{"id":55404,"date":"2019-08-22T04:15:19","date_gmt":"2019-08-22T11:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=55404"},"modified":"2019-08-31T10:00:10","modified_gmt":"2019-08-31T17:00:10","slug":"grandfather-says-the-little-kite-that-could","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id55404-grandfather-says-the-little-kite-that-could.html","title":{"rendered":"Grandfather Says: The Little Kite That Could"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Original oil painting by: Grandfather’s wife<\/p><\/div>\n

One day Grandfather made a “Little Kite that Could.”<\/p>\n

About a half-century ago, the local Jaycees put on a kite building and flying contest.<\/p>\n

On the day of the event there was practically no wind and ordinary kites wouldn’t fly at all.<\/p>\n

But Grandfather’s kite was made of light balsa cross members, covered with polyethylene film from a dry cleaner delivery bag, and the kite string was two-pound test monofilament fishing line, almost as thin and light as a spider’s webbing.<\/p>\n

It soared almost straight up on thermals above my little boy who was flying it. The kite was only about 16 inches long and 12 inches wide and the polyethylene was almost transparent, so you could hardly see it, way up there. But every now and then, the sun glinted off it and it was like a tiny star.<\/p>\n

My boy won a silver dollar, which he still has.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

About the Author: RD Blakeslee is an octogenarian in West Virginia who built his net worth by only investing in that which can be enjoyed during acquisition and throughout life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, like stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photos: Courtesy of the Blakeslee Family<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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