A Balloon Crashes our Sunset Party

It was nearing the end of a busy Sunday.  We had been running around doing the things that families do. We were probably a little tired but also looking forward to just relaxing. Dinner would come later.  I set up a sunset watch party for Mrs. T and me.  Two chairs were set up next to the shed some privacy. The fire pit was lit, and I added a Coleman lantern resting on a wheelbarrow for ambience.  The best part of this arrangement is sitting down and waiting for sunset.  Maybe we would see the sky change colors. The previous night the skies have been lit up with orange, yellow and green. There were some clouds, so perhaps this night we would not be as lucky.

Fast forward a couple of minutes, we are sitting talking and laughing. I'm sipping on a beer and we're listening to some good music. As I look over my wife's shoulder, I see a large hot air balloon approaching the trees behind our house. This balloon was danger close. My wife and I stared in amazement. Will this balloon crash and thus require us to spring into action?  Over the next ten minutes, the balloon would navigate away from our backyard. Somehow, it dodged every tree in our neighborhood.   As it sailed out of sight, we could still hear the pilot firing the balloon engine. It was clear they were trying to bring the hot air balloon in for a landing.

We raced toward the car and drove to the farm next door. We live next to a horse farm that is a few hundred acres and is owned by New York Racing Association. There are probably 10 to 20 horses there any good on a good day. (They have room for a couple of hundred).   As soon as we came around the corner, we saw the hot air balloon. I've never been this close to one in my life. It was like something right out of a movie. To say it was beautiful it would be an understatement.  

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By now a small crowd had gathered.   People were saying that the balloon was stuck, and they were trying to move it.  It needed to be way from the trees and closer to the large field.  What happened next, seemed like this was something right out of a movie.  The balloon pilot told all the little kids to hop the fence and help them move the balloon. He gave the balloon engine some gas.  The balloon lifted slightly.  All the kids grabbed ropes.  They pushed the basket and pulled on the ropes with all their collective little might combined. The balloon probably got a foot off the ground and moved maybe 50 to 100 yards. By then the flight team had arrived on site to help with getting the balloons squared away and ready for transport. My wife and I sat there in amazement as we watched the sun go down and the balloon deflate. We both looked at each other.  Did this really just happen?

Fifteen minutes later we were back at our little sunset spot watching the sun go down and listening to music. It was one of those magical evenings that we'll never forget. Everything was perfect. I only have one regret. Had the balloon landed in our yard, custom dictates that the balloon pilot must give the owners a bottle of champagne.