Subject: The Littlest Angel (kite story)
Date: 29 Jun 1998 00:00:00 GMT
From: Ellen <nytestar@got.net>
Organization: NyteStar Marketing
Newsgroups: rec.kites

Something very wonderful happened this weekend and I was lucky enough to
have been witness to it. One of the things I like best about rec.kites
is that flyers around the globe share their funny, spiritual, technical
experiences with each other. I would really like to share this small
event with you that happened to us - Peter, Janis (my best friend),
Alexander and Allison. Perhaps you have witnessed something similar and
we can share in the magic of it.

9 years ago, Janis had a little girl. Plagued by health problems since
birth, it wasn't until this year that Allison was diagnosed as autistic.
Her case was so unique that it had puzzled her doctors for years. Her
mom has been as driven as any parent can be to discover her daughter's
place in this world we live in, and it came as a great relief to her
when at last she found some of the answers she had been seeking. The
question now was "What can we do to make her life wonderful?"

Well, yesterday, we may have found an answer. An event involving this
precious little girl could perhaps be the beginning of  an understanding
that has escaped us until now.  And it was in the form of a kite.

We went to the beach to run the dog, picnic and fly. More comfortable
with adults, animals & her inanimate friends, Allison, didn't join in
chasing the tail with the other children. Allison was on a quest.
Seeking Peter out as he flew, she asked over and over, "May I fly the
kite?" Now this is an 8' stunt kite, in varying winds (2-8 mph) with a
100' tail, right? Peter took her little hands and fit the straps around
them with his, flying with her...giving her a feel for it. Well that
wasn't good enough. She kept at him and at him, whittling his resistance
down. "May I fly the kite alone now?" Peter explained that there were
too many people around and someone could get hurt if the kite crashed.
She gazed around, pointing to a spot behind them where there was no one
sitting, and convinced him to move over to that area. She asked again,
"May I fly the kite alone now?" Peter was concerned that  the pull might
be too much for her but seeing that this little girl, only 40" tall, was
determined to fly this kite alone was the only convincing he needed.
After giving her a brief lesson, he launched the kite for her, removed
his fingers from the straps, allowing her to fly it alone while standing
right behind her.

I've got to tell you. I've seen crashes and I've seen crashes. Thing
that was so bizarre about watching Allison fly was that she didn't fight
the crashes. She didn't try to recover once the kite was visibly going
down. She laughed with pure joy, not embarrassment, waiting for Peter to
re-launch the kite. Again and again this went on, the time between
crashes getting longer and longer. Fifteen minutes went by until she
said, "May I fly the kite alone?" Peter knew what she meant. It was time
to go down and reposition the kite anyway.  Looking around, he noted
that people were not under the lines, his only real concern, and
fascinated, as well as touched by what he was witnessing, he decided to
let her go for it.

Standing down wind from her, he positioned the kite for her to launch
it.  In absolute perfect form, holding her hands together evenly at
waist height, she tugged the lines down lifting the kite into the sky.
Never had either of us ever seen an adult, let alone a child, execute a
more perfect launch having flown for only moments. I'd like to also add,
this was the first time she had ever even seen stunt kite flying. The
rest was amazing. She spun the tail. She turned the kite left, she
turned the kite right, she did a perfect float, even performing a little
side slide that made me laugh out loud at how much it looked like
Peter's.  It was mind boggling. But it wasn't just what the kite was
doing, it was Allison's form....totally amazing. Never did her hands go
above her waist, nor did she use "big" movements. It was almost as if
she had been doing it for years. In pure mimicry of Peter, her face
lifted to the sky in pure rapture, she flew like an angel. We watched,
unable to believe what we were seeing. When it was time for this new
little flyer to hand the lines back over to Peter she asked him, "May I
fly again tomorrow?"

Later Peter said it was as if she had videotaped him flying in her mind
and replayed it, using her body as the VCR. It was incredible. Her
mother was amazed. Her brother, Alexander, was amazed. The spectators
there on that beach were amazed. The only person that wasn't amazed was
Allison. She was too busy flying.

Peace, Ellen