That’s right… Faye, my new (well, new to me) Patchwork Maxi Ray, arrived yesterday, and I’ll look to have her skyward soon. Many thanks to Portland, OR-based master kitebuilder and showkiter, Rod Thrall for passing it along.
Rod is one in a long list of talented kiters I recently met while participating at the University of Okoboji Winter Games Kite Festival. Great peeps, as they say!!! I’d put the feelers out on a ray in the best way possible, and the rest is history.
Now Rod is someone quite special. Aside from being an all-around great guy who’s gotten to where he is today through a lot of hard work, he’s one of, if not the only individual, licensed to build Jordan kites – and he’s made some real doozies!
Incidentally, Rod happens to own the only Minnie Queen of Hearts, essentially a twin Edo to the King of Diamonds I scooped up in 2021. Both kites were built by late master kitebuilder, Larry Mixon, under whom Rob served as an apprentice, while honing his craft in the late 90s.
One evening when visiting with Rod, I asked him to take me down memory lane:
Michael K. Sherman 
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk to you about Larry. He was very special to me and a biggest of why I am still building kites. It was nice looking back
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That makes my heart happy lising to all the wonder memory’s about my DAD (Larry)Thank you for that
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Stacy, Rod now owns the king of diamonds. Fitting that he should have it.
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Thank you I’m just glad that they are being flown and enjoyed thank you
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