, and were just going to tear it up trying to fly it. We need a weekend with real wind. Maybe next time. We took everything apart and hauled it home. We had wind during the week, but too much train activity, and too many people walking around.

The day finally came! A weekend with wind. As Rob and I left with our arms full of everything we needed, my sister Linda watched as we went down the driveway. Just the look she gave us stopped me. I asked "WHAT?" She was a teenager now, and knew everything. Rob and I, on the other hand ,just did whatever. Linda said something like, "that thing will drag both of you all the way to the end of the field" NO, I said, we will have it tied off to that power pole that's in the middle of the field. The last thing Linda said as we took off was something about power poles and wires that hang on them.

Everything was ready, the rope was tied off, the kite was assembled, and just like the instructions said, it lifted off. Rob and I went back where the rope was tied off on the power pole and tried to hold the rope and go hand over hand to walk it down some. We had these chinsey garden gloves but they didn't do much. As we went hand over hand trying to bring the kite down, it started lifting both of us off the ground. Just a little, but lots of fun. We told each other to not let go. For sure it would lift one of us off really easy. We were both laughing like any couple of ten year old kids would. We were gaining, but the kite had lots of rope. A few hundred feet more and it would be down. Then the kite started drifting to one side toward the power lines. We had to either let it back up, above the lines, or do the hand over hand thing to get below the lines really fast. You know all those little hairs all over your body? You don't really know they are there until something like this happens. They all stood out like we were porcupine's.

The Alameda Times Star headlines said something about kids and a huge kite that tripped the overload switches. Rob and I were all eyes as the kite drifted into the wires and the aluminum tubing made contact with live lines. It was spectacular! Sparks, melting aluminum, and us holding a very limp rope. I had to convince Rob to help grab everything and run. He didn't want to be involved in the grabbing part, just the running part. I wanted the evidence gone. We didn't have to unassemble the kite. It came down very well unassembled.

Linda was waiting down the driveway as we ran past her. She had that look again, like now what did you two do? and why is the power off in the house? "We don't know nothin as we ran by, ditching everything in the back of the garage. Our kite flying days were over. At least the big metal ones. We'll stay with the paper and stick ones. Who would have thought?