By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Sports
Bossier City’s Donny King and his wife of 36 years, Sandra Kay, would go to a park most every day.
It was part of Sandra Kay’s recovery.
“She became ill in 2013,” King said. “She had a carotid artery, then had a stroke during her recovery. She overcame the stroke, but had to go on dialysis for five-and-a-half years. We would come to Brownlee Park. . . . One day, I noticed the wind, and said, ‘It’s time to fly a kite.’ 10 years later, I haven’t looked back.”
Sandra died in 2018, but Donny’s love of navigating a piece of fabric through the brisk wind is alive.
“Peace and comfort. It’s a joy. Nothing more than watching a waterfall, or going to the beach and listening to the waves. I can sit for hours, and sometimes I read a book. You can’t see the wind, but you can see the results of the wind. It’s just pleasurable.”
Most every day — King guesses 350 days — you can find the 70 year old at a park, or in a field on the side of the road, neck cocked back, looking at the sky.
The back of King’s 2019 Toyota Tacoma is crammed with kites and string.
“You have different qualities of kites. Nowhere near when you had the kite shops back in the 1970’s and 80’s. Everything has gone to the foreign market. But, they still make good quality kites. You basically have Diamond kites, Delta kites, Box kites, and Stunt/Trick kites.”
King has them all.
“I own about 55 kites, and I have 12 kite reels. I enjoy giving kites to little ones, and bringing them some happiness.”
Donny and Sandra didn’t have children. But, Donny gives away kites to most any kid he sees — his way of making a difference in a child’s life.
“It’s the look on their face. It’s the happiness. It’s the joy. Not only that, but when we as adults experience a tragedy in life, if we will forget about our own selves and give to others, there’s much, much happiness to be received.”
Of all the kites King owns, there is a special kite. The one with German colors. Its meaning has nothing to do with how much the kite cost, the shape of the kite, or its material. It reminds King of an Angel Mom in Arkansas.
“She had lost a son in a vehicle accident to an illegal immigrant who had been deported twice and came back. He was the cause of the accident. She signed her son’s name and date of birth (on the kite.)”
In other words, some of King’s kites are personal.
“I was flying a kite at Airline (High School’s) stadium one day, and there was a young man who had lost his life. He is buried where my wife is buried. A lady stopped by and said, ‘Can I take a picture of your kite?’ I said, ‘Sure’, and she told me the story, and I figured out where her son was buried. I had read his marker many times. I allowed that kite to be my memorial kite. So, anybody who has had an influence in my life, or showed an interest in kites, I will put their name on it.”
The first few years after Sandra died, Donny flew kites as a way to cope with the void in his life.
“Today, I don’t look at it as grief. I look at it as an opportunity for me to laugh, and smile, and help others. You never know what other people are experiencing.”
Contact Tony at SBJTonyT@gmail.com.
