During the Easter season, Dr. David Jeremiah wrote an article in, Turning Point, on the way that Christians in Bermuda celebrate Good Friday. They fly kites all day, all of them using wooden frames in the shape of a cross. As the kites soar into the sky, they symbolize the crucified one who has now ascended into heaven. His story reminded me of the kites that I flew as a child growing up in a small central Louisiana town.

Flying Kites

Spring is the time for flying kites. The high winds with strong updrafts take the kites to heights that are unreachable at other times of the year. Kite flying is difficult in this area because of the abundance of tall trees that grow here, but the sport can be managed in open fields, on cleared lawns and beaches around the lake. A kite flying in the breeze is a beautiful sight. It seems so carefree and above the cares of the world below. Many children and adults take joy in watching a kite fly high with the tail guiding it in the wind. There is a peace and tranquility in the watching.

I was born and spent my younger years in a small central Louisiana town named, Elizabeth. The landscape is similar to that of East Texas with tall trees and dense forests. Life was simple and easy-going in Elizabeth. The town had one general store that was well stocked in necessary things, but didn’t carry many kites and toys of the sort. Daddy and Mother made the kites that we flew.

When the spring winds began to blow, Daddy would go to his work shop and make a frame for the kite. He cut or sawed two thin pieces of wood with one longer than the other. He formed the pieces in the shape of a cross and tightly bound them together in the middle with heavy string. Then he stretched the string around the outside edge of the frame and secured it by making slits in the ends of the wood pieces to hold the string in place. The cross-shaped wood with the string attached tightly to the outside edge made the frame for the kite.

Usually, Daddy brought the frame to Mother. My brother and I helped Mother cut newspaper to make the kite. We were careful to place the frame on the newspaper and outline it with pencil markings allowing borders around the edges to lap over the string. After cutting the newspaper to fit the frame, Mother helped us fold the edges over the string and glue them down securely. She then tore scrap material into narrow strips of different lengths. My brother and I tied the strips of fabric together at the ends to make the tail of the kite. When the tail was finished, Mother tied it securely to the bottom end of the frame with string. We discovered that the longer the tail, the better the kite flew. Finally she tied a large ball of string to the center of the frame, and a small stick for holding the kite was attached to the free end of the ball.

My brother and I could hardly wait to run into the yard and fly our kite. We always thought they were so pretty, because we drew colorful pictures on the newspaper with our Crayons. One of us held the kite in the air while the other ran with it and let out the string as it rose on the breeze. A gust of wind soon carried the kite away to higher places. Sometimes the kite flew a short distance then fell to the ground. Daddy would repair those that broke. At other times one would be carried by the wind to a tall tree, and that was always heartbreaking, because it usually stayed in the tree until a gust blew it down or it got torn and fell out.

My husband remembers making and flying kites, also. He said that one day he flew a kite for a long time, then tied it to a fence and let it fly all night. It was still flying high in the breeze the next morning when he awoke. What a thrill it was for him to see his kite still in the air after a night of high flying.

We haven’t made many kites for our grandchildren, nor have their parents. The ones that are purchased at the stores, now, are much prettier than the newspaper kites that we flew. They come in all shapes and forms. Some are shaped liked boxes, boats, and other animals. Those made of newspaper are outdated, but what fun we had flying them. There is a certain satisfaction that comes with making a kite and watching it reach the clouds. Somehow your spirit flies with it. Maybe one spring day when the wind is up, I will make another kite. It would be fun to watch one soar into the clouds and fly with the birds, again.