A young couple at the far curve of Crescent Bay tosses kites into the morning breeze off the Strait. The bright shapes zoom aloft like gargantuan tropical birds. So what’s the appeal of flying kites?

Is it delight in watching something earthbound improbably lift into the air? Is it holding onto the tether, hoping to understand by the gaudy bird’s tugging the essence of flight?

This post is dedicated to another beach loving kite flyer (left) my beloved Uncle Jamie, who turns 80 years young today. He is also a lifelong lover of birds and planes—things that fly, things that soar, things that capture his imagination. He is my tether to my Midwest roots and a direct link to my fatherline that reaches back hundreds of years deep into the soil. Our family are growers. We plant things. We makes things bloom. My uncle and I made a pact today to celebrate his 100th birthday, and I’m holding him to it!

CONTEMPLATIONS

• What connects you to your dreams?
• What bonds you to your family?
• How do you express your rootedness?
• When’s the last time you flew a kite?

Take another walk at Crescent Beach here.