Authors: Ben Ruhe, Peter Lynn
Date Submitted: August 31, 2005
Article Type: Journal

Peter Lynn is flying kites at a German beach resort festival. His giant Octopus kite soars over a rooftop restaurant for hours with barely a twitch, the wind is so steady. A man approaches Peter and asks if the kite is for sale. “Yes.” “How much?” Bargaining. Okay. Guy reaches into wallet and hands over $4,000 cash. Peter: “You are now the owner of the kite.” Both smile in agreement. Minutes later, the kite does an unexpected loop and sweeps the rooftop, toppling umbrellas, tables, chairs, food, glassware, cutlery, and people. Peter’s last view of the disaster scene: The German gentleman with his checkbook out, settling up with the restaurant owner.

Carbon fiber sticks fitted to his kiteboarding kites are inexplicably breaking. Detective work reveals that the brass ferrules joining sticks together are moving and putting the sticks under sufficient stress so as to fracture. Ferrules have been glued but are moving anyway. Glue is tested and proves very weak. The answer to the riddle? Sticks are being cut and jointed in a prison and the officials have limited the strength of the binder used, to forestall possible glue-sniffing by the inmates.

While kiteboating in the early 1990s, Peter’s flying lines wrap around the top of a windsurfer’s sail and lift his board way up into the air. Both Peter and the surfer are thrown into the water. Peter comes to the surface dazed, swims to shore. He sees the surfer has attained land too. Filled with remorse, Peter heads over to apologize. As he nears, he hears the surfer bragging to pals about the tremendous jump he just pulled off. Leaving well enough alone, Peter smiles to himself and leaves. He wonders what the surfer will think when he discovers that the kite line has slashed through the top of his sail.

PDF Link: Journal Issue