Give us Time to Say Goodbye When Leaving #Life
It is a sad day. On Thursday, February 18, Larry Mixon left us. His death, at 46, was sudden and unexpected. My relationship with Larry was special to me…. we conversed on the #kites IRC channel almost daily. Larry graced the skies at many festivals with his cool single-line art, and also made a great line of sportkites. Larry leaves his wife Linda, 3 children, a grandchild, and many, many grieving friends. We profiled Larry in the November ’98 issue, view it here. Fly well, friend.
1, 2, 3, 4, We Don’t Want Your %&*$$# War!
5, 6, 7, 8, Organize and Smash the State!
They got the guns, but we got the numbers….
In the late 60’s, we re-discovered that strength lies in numbers, should those numbers be united in common cause. The cause then was an immoral war. As student rage grew against the Vietnam “conflict”, many thousands of us found our voices. We stopped a war. We brought down a president. We changed history.
Many of us learned lessons then that we carry with us today. The value of group effort is proven daily when people with a common cause combine their efforts. Habitat For Humanity is an excellent example of this concept. This national organization uses their expertise to attract media attention, which results in sponsorships, and millions of Average Joes contribute a small amount of their free time. The world becomes a better place as a result.
Kiting For Humanity
An enlightened group of kitefolks are using similar tactics to try and bring kiting into the mainstream consciousness of America. The Kite Trade Association, and the American Kitefliers Association have combined assets and talent to put together an excellent program to bring kiting to the country’s televisions and newspapers through the month of April. Read more details of the plan here.
Do It, NOW!
Here is a challenge. Right now, not later, go to the NKM page, and register an event. It doesn’t have to be huge…. just pick at least one day in April, that you will be flying with some friends. Who knows, NKM may help you get the local TV station, or newspaper to come out and give you some coverage. Folks in your town see the coverage, and may have their interest piqued.
The equation is simple. The more events that are registered, the larger blip we make on the radar screen. If the NKM PR company can tell the major media outlets that there are 400 kite events happening in the month of April, you can bet your lunch money that we will rise in importance.
Past Masters Ballet at AKA Nationals!
There are preliminary plans for a unique new event at this year’s AKA Nationals. Over the years ,we have seen some great showmen rise through the sportkite ranks, and then move on to other things. We are making an attempt to drag these folks out of retirement for a special event, the “Past Masters Challenge” to be held on Saturday at this year’s convention.
Wouldn’t it be fun to see the stars of yesteryear face off in a showcase event? Ron Reich, Lee Sedgwick, Don Tabor, Sue Sedgwick, Pam Kirk, Dodd Gross, Scott Augenbaugh, Bob Hansen, Peter Betancourt, Pete Dolphin… just a few of the names that should be on the list of invitees.
This event will be a part of a “spectator friendly” schedule for Saturday at this year’s Nationals. Should be a wonderful day.
That’s all for now, folks. Keep those cards and letters coming!