My family has a very close friend, named Alex Wannamaker who was born with a severely damaged central nervous system. This birth defect has left him somewhat paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Alex was limited to doing basic daily activities with the help of others. Alex is able to take educational classes from home using his voice-activated computer. He sometimes asks me to type his homework, to-date he is an A student. I have become his best friend and I have enjoyed talking to him on many different subjects.
One day Alex asked me to help him with flying a kite. I must have looked somewhat surprised and startled with this simple request, because kite flying is one of those things I take for granted. So I asked him why. To my chagrin, he replied ôimagination is the highest kite one can fly." Alex added:
╖ There is no limit to your imagination or how high you fly your kite.
╖ As long as there is string you can fly a kite
╖ Kites, like imagination can come in different sizes and shapes
╖ With imagination you can get the soaring feeling of flying a kite in the sky
I bought a box crate kite, a Japanese fighting kite, and a special Disney character kite and lots of string. The day I took Alex to the park was bright and clear, not a cloud in the sky. I put the Disney kite together first and got it soaring into the sky, then tied the string to his wheelchair. I saw a small smile on AlexÆs face. :) Next I had a little difficulty putting the box crate kite together and getting it to fly because IÆve never flown this type of kite. It was a challenge for me, but I got it up. Again I tied the string to his wheelchair and I saw AlexÆs smile get bigger. :) :)
I was also smiling because I started to realize what Alex meant by saying ôImagination is the highest kite one can fly.ö I became all fingers with anticipation as I put the Japanese fighting kite with its beautiful colors together. I could not wait to get this kite up and going high into the sky. When Alex saw me with this kite his eyes began to gleam with joy and I could see his mind, his imagination was working. UP IN THE SKY, UP IN THE SKY, what a thrill for both Alex and me! I tried to imagine what Alex was feeling at this moment of time, I know what I was feeling. It was just great to let my imagination soar like the kite too.
