NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. — One Western New York man has turned to kite flying to help with his depression. And in turn, he wants to help others.
“My first kite I bought in 1997 for $75.00,” Ted Shaw of the Great Lakes Kitefliers Society said. “Seventy-five dollars to me was ridiculous, but now I’m into thousands of dollars-worth of kiting gear that I’ve bought over the past 20-some years.”
Shaw adds that flying kites has helped him with his depression.
“I went through a period of depression for about five years,” Shaw said. “In the mail came, ‘Into the Wind Kites.’ I studied that for almost a year before I got up nerve and felt good enough about myself to try this.”
He then ran into a friend with a stunt kite, who showed him how to fly it. Shaw was hooked from then on.
“It helped me get out of my depression to get out and see people again,” Shaw said. “To look at the sky rather than looking inward. It was a major accomplishment for me at the time. I’ve never looked back.”
He says that he is happy to help anyone learn how to fly and teach about the different types of kites.
Great Lakes Kitefliers Society hosts monthly flies at Gratwick Waterfront Park on the first and third Sunday of each month, except in August when there are boat races.
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