Saturday, September 23, 2006

Shark Kite


The Kite:

Six feet of terrifying jaws and black nylon, dredged fron the depths of Spider Girl's basement, and about to embark on its maiden flight.

A Fierce SHOWK! Tew-Wor of the Seas! (Note: You had to be there).



The Dog:

Loki, soulful-eyed, stick-carrying, and not much interested in kite-flying, but happy to be along on the mission.

The Beach:

Gartley Beach just past high noon on the first full day of autumn. The tide is far out, the driftwood stacked high, and our picnic is eaten while we lean comfortably against the logs. We contemplate the skies and test the wind.

The Plan:

To make our shark kite soar majestically throughthe air, say, MORE than five feet off the ground. A challenge on this gorgeous, but rather windless day.

Kim told me of another day of kite-flying long ago. She had won a large Coca-Cola themed kite in a store promotion. It was the kind of large kite that comes with a warning label that it is not to be flown by a person weighing less than 120 pounds.

They can have amazing lift apparently, a thought which brings to my mind a scene from the novel The Wasp Factory in which a little person is inventively murdered by being tangled in a kite string and swept off over the cliffs.

Anyway, Kim and a friend(themselves little people) were on a beach near their university trying to fly the giant kite and having a varied amount of success, although thrillingly the kite would sometimes lift them a small ways off the ground in their attempts.

They later returned to the university common room which overlooked the beach where someone greeted them with:"Hey, you shoulda seen it! Two idiots were down on the beach trying to hang-glide!"


Tai, another friend of mine, keeps a kite in the trunk of her car, an essential along with the spare tire one presumes.

I remember the day we flew it was so windy that we just sat cross-legged on Jericho Beach as Tai's kite (the Batman logo I believe) went higher and higher all on its own. None of this running about backwards over the sand kind of effort!

I've read about kite festivals in countries like Afghanistan where hundreds of kite-flyers gather to pit their kites against the others until only one remains. The kite strings are covered in a sticky mixture of ground glass and cut like knives through their rivals' strings (as well as being cruel to the hands). There is an excellent novel called The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini in which he describes a young boy's determination to win this competition.

20 comments:

ZooooM said...

I had forgotten all about that scene in the Wasp Factory. hmmm.

hanglider. he he he.

kimber said...

Eeeeeeee! Sharkman!!!!

I wish I could find that Coca-cola kite. It was a doozy. But failing that, I'll be investing in a new kite, especially if the rest of autumn is as beautiful and sunny as today!

Anonymous said...

The kite kind of scared me. Can you image lyin on your back taking a nap and then open your eyes and see that thing hovering over you. Lol

Mike said...

I haven't flown a kite since I was four. I was never very good at it, so I gave up.

But yes, those things can produce a lot of lift! In fact, the ancient Egyptians may have used kites to do some of their heavy lifting...

Tai said...

One never knows when one may find need for a kite!

Eric said...

I had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kite once. I think, like Viking, I just had too little skill to keep up with it. I recall it only getting off the ground once, and Dad was the one in control.

But that thing you have looks terrifying! Sort of reminds me of a stealth bomber.

That would make a good kite, I think...

Biddie said...

I love the shark kite! Two of my Hubby's favourite things. Kites and sharks.

Josh said...

I love sharky, sure makes me want to dig out my rainbow kite and send it soaring.

Swampwitch said...

Hi SpiderGirl,
Thanks for visiting today. Glad you liked the Colorado Color Sunday pics. Preschool and belly dancing are quite a combination. I love it. The pics are great and I especially like the shark kites. Be sure to visit again. We are quite random at my glob. How did you find me?

Anonymous said...

How fun!

Wow - I wish a kite would lift me off the ground - sounds exhilarating!

Mz.Elle said...

That's some kite!
I think there's something so wonderful about flying a kite that people who don't do it,miss out on.

fancy-face said...

hey thanks for stopping by...i love your blog....

hope to see you again soon...

Pol* said...

Great PICS!
Looks like we both spent a lot of time running on the beach this weekend!

Gary said...

Thanks for the kite demonstration.
I would love to see a kite pull someone off the ground. That would be amazing. As long as no one got hurt, that is.

You really have a nice blog.

mal said...

I do love the kite!

Tim Rice said...

Ah! Kite flying is fun when it works. :)

fancy-face said...

admit it..forget the plan just spending time together was great wasn't it???

sage said...

back in August, I posted about people riding a whale on Ocean Isle Beach, NC, and the whale getting upset that it was being neglected so it swam away... and some people took it seriously until I mentioned at the end that it was a blown up (6') killer whale blown away by the wind... Sounds like you had fun

Zambo said...

Hey Spider Girl!

I hope all is well these days.

That's a pretty sweet-looking kite!

Looks like it was a fun day at the beach!

Take care out there!

Your Pal,

Zambo.

Grant said...

Violent, bloody kite fights. That's so metal. I've found killing the human attached is an effective method.