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Show I Sun Advocate DfSfel Wednesday, March SB, 1304 flying high safely By KATHRYN FIELD Staff writer There has been a revival of kite flying in the past decade, according to Chuck Davis, Price City Councilman, businessman, and kite enthusiast. For reasons obvious to those of us who live here, were in an ideal location to pursue this hobby. While March may be the g month in traditional most places, Carbon County normally has windy and clear kite-flyin- the conditions throughout spring. The area also has a lot of open spaces, making it easy to fly kites without interference from trees, antennae and power lines. Davis also encourages kite fliers to be especially careful of kites with long tails, such as dragon kites, because they need extra area for clearance. To those who want to make their own kites, Davis says there is no reason to use any type of metal in the construction. A power outage can occur if a metallic object gets wedged between two power lines. He says there are plenty of plastics available today which are just as strong and light as metal, and these can be used A r.,. - t A . t instead. - . Other suggestions Davis has for safe kite flying are: use perfectly dry kite string, not wire; never fly a kite in wet or stormy weather; dont cross streets or highways while flying a kite; and dont try to remove a kite caught on power poles or wires. If your kite does start diving toward a tree or power line, try According to Davis, who is in charge of Price Power Department, this area has not had any serious problems with kites becoming entangled in power lines, although in other parts of the state kites and their owners havent always been so this suggestion from the - . Kitefliers lucky. Apierican ; Our intention is' that Association: Let out more line everyone flying kites has a fun until the kite is away from the time, he said. Our concern is obstacle. Dont pull in the kite until there is nothing else in the that no one gets lost to electrocution. way. For more information about Davis said if a kite gets tangled in power lines and kite flying, check your local Come Fight a presents a safety problem, the library for Dinesh should called be by Kite, Bahadur, during city Kites: How to Make and Fly business hours. After hours, Utah Power and Light should be Them, by Marion Downer, Kites by Jack Stokes and A contacted. Not only do tangled kites Skyful of Dragons by Mildred present a safety hazard, he said, Whatley Wright. Serendipity Books in Price they are expensive and to remove. currently has no kite books in dangerous And the city does want to stock, but can try to order Kites to Make and Fly, Kite remove them. We want to keep Price City a beautiful-lookin- g Building and Kite Flying, and Kite Science and Wonder. area, Davis said. w V., - . A . ' - V i t ? i ' ' ft a. v ' , . " - s, - 1 9 tyg a, - M t v , ' Y1 ... y i 4 ' y Photo by Kathryn Field The Carbon County Fairgrounds is an ideal location for kiteflying when the wind picks up. Tourist to China fait both envious and sad Editors note: This is the last of a series of four articles by a Clawson resident who visited the Orient in November. Today she continues her description of China. By CAROLYN SEELY Special to the Sun Advocate Every bit of land possible goes to farm food. Even the mountains are terraced for farming. Space is so precious that when a person dies, the body must, by law', be cremated. The ashes are placed in a vase. The vases are buried one on top of the other for each family. The biggest part of the common population looks alike. Men and women wear long pants of dark colors. Some women wear kerchiefs. Some men wear caps. They all wear tennis shoes and oxfords. They all wear layers of clothes and padded clothes for warmth. The women wear no makeup and no jewelry or ornaments. Years ago the emperor said that no one except those in his household could wear anything bright colored. This carries over into today. Some of the younger mothers are daring to dress their babies in light pretty or bright colors. In some cities, even the women wear bright colors to an extent. For the most part the dark, drab colors are prevalent. Even in their buildings. Very seldom do you see anything painted, just earth colors. No matter where you stopped, a group would instantly gather and stare at you. Some would tomli uu, your skin, your hair, your clothes. Sooner or later someone who talked English came, then a huge crowd gathered. There was no hostility, only curiosity. One guide tried to teach us a few Chinese simple words such as Ne How (hello), and shi shi (thank I said shi shi it came out When you). for my father. I gave up. Japanese Some got pretty good at it. Most Chinese have never been out of their own immediate community in all their lives. Now a limited amount of travel is allowed. They have no vacations at all, and very little money, so they cant go anyhow. Travel documents must be obtained even for a funeral of a close relative living far away. Now, if you are born in city B, you must spend your whole life there. You are not allowed to move elsewhere for any reason. This is one means the government has to try to control population and get jobs for all. Presently no one under 22 can even think of getting married. You must get the governments permission. When they say OK, you can. There is no courting period. Just a civil ceremony is performed. No big fuss. Then the government tells the couple when they can have a child. Only one child is allowed to a couple. They are all trained in and given birth control equipment. If for any reason the girl gets pregnant before the government says she can, or when she already has one child, she must get an abortion. If she doesnt, all kinds of dire things happen. The husband will lose his job and be unable to get another one. No matter where you stopped, a group would instantly gather and stare at you. Some would touch you, your skin, your hair, your clothes. Sooner or later someone who talked English came, then a huge crowd gathered. His wife and children are taken away and the kids are taken away from the wife. No one ever sees any of the others again. The husband is fined heavily. Everyone is ostracized. On the other hand, if a couple has no children, they are given a bonus. The government even goes so far as to tell them what names can be used for the new baby. Too many people have the same name and this is causing many problems. Even people who have been named their name for years are being made to change to a new name. They are given no choice. The government says "You and that is that. are now In a certain factory eight men had the same name. They were called Iee 1, Ix?e H2, I.ee big ears, Lee stoop shoulders, etc. The government said, From now on, you will be Everyone accepted their new names but one man. He tried to get his changed as his new name also meant vegetable. This was objectionable to him. He still had to take the name. In each community, a large posting board is displayed listing who just got married, who is pregnant, who just had a child, who got a bonus for no children, who is allowed to now get pregnant, who just had their name changed, etc. If any member of the community knows anyone who is going against the governments rules, they are expected to report on the offender. If they dont inform, they are then as guilty as the original lawbreaker and as such are equally punishable. Most Chinese have a radio, very few have TVs. The community house has a TV which shows propaganda messages that all are expected to see regularly, nothing else. Pets are a luxury few can afford. You can still see many women, mostly older, that have their feet bound so they are barely four inches long. They shuffle along and never lift their feet off the ground. I wonder how they manage stairs. Due to the British control and influence, Hong Kong is a whole world apart from all the rest of China. There is no resemblance or the vaguest similarity between Hong Kong and an w here else in China. It is clean; bright lights everywhere. Most dress in Western style, women highly made up, lots of ded hair, anything goes. There are topless bars, gambling joints, dancing bars with way out bands. The government has little control over anything here. They live and do where and what they please. Many have English names and most speak English well. They admit to a high crime rate. There are notices everywhere, and the guide is constantly admonishing all of us, Make sure you lock all your valuables in the hotel safe, or Keep your hand on your wallet. Progress nourishes bad habits. Space is still a problem. Walls are built out in the harbor. Then the room is filled in with dirt so more ground is made to build apartments all-nig- ht on. The skyline looks just like New Yorks. Green grass and flowers grow everywhere. Cars, trucks, taxis, all kinds on all the roads. Few bikes. Here our group went each its own way. We rarely saw any of them again. Some I shall remember fondly. Some, I hope, not at all. With the slightest excuse, my husband is ready to go back to China. Ill go too, if he wishes. My heart is sad about some of it, but I truly envied some of it. If you go to China, keep an open mind. Dont expect too much and you will be happily surprised more often than not. Perhaps well see you there. My husband is the tall guy in the cowboy hat with a feather in it. |