Just Saw a Ghost!

by Douglas Sandberg
(Sausalito, CA, USA)

This kite loss story takes place at Rodeo Beach in Marin County. I had my wife, god son Jake and our Norwegian Forest Cat, Buddha, with us. We had a very nice off shore breeze going over the inland lake that resides there in the valley west of the City of Sausalito. It's a beautiful place for kite flying!

I had passed my white Martin Lester "SPIRIT MAN" to my wife so I could start reeling in some of my other kites. And just then a very large dog charged our cat who was leashed next to us. My wife being far more concerned with our cat than out kite, just let the SPIRIT MAN go! And off it went with about 400ft of white line attached to a wooden winder. It flew over the water of the lake and lifted up trailing the line as if it was casting for fish in the lake.

I immediately sprang up and ran to the car in hopes of salvaging my favorite kite investment. As I approached the car a young woman had seen the kite and was as white as a ghost. "Did you see that?" she asked. "I think I just saw my long gone grandfather" ! By then the kite had crossed the power lines with it's stringed anchor and landed about a mile high up on a fire road. Jake had followed in his car not wanting to miss the retrieval action.

We got out of our cars and gathered up the line that crossed the road and found the kite crumpled up on a manzanita bush. None worse for wear. A happy ending to a ghostly temporary kite loss story!