Yes Mel...that was what I was doing....could have been me!!! I was pretty good at it....only problem was that the darn ice ended....the lake I was on is very deep and usually we know where the holes are....the ice fisher guys were well past where I was....they must have gotten there some other way.....or that hole was new. The hole was a lot worse than the alternative....with those kites...you never ever, ever, get near the strings....they take off at 80 mph. slice like thru butter. I flew many many times and had no problem...I got freaked by the prospect of going in the drink...and yes...I did have ice fisher picks to get myself out....but luckily I avoided the dunk. Now I stay off frozen lakes....global warming has made ice very unreliable....

Lesson learned. I can't do the kite anymore, unless the wind is very very light...it pulls too hard on my arms....my kite fastens to the fore arms...it would pull your hands off. I even have one with a harness.

I bought better ones after my accident...one was a sail, which is much better, the other one is like the one you see on the video, but has a 'brake', which turns the baffels on the airfoil down so they don't 'catch air'....so you slow and stop. However in Spring 2004, my health really took a dive.

I was not kidding when I said I was athletic. I injured my finger in Jan or Feb of 2004!!! Prior to that I could complete a hilly sprint triathlon in an hour and 50 minutes....this was a 500m swim, 18 mile hilly bike and 3.2 mile hilly run.

I can not walk 3.2 miles in an hour anymore....gosh, I am not sure I can walk 3.2 miles...I think I can.....(I think I can, I think I can......)

This is how fast this disease came on ...it is thru my entire body....

I was sick and in pain back then but man, when you are doing that with a kite and skis....you forget you hurt. I was so hyped on adrenaline...it didn't even hurt when my finger got sliced. Yeehaw. God how I wish I could feel that again.