Authors: Peter Lynn
Date Submitted: August 31, 2002
Article Type: Journal

My admiration for the female of our species is increasing every day. At the Thailand International Kite Festival with the Mega Ray, Clyde Cook and I were being our usual obnoxious selves about attending the opening and closing ceremonies, and about getting up for breakfast at 7:30 (so as to be ready to leave for the field at 9:30 so that we can sit there and wait for the wind to arrive at 11:30 and the public at 1:30), and things like that. Well, we met our match this time. A young lady from the Thai Tourism Authority soon had us sorted. Always smiles, hardly ever tears (visibly anyway), but unswervingly persistent. Eventually we just did whatever she asked; it was much easier. Clyde even appeared for breakfast on the last two mornings, first and second time for probably 10 years. We called her Little Miss Duct Tape: fixed every problem and never let go.

Also in Thailand, we discovered perhaps the greatest innovation in single line kite flying that has come our way in the last 30 years—the Thai army. Friendly, keen, natural kitefliers. After a few minutes of teach-by-example, we could fairly much leave them to it: launching, wind shifts, packing, the lot. When kites tangled, they would often have them sorted and relaunched before we could get there. They came fully equipped with mobile anchors (jeeps and five-ton trucks) and, I suspect, would also be quite useful in any territorial dispute. The ultimate kite team.

I’ll settle for reincarnation as a kite, provided that I’m cared for and protected by the Thai army, that is. Hmm, I wonder if they have women soldiers.

PDF Link: Journal Issue