Go Fly a Kite!
By Susan Nye
There are so many crazy, silly holidays out there.
Leave Some Zucchini on Your Neighbor’s Back Porch Night is among my
favorites. As are Ice Cream Day, Waffle Iron Day and Teddy Bears’ Picnic Day.
May is a particularly busy month when it comes to celebrations. There is
Lumpy Rug Day on the 3rd, National Candied Orange Peel Day on the 4th, Lost
Sock Memorial Day on the 9th and Dance Like a Chicken Day on the 14th; the
fun goes on and on.
I think my favorite is Fly a Kite Day on May 12th.
When I was in high school I bought a button with the simple words Go Fly a
Kite. I pinned it to my purse or backpack or whatever I happened to be carrying
at the time. I bought it because I really liked the sense of fun and freedom that
comes with flying a kite.
Later it dawned on me that this message was actually a seemingly friendly
request to anyone and everything that might have been bugging me to go away.
(Take a hike was the preferred “leave me alone” expression in our household.)
Anyway at fifteen or sixteen there are lots of people and things that bugged me
so I was happy to sport this new not so double entendre.
When I realized that Kite Day was coming I remembered the button. I hung
onto it for years. Long after I stopped wearing it, I stuck it up on bulletin boards
at college, graduate school and at more than one major corporation.
Since I am a bit of pack rat (and by the way Pack Rat Day is May 17th), I figured
that the button might still be around. I surprised myself, not that I found it but
that I found it in minutes. It is back in place over my desk. Once again it is a
personal reminder to soar high and enjoy the day as well as a message to bores,
blowhards or bullies to leave me alone.
Getting back to kites, I have never been particularly good at making or flying
kites but I still think they are wonderful. A bright, colorful kite flying high in
the sky is such a joyful site. There is something about watching a kite bob and
weave in a bright blue sky that just makes me smile.
Kites have always been one of my favorite gifts to give and receive and I have
given them to kids of all ages. There have been Mini Mouse and Superman
kites for nieces and nephews and godchildren. In my teens and twenties, long
flowing dragons and rainbows were given to friends as well as my brother and
sister.
Of these many kites, a few have ended up in trees or suffered crash landings
but most brought at least one afternoon of fun. Then again, not all had the joy of
a high-flying adventure. Rather than soar in the clear blue sky, they adorned
college dorm rooms or brought a little color and whimsy to first apartments. A
colorful kite wound its way around the walls of at least one or two of my dorm
rooms and my first studio apartment. Long flowing tails make particularly
good decorations.
The next time the sun is shining and a nice breeze is blowing, why not take your
kids or grand kids, a niece or nephew or even the kid next door (ask his or her
mother or father first!) to go fly a kite. Enjoy!
About the author: Susan Nye writes, cooks and lives in New London. Visit her web site at
www.susannye.com to learn about her new Eat Well -- Do Good project. For cooking tips
and more, you can follow Susan on Twitter or watch her cook on YouTube.
By Susan Nye
There are so many crazy, silly holidays out there.
Leave Some Zucchini on Your Neighbor’s Back Porch Night is among my
favorites. As are Ice Cream Day, Waffle Iron Day and Teddy Bears’ Picnic Day.
May is a particularly busy month when it comes to celebrations. There is
Lumpy Rug Day on the 3rd, National Candied Orange Peel Day on the 4th, Lost
Sock Memorial Day on the 9th and Dance Like a Chicken Day on the 14th; the
fun goes on and on.
I think my favorite is Fly a Kite Day on May 12th.
When I was in high school I bought a button with the simple words Go Fly a
Kite. I pinned it to my purse or backpack or whatever I happened to be carrying
at the time. I bought it because I really liked the sense of fun and freedom that
comes with flying a kite.
Later it dawned on me that this message was actually a seemingly friendly
request to anyone and everything that might have been bugging me to go away.
(Take a hike was the preferred “leave me alone” expression in our household.)
Anyway at fifteen or sixteen there are lots of people and things that bugged me
so I was happy to sport this new not so double entendre.
When I realized that Kite Day was coming I remembered the button. I hung
onto it for years. Long after I stopped wearing it, I stuck it up on bulletin boards
at college, graduate school and at more than one major corporation.
Since I am a bit of pack rat (and by the way Pack Rat Day is May 17th), I figured
that the button might still be around. I surprised myself, not that I found it but
that I found it in minutes. It is back in place over my desk. Once again it is a
personal reminder to soar high and enjoy the day as well as a message to bores,
blowhards or bullies to leave me alone.
Getting back to kites, I have never been particularly good at making or flying
kites but I still think they are wonderful. A bright, colorful kite flying high in
the sky is such a joyful site. There is something about watching a kite bob and
weave in a bright blue sky that just makes me smile.
Kites have always been one of my favorite gifts to give and receive and I have
given them to kids of all ages. There have been Mini Mouse and Superman
kites for nieces and nephews and godchildren. In my teens and twenties, long
flowing dragons and rainbows were given to friends as well as my brother and
sister.
Of these many kites, a few have ended up in trees or suffered crash landings
but most brought at least one afternoon of fun. Then again, not all had the joy of
a high-flying adventure. Rather than soar in the clear blue sky, they adorned
college dorm rooms or brought a little color and whimsy to first apartments. A
colorful kite wound its way around the walls of at least one or two of my dorm
rooms and my first studio apartment. Long flowing tails make particularly
good decorations.
The next time the sun is shining and a nice breeze is blowing, why not take your
kids or grand kids, a niece or nephew or even the kid next door (ask his or her
mother or father first!) to go fly a kite. Enjoy!
About the author: Susan Nye writes, cooks and lives in New London. Visit her web site at
www.susannye.com to learn about her new Eat Well -- Do Good project. For cooking tips
and more, you can follow Susan on Twitter or watch her cook on YouTube.
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