Anybody that grew up reading "Peanuts" probably remembers Charlie Brown's ongoing battles with "The Kite-Eating Tree". It was inevitable that, on each new kite's maiden voyage, it'd end up entangled in the ruthless teeth of "The Kite-Eating Tree". Well, it turns out we've one of our own.... and it tastes are far less discriminating. For, upon the purchase and assembly of two 'balsa wood' airplanes for the twins, my son's plane arched upwards, around and directly into the waiting branches of the one tree in our front yard. Well out of reach. My immediate thought was to pelt it with rocks, but that was to no avail. So, if rocks were not enough, the local town newspaper that was conveniently lying on my driveway would certainly suffice. But that, too, failed to result in the desired effect, and it ended up stuck in the tree as well. Then, I thought I'd knock it loose by tossing a nearby rake up to bump it loose. The rake stayed, too, lodged amongst the branches. In a matter of minutes, the tree had claimed the plane, the newspaper, and a rake. All this while my kids stood on the side while they're crazed father flung one after another, appearing to do nothing more than feed the voracious appetite of the persistent perennial. I eventually got the plane down with a steady stream of water from a pressured hose nozzle, but the paper and rake remain for the time being.