We've spent a great Saturday with Eric's sister, Jean, and her husband Paul and their kids, Blaise, Emma Lia, and Eliza. The Millers and Mariners are hardy folk. They rose pre-dawn, donned trunkloads of warm clothing, and went off to help Dave The Hot-Air Balloon Pilot, a friend of Jean's who needed a crew to prepare for flight as part of a balloon rally. Stumpfs are sensible folk. I stayed in bed, sleeping off the previous night's sorry attempt to edit my article for timely submission. So did Moose (clearly a Stumpf), who occupied Eric's sleeping spot once he was sure Eric was safely away. It turned out to be too windy for the balloon to take off, but they had a blast anyway. Kai talked the pilot into letting him into the grounded basket and then pumped him for information about how it all works.
After watching Blaise play like the wind in an intense basketball game, they all went back this afternoon to see if the wind had abated so the balloon could go up. I'm here at the house, making a sorry attempt to edit my article for timely submission. I feel sure that Eric will keep an eye on Kai. I feel confident that Kai will not put his new knowledge about balloon piloting to use. I am not recurrently imagining a real-life enactment of "Up," with Kai as the lone action hero. I am hoping it's a comedy.
-Juliet
Here's an update: They went up! Eric and Kai, that is. Check it out:
Wow you lucky guys! I always wanted to do that!! Kai was it fun or scary??
ReplyDeleteHi Aunt Becky,
ReplyDeleteIt was just fun, way funner than I thought it would be. It was pretty nice. I saw buildings and the chase car with a trailer behind it. I saw the roads. I heard the fire [the burner used to produce the hot air] -- it was loud when the burner was on, and it was quiet when the burner was off. I saw the hot air balloon above us.
love,
Kai