Mary Poppins sings "Let's go fly a kite, up to the highest height," to her young charges, then flies off with them, holding on to a kite string and soaring high into the sky. Kids of all ages enjoy ...

I know better now, but before I got educated, a kite was nothing more than frustration on a string, robotically attracted to telephone lines, treetops and nightmarish nosedives into the ground. With a ...