The Purple fish flying in Algoma Wisconsin on the beach with other club members

With every year, I get older, something that as you know, happens to us all. But as we get older our bodies are not always as able or forgiving they once were when we are younger. This reflection you say, is something from a older man, not a 54 year old man, but when you have a bad back, you feel much older than you are.

With that, I made the choice to sell Charlie, the very large Peter Lynn dog in my collection. He only existed in my collection a few years, unlike many pieces that are 10+ years old. Charlie was a fantastic piece, he was awesome in the sky, he was a great piece, but in all honesty, was more than Jennifer and I could manage ourselves. With a bigger club, I am sure that I could easily get help, but as I get older, it should be that I can control my kites myself.

Due to this, I made the decision to sell Charlie to another club member, (He is now named ‘Barkley’) and Barkley will now get flown more, and will enjoy the sky better than if Jennifer and I had to try and decide what flies to fly him at. I will be getting another kite, to replace him, but this will be my last piece I feel, the be included in my collection. No, I am not getting out of flying kites, instead, I am managing my collection to pieces that I can control either, on my own, or with Jennifer’s help. I also as you have seen in prior posts, am enjoying flying stunt kites again more, and these are things easily controlled by me, and do not take up much room.

The Peace Fish up with other kites at the Algoma kite fly, August 2021

I still have the Lobster, the Gecko, both the big Purple fish, and the peace fish, and the Squid. I also have a ton of other interesting frame kites to fly as well. It’s time to not let these kites to sit in their bags in the dark, and really get out and fly more. Again, I have made an order for another piece, and I should have it in time for flying this next spring of 2022. I am beginning to enjoy flying again, I enjoyed it before, but it was becoming more of a, ‘Chore’ as opposed to a hobby. The collection is shrinking so that it also is more manageable. So ultimately, the more things change with my hobby, the more they stay the same.

Over the years, I went from smaller kites, to medium sized kites, to large pieces, to overly large pieces. Now I am moving back to medium pieces. So since 2004 my collection has changed, but my passion has not. I still love flying and still love flying all kinds of kites, but it is time to enjoy the full collection, not just the biggest pieces. With moving to Wisconsin, and joining a larger club, I now have the ability to fade in, and possibly fly stunts only, or fly smaller pieces, then move to some of my other rare show pieces. Depending on the size of the fly, the fields, and the audience, it gives me much more options than I had in a smaller club. Nothing is wrong with either option, it’s just nice now to have that option. To see Barkley now flying in the supervision of someone who is so excited to fly him, I think this is fantastic. The kite gets more time in the sky, and more people ultimately get to enjoy him.

Finally, now that my hobby is picking up, and the world is coming back to somewhat of a semblance of prior years, there will be much less comment on the world, and much more comment on my hobby!