God Calls From a Hot Air Balloon

During balloon fiesta time in Albuquerque, NM, it is not unusual to step out your front door to hear and see a hot air balloon hovering overhead. But what are the odds of discovering that the balloon is being piloted by friend or an acquaintance and is so close that you can talk to each other?

This morning I had one such one-in-a-million encounter. I stepped out of my house to go to the letter box and heard a balloon nearby. I looked up and saw it hovering low over my neighbor's house. I waved as I usually do to the people in the gondola. They waved back. I could hear them talking and thought I recognized a voice.

I called out, "Bob is that you?"

To my surprise, the answer came back, "Eloise, is that you? We are looking for a street to land on."

At this point, some of my neighbors who heard my name from above rushed out to find out what was happening. They thought a voice from heaven (God) was calling me.

The pilot was none other than my fellow rotarian, Bob, who did not attend our Rio Rancho Sunrise breakfast meeting this morning. We knew that as a hot air balloon pilot, he was very likely up in the air somewhere over the city. I had found him.

"Come on down. The street is clear," I called out running back towards my house to give him clearance. He was close overhead. I could see the whites of their eyes.

"I can't come down fast enough to use your street. I'll head on over across Paradise," Bob replied as the gondola skimmed northward over the roof of neighboring houses.

I ran to the north side of the house and watched over the wall as Bob's balloon went down. I could only see the top deflating. It appeared to be one street over.

After my flight and crewing experience two weeks ago, I realized he could probably use an extra pair of hands. I jumped into my car and drove two blocks north of my house to the street that was directly in Bob's flight path. They had already landed and were folding up the balloon.

I parked my car to help give coverage from oncoming traffic and put my crew experience to work while I brought Bob up-to-date on the meeting he missed earlier in the morning. It was too bad that I did not have my camera to capture our chance meeting. In the scene above, a neighbor from his balcony a few blocks away, captured me helping the crew .

A once in a lifetime, one-in-a-million occurrence, I am sure; unless Bob decides to drop in again unexpectedly and I happen to be home.