You may be wondering what ever happened to the Afghan kite. Well, mission accomplished. Of course, as every Afghan told me, kites are available everywhere. However, thanks to our security protocols, I couldn't just go shopping. Try as one might, souvenir shopping just doesn't count as official business, and for the time being, trips off the Embassy (with very few exceptions) are for official business only.
So we turn, as we so often do, to the invaluable aid of our local staff, who not only know the place, but are often incredibly generous in helping us in many ways that go far beyond the official job description. Thanks to R., I ended up with a package with five kites - just big enough to be awkward to carry, way too big for the overhead compartments in airplanes, oddly shaped enough to attract the attention of customs officers, and fortunately just small enough to fit in the x-ray equipment at security checkpoints. I carried a big roll of scotch tape for possible emergencies caused by curious officials, but never had to use it. And I must say that flight attendants were uniformly helpful in finding a closet or other storage space to keep the kites.
On arrival at Dulles, the kite commander tricked us. I'm hungry, he said, can we stop somewhere and eat? Yes, we could, but first, what better place to fly a kite than in the diner's parking lot? And the next day, could we go to the beach at Sandy Point and fly kites? Yes, and yes again.
