Those Balloons

THOSE BALLOONS

Those balloons that gave us our minutes of fame and good fortune, without us they were nothing but a sky full of dreams, ideas floated. With fabric bloated and heated by dancing flames burning the very air we breathe, we shared life and breathed bigger and better.

Those balloons arising somehow becoming weightless, uplifting into the mighty firmament. Elements uniting us carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen – combining in fire and water, or cloth and wicker or red blood and hard bone.

Those balloons that took us out and about and around the world in a whirlwind of unforgotten moments. Foolish and frippish, clumsily delicate, soft yet somehow dangerous, soaring, majestic.

Those balloons that greeted us at days’ dawning and dusks’ coming. Bringing joy, tempting disaster as we faded come night’s descent

Those balloons casting their long shadows over our short lives, lifting us from the past and floating us into the future, uplifted our spirits and bodies to show us another place. A place that I shall call crazy imperfection

Photo credit: Per-Olow Anderson, balloonists Dick Wirth and Peter Anderson - actually a photo from Sweden but captures the spirit!

Many of the balloon pilots I have known do it as a paying hobby. It requires the enthusiasts passion to career into the skies in a laundry basket loaded with gallons of explosive liquid under a frail nylon bag with a hole at the top but there always seemed to be enough of them to go chasing after as they flew their heavily branded aircraft out of county shows or over towns and cities. As a chaser I would end up haring down country roads in pursuit during the early morning and late afternoon - weather permitting of course! Originally written for an occasional balloonist David Eager, this effort easily adapted to capture the flavour and objectives of weekend balloonists.

Fly:eat:siesta, fly.eat;drink;sleep seemed to be the order and rhythm of the day, but the pub was, and still is, the perfect conclusion to activities in the British balloonists mind.