by Simone E., Editor-in-Chief I can’t be the only one that thinks of hot air balloons as a romantic date idea in a whimsical scene not unlike those seen in “La La Land.” While I’ve never actually seen the movie, the commercials showed a couple being whimsical and cute, singing and floating, and those are all associated in my mind with hot air balloons.
I’ve also never, not one time, pictured black people floating on the hot air balloon. I don’t know if that’s because it’s not a typical thing for black people, at least the ones I know, to go that high in the air, or if I’m associating hot air balloons with Jim Crow laws and systematic oppression. Either way, when I found out that it was possible for me to go, I figured I’d give it a shot. Am I afraid of heights? Yes. Did I have any idea what I was getting myself into? No. That’s why I brought a friend (thanks, Ryenne). I was asked to attend a “free hot air balloon ride” from a friend, Abbie Wheeler, who I’m in a club with. I figured it would be something fun to do over Fall Break and since it was free (and she mentioned free food), I couldn’t find anything that I could lose from attending. I told her that I was interested and she said all I had to do was “help set up.” I said yes, thinking that I’d have to help pump up the balloon or something and then maybe plug in a few things. There are times where I’ve been wrong, and then there are times where I’ve been really wrong, and this was one of those times that I was really wrong and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I ended up at the Reflection Riding Nature Center, which is where Wheeler’s family’s business was going to set up their hot air balloon for the Wild and Scenic Film Festival. There were about four people that looked like myself at the festival, and I’m including myself and my friend Ryenne. There were also a few food, wine and beer vendors, and at 7:30, “Revival of the Red Wolf,” a film, was set to premiere. I’d never been to a festival like it (and that was probably the last), but it was nice out. It was the perfect scene for a secluded murder, but it was still nice out. So, the setup of the hot air balloon was very interesting. We first had to untie the ropes, then there was a burner test, which is where they test the burner that (I’m no scientist) is used to lift the balloon in the air. After the burner test, we had to open the balloon. This consisted of blowing air into the balloon to inflate it, then using the burner, which was a huge flame that used propane gas, to lift the balloon into the air. It sounds simple enough, but not only was the fan not working for a solid 20 minutes, but while I was holding the balloon to allow for the flame of the burner to enter, the intense heat of the flame was upwards of 210℉, and was what I’d imagine would be akin to first entering the gates of Hell. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the fact of the matter is: it was very hot. However, once we got the hot air balloon in the air, it was smooth sailing. Literally. Something I didn’t know about hot air balloons: weight is an issue. When one person got off, another person had to get on immediately in order to keep the weight steady so that the balloon wouldn’t suddenly rise without warning. One more fact: it’s almost impossible to have a romantic date of some sort on the balloon. The basket was not large enough for that and there had to be an “engineer” in the basket in order to make sure it stayed afloat and that it didn’t suddenly malfunction or run out of gas. You basically have a foot between you and a man who’s constantly lighting fire above your head in order to keep the balloon in the air. Despite all this, and despite my fear of heights, I had a lot of fun in the balloon. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but it was a smooth ride and definitely an experience I had to write about. I know you all are itching to ride a hot air balloon yourself. Tickets are never more than $10, at least for the company I was with, and they come to Chattanooga all the time. You can also help out, like I did, to get the full experience for free! Find more information about Smoky Mountain Air Hot Air Ballons at smokymtnair.com. Get on their website to find out where they’re going to be flying next! My advice after my experience: get out and explore. Try new things. Everybody says that, but I had fun with people I still don’t know while doing something that I never thought I would be doing. And I lived to tell about it.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Author's Note:Welcome to The Torch: Reborn, your multicultural newspaper. Archives
December 2018
Categories© 2017 The Torch: Reborn All Rights Reserved
|
Photo used under Creative Commons from J-T-M