By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
Are you concerned that too many kids today are preoccupied with handheld electronic devices and don’t know how to play outdoors?
I, too, shared those feelings until a recent visit to the seashore with my grandchildren. One of my grandsons was captivated watching several kites flying high above the beach.
Shortly thereafter, thanks to an observant and generous uncle, he was flying his own kite and having a wonderful time.
His enthusiasm caught my attention and I tried my hand at handling the kite with the skull and crossbones flying nearly 400 feet over the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Watching the kites soaring and dancing against the blue sky brought to mind that happy song, “Let’s Go Fly A Kite” from Walt Disney’s “Mary Poppins”.
Meanwhile, back at the beach, discreetly using my cell phone to find the original song online, I began singing along with those happy, catchy lyrics:
Let’s go fly a kite
Up to the highest height
Let’s go fly a kite and send it soaring
Up through the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
Oh let’s go fly a kite.
Richard and Robert Sherman wrote the song for the end of the movie where the main character played by David Tomlinson, a bank teller, realizes that his family is more important than his job.
He mends his son’s kite and takes his family on a kite-flying outing. The song is sung by him, Dick Van Dyke, and a chorus.
When you send it flying up there
All at once you’re lighter than air
You can dance with the breeze over houses and trees
With your fist holding tight to the string of your kite
I whistled, hummed, and tried to sing that tune for the rest of our vacation, cherishing the plain yet profound truth about the joys of sharing the simple pleasures of life with those we love.
Keith Kappes can be reached at keithkappes@gmail.com