August 2006 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

32
The
Ugliest Kite
Ever!
BY RICHARD TORNEY
In the years after World War II, my parents did not have
much money, but they seemed to be able to insulate
their children from their difficulties. On a windy March
day when I was eight or nine years old, all of my neighborhood
friends were flying kites. I asked my mother for 15
cents to buy a kite, and though it was a sacrifice, she
scraped the money together.
Soon I had my new kite and was on my way to the field.
It was a blustery day, and I had not had my kite in the air for
very long when it was blown into what we called the “kiteeating
tree.” My new kite was ruined, and I came home crying
and pleaded with my mother for another 15 cents. She
had already sacrificed to buy the first kite, but still she dug
into the bottom of her purse and managed to gather up
another 15 pennies. I sped down to the West Seattle
Junction on my bike to buy another kite. When I returned,
there were even more kids flying kites than before. I put
my kite together and got out there as quickly as I could.
This time the air space was more crowded with kites, and
I was forced to fly mine closer to the kite-eating tree than I
was comfortable with. It didn’t take long before I was again
dragging my kite, ripping and tearing it, through that menacing
tree. I ran into the house crying, but this time there were
no more pennies to be found. I went back outside and sat
sullenly on the front steps to watch the other kids fly their
kites. That was more painful than it was fun, and after a
few minutes I went in the house feeling sorry for myself.
When I walked into the kitchen where my mother
had been sewing, I saw a sparkle in her eye that hadn’t
been there before. Then I glanced at the kitchen table.