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~~%, very once in a while, I like * to do something extremely E: dangerous and since nobody in their right mind wants to die alone, I always bring my brotherâ€"inâ€"law, Danny, along. Danny is much different than me in that he hates doing dangerous things. But Danny can be tricked. "You wanna go to the States, Dan, and drink champagne in a field," I asked. "Okay, Bill," he replied, "what do I wear?" A few hours later near Mayville, New York, we stopped in the parking lot of the Good Morning Farm to watch a group of locals assembling one of those gigantic hot air balloons. We left the car to get a closer look, and soon enough we were tugging and untangling ropes, unfolding, and separating pleats of nylon. Standing beside the small wooden basket as they inflated the balloon, we were rapidly dwarfed by its enormity â€" a 90,000 cubic foot tear drop of nylon bursting with the fiery heat of two propane jets and measurâ€" ing seven stories high at the fullâ€" ness. "Okay," said Captain John, "get in Dan." "How‘d he know my name, Bill?" asked Danny. "He‘s a psychic balloonist, Dan," I said. "He used to work with a crystal ball and all his cusâ€" tomers said he was full of hot air and so one day... "I‘ll get you for this, Bill?" said Danny, as several crew memâ€" bers stuffed him into the basket. At this point, I tried to cut and run, thinking it would be great to be an interested spectator at a Al Moss, with the help of his wife Cathy, was instrumental in helping to establish Oakville‘s Diabetes Supply and Information Centre for the local branch of the Canadian Diabetes Association. Operating out of space donated by Halton Pharmacy on Speers Road, the Centre offers the diabetic community a wide range of services. Everything from literature and educational material to glucose monitoring equipment; syringes, even special cook books written specifically for people with diabetes. Al Moss‘ efforts have been a great shot in the arm for Diabetes in Oakuville. â€" _ PUD dangerous event, but they hauled me in, too. Danny, who has a deepâ€"seated fear of heights, didn‘t want to go. If I learned one thing from three years at an accredited Canadian University, it‘s the art subtle psyâ€" chological persuasion. I tucked my thumbs in my armpits and began flailing my arms up and down all the while circling Danny and making a clucking noise. The crew managed to remove Danny‘s hands from my throat just in time for takeâ€"off. It was, as the song says, some kind of wonderful. There is no sensation of flight and very little of height. You just rise, slowly, as if by spirit, and the countryside shrinks below your feet. Everything on earth gets smaller and slower until it reflects a shade of serenity you can only wish it possessed. There is no noise or wind resistance because you are the wind, drifting oddly on unseen natural currents over landscape you‘ve never seen from this implausible perspective. And you float: just above the tree tops, just beneath the clouds. You sweep across a sunâ€"burst horizon, "gazâ€" ing down at this still life fresco of farms and villages frozen by disâ€" tance. It‘s like dying and slowly ascending to heaven except you‘re with your brotherâ€"inâ€"law â€" so you know, technically, that would be impossible. And the real neat part? It drives dogs nuts! The occasional blast of the propane burners that propel us upward make a sound that startles animals on the ground, especially when it‘s comâ€" ing from somewhere over their heads. Inside of 30 minutes, we had every dog in Chautauqua County howling and yapping and running in circles. As a postie, Danny didn‘t find this quite as Alis hopeful that the Centre will, "help make living with diabetes a little easier, while creating new awareness within the community about the disease." Al works for Royal Bank here in Oakville. He‘s just one of many people across Canada who take time out to help their communities. ROYAL BANK We‘d just like to take this opportunity to thank @ them for what they do. amusing as I did. It was as peaceful and reverent experience as I‘ve ever had, right up until we hit the tree. Trees, as Danny was quick to point out to me, are the natural enemy of airâ€" borne balloons. If you accept the idea that a balloon is a ship on a sea of sky, trees are kind of like icebergs. Captain John â€" our friendly flight commander â€" had to bring the balloon down by sunset, by law. The prevailing currents of wind had brought us over forests and houses, spooked deer, and stopped traffic, but nary an open field. He tried an abrupt and awkâ€" ward landing in an open corner of a roadside field, and we would have made it, too, if a rope didn‘t get tangled in the limb of that tree and our basket came hard into the upper limbs. That‘s when Danny said the bad word, "Holy...!" Did I mention people on the ground, of which there were sevâ€" eral dozen, could hear a pin drop on the floor of the balloon‘s basâ€" ket. Yeah well, there‘s now a minâ€" ister in Chautauqua County who had no idea you could bless such an event. I got the crowd back on our side however, when, in a valiant effort to rid the balloon of ballast, I tried to throw my brotherâ€"inâ€"law overboard. But Captain John saved the day * when he so skillfully and smoothâ€" : ly brought that balloon in for a beautiful humorous landing. Actually, the word is humus. S t He claimed he didn‘t know that Wellman Farm was completely carpeted by a footâ€"andâ€"aâ€"half of the richest, ripest, squishiest cow manure in all the county. But he was still laughing when he pulled away with the crew, leaving Danny and me crawling around on our hands and knees, groping for our footwear. Damn, but I love it when a plan comes together. And yes, we did drink champagne in a field. It‘s traditional. Honest, you could even look it up. Jim Owens, Balloons Over Chautauqua 716â€"484â€"9961. by Steve Nease