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Kites and mindfulness
Kenneth
Veteran
Any kite flyers on here? I just bought a couple of kites to take on vacation with us at the end of the month. The last kite I flew was a dime store paper kite maybe 45 years ago.
I'm thinking this could be a good low tech, inexpensive hobby that encourages mindfulness.
I'd be interested to hear your experiences.
4
Comments
Love it.
What a great idea.
I saw a kite today or is it a kestrel? 
It would hover and then plunge dive. Here it is hovering.
mmm ... look forward to your experiences. How wonderful.
Flying kites is so classy, I would have so much fun that I would forget to be mindful.
I sure remember those dime store kites. Lots and lots of fun. Though sometimes we sure expended a lot of effort for what seemed a rather short flight.
@grackle, yes, they didn't come with tails so you had to improvise. A lot of guess work getting it right. I remember tearing strips off an old bed sheet.
OK, here is where Spiny or lobster or somebody is supposed to jump in with "You had bed sheets? Sheer Luxury!"
They take Kite-flying very seriously in Japan...
I am a horrible kite flyer! We used to put them on fishing rods so they were easy to let out and reel in, lol. But we have a billion trees here, very hard to find any large span of openness to fly kites in without quickly losing it.
We did that too @karasti .
You can actually buy reels custom-built for kite-flying. Haven't flown a kite in ages. Maybe I'll surprise Mrs. Walker with a kite day this summer!
Not sure how much sense it makes without the context of the movie in which it appeared ("Saving Mr. Banks") but "Let's Go Fly a Kite" is pretty jolly.
Well, The scene from the actual movie, Mary Poppins, is equally fun....
Both films are great fun. One is about how the author https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._L._Travers came to allow her book retoned into an animation/real action hybrid musical by Dizzeeknees
'We luvs ya Mary Poppins' (said in my best van dyke cockerknees)
I love that film, especially the fake cockney chimney sweeps.
Yes - now and again - I still buy single string kites and take them out - available at all good pound shops near you!
The double string ones are better as they can be controlled more easily... and lots of fun swooping about at under a fiver.
There is also potential for high tech and expensive when considering serious kites used for kite surfing and such - they can be used to jump over stuff... which was much more feasible when I was younger and the joints didn't mind being pulled and slammed about.
Yes! Mary Poppins clips/references!!! A little cheer up I needed.
@Zero, yes, I'm amazed by the variety of kites that are available. I bought a couple of "beginners" kites. One of them will handle strong winds. I'll be flying them at 5000' (1524m) above sea level and years of visiting there tell me the winds can be strong, but usually pretty steady. With a kitesurfing kite I might catch up with Mary Poppins and her umbrella or perhaps even the Flying Nun
Ah yes...The Dick van Dyke school of Cockney accents has a lot to answer for....
Click on "Download waveform: Goodbye-Mary-Poppins-Dont-stay-away-too-long.mp3" and be enthralled by how a Cockney really does (NOT!!)sound.....
Hahaha...you guys can never resist making fun of his attempt...hahaha...I'll be over chalk drawing on the sidewalk...nevermind you guys
* breaks out in another song *
Oh no you didn't!! I still watch the flying Nun on antenna tv every week-end! Yes, the whole idea is cheesy as hell, but I love the Sisters at the Convent San Tanco!
Cheesy, yes, but redeemed by the awesomely cute 20 year old Sally Field. Now, "My Mother the Car", THAT was cheesy..