Needs Wind to Fly

When I was a little kid my mother and step-father used to take my sister and me to the then-outskirts of Reno to fly kites at the base of Rattlesnake Mountain. Writing this now, it has a go play in the highway kind of ring to it! The rattlers must have been higher up on the hill because we never saw one, and they definitely were there. I wonder if they still are. When I visited Reno last year after an eight-year gap the growth stunned me. Some things were so familiar, like the University of Nevada grounds, but the development out south of town . . . well, it is no longer a town. That's why my eyes flooded with tears when I heard a woman call it a town on the national news after the horrible slaying in January of a college girl now known to all in the community as simply "Bri." The woman said that it was terrible for Bri's family and terrible "for our town." Isn't it sad that it seems to take a tragedy, and the aftershock of continuing fear because the asshole hasn't been caught yet, to bring a community together? The Reno Police Department, who always had my respect when I lived there, has FBI assistance in the search for the killer and I am praying for them to solve the case soon.

I like to think of the wildness still around Reno, places where the wind blows free and excited kids fly kites. My inner child still roams there, still catches the scent of sagebrush in the breeze, still feels safe dreaming in the sun.

I recorded this video last year at the Oregon coast when the conditions were perfect for kite flying. My earthbound spirit soared watching them that day.