We headed out for Balloon Training in New Jersey last week and after a quick stop for a CITO (Geocaching Event) we arrived on a rather damp parking lot in New Jersey to practice balloon wrangling as part of Flight Management. Sue on a vehicle, and me as a Pilot Trainee (emphasis on the “trainee”). As many might know I have been a balloon handler in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. How was this wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles accomplished? That tends to be the first question I get and in appropriate New York fashion the answer is “I know a guy.” Actually two amazingly wonderful people I met through Cecil & Geocaching. They had mentioned it a couple of times and when I retired I said “Sure!” Last year Sue and I were on the Derpy Tiger balloon from K-Pop Demon Hunters. I was positioned next to one of the confetti canons during the big musical number. I think I’m still finding confetti in my shoes.
It is an amazing experience and being someone with the “give back more than you have received” mentality, this year I decided to try for Flight Management. Which, may have been a mistake. You see balloon handlers follow directions, walk and wave. Flight Management people give orders, and make sure everything goes smoothly. They are ones responsible for things. Ummm… I have a degree in Educational Administration, but stayed far away from becoming a school administrator because (I’m smart?) I realized it wasn’t the best role to make an impact in a student’s life. I also have difficulty following orders without understanding and agreeing with them. Which was an issue when given a scripted curriculum as a teacher.
Sunday, while in the rain, I realized this is an issue for me as a balloon pilot. I take complete responsibility for my actions. t was my fault, trying to please those judging my performance after watching everyone make little mistakes. I think my anxiety looked at all that and said “Hold my beer.” Then I did everything everyone else did wrong and more or at least worse.
In my debrief the lead coach for this group talked about the traffic light- Red, Yellow, and Green. I was at red the entire time, overwhelmed with directions attempting to comply immediately. On the actual route we would not be pivoting or changing our minds as quickly (would we?). In my limited experience that has not been something we need to do. In the limited space of this parking lot we did it a lot. I started introducing my self and getting the handlers to turn the balloon… I took too much time and now we needed to change direction. I didn’t signal at the start properly, I didn’t stop properly, I had them try to raise the balloon while turning… Basically, in this short time if I could do it wrong, I did.
There are only four turns lots of straight lines on the actual parade route. Issues come from navigating a few trees and mostly windy intersections. The thing is, I think I’ve come to the realization that maybe, I need to consider other options. They need a lot of people in a lot of different roles. Maybe being in charge of flying the balloon isn’t the best place for me. Once I realized that, it was like when I decided school administration wasn’t going to be my thing a weight was lifted off my shoulders. Now to just see if it is even a possibility, or will I just be drummed out of flight management altogether.
Monday, Monday
I was originally going to just relax at the hotel on Monday. I had things I wanted to do in New York City, but some of the places I wanted to were closed Mondays. I changed my mind and did a dry run leaving a little late. My plan was to just wander a bit. I was hoping to see the exhibit: Snoopy in Style NYC | Peanuts , so I got off the train at Penn Station and walked to the gallery in Chelsea. Not being a New Yorker, and not being Jewish I was unaware it was Yom Kippur and that school was out. Yes, I live in the cultural wasteland of a very, very Red State where we ignore anything non-Christian for the most part. Growing up in an agnostic family (at least they were when I was there) didn’t help me out either. The line when I arrived was a three and a half hour wait. I asked a few of the line monitors what the wait would be like on Tuesday, when I actually had a reason to be in the city. “Maybe an hour at most.” OK so this got added to tomorrow’s list. I thought about visiting museums and decided most would be just as crowded. I only walked 14,700 steps while trying to figure out what I was doing, before heading back to New Jersey and my hotel. to relax read and wait for the National Cartoonist Society’s monthly virtual open house.
Good Grief… it’s Tuesday
I got up earlier and headed to the Snoopy exhibit. I arrived around 30 minutes before they opened and the line had already turned the corner. Definitely no where near what I saw Monday. By quarter after ten (when they opened) I was in!
Having been to the Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa this was a different take on Peanuts, more on the strip and characters influence on culture tied to fashion, sports (tennis) and New York City. The exhibit is around until September 26.
My next visit was another comic related gallery exhibit - just a “short” walk from Snoopy. This was an exhibition of the work of Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy. His style (like Schulz) is distinctive. You might recognize it from the Disney film Atlantis: The Lost Empire a film he did the concept art for. Being someone who gets frustrated sometimes with my own artistic style, I like seeing how other artists bend & break the “rules” to make things that are simply amazingly unique. Hopefully, someday I’ll do something like that.
The Philippe Labaune Gallery was intimate and I was greeted upon entering by having to step around Copper, a wonderful dog “guarding” the entrance. I recalled the scene in the film The Producers - “I’m the concierge!” and I distinctly felt that was Copper’s job. Circus of Bones is around until Oct. 17 so a week-ish after New York Comic Con. I understand the exhibition book will be available at your local comic shop or through Image you can order online if you like - CIRCUS OF BONES Hardcover in November.
Not All Those Who Wander are Lost…
After that, I wandered. I had until almost six o’clock which was when classroom training began at Macy’s. During my wandering I had lunch at a diner and discovered that the public library 😱 had a wall outlet so I could recharge my old phone that seems to always be low. I also tried to get a few virtual geocaches that I had skipped when Sue picked them up one time when we were in New York. I could have wandered up to Central Park, visited a museum or two, but instead I sat back (after my phone charged) and listen to a brass quartet play In Herald Square.
At around 5:30pm I headed over to Macy’s for more balloon instruction which included dinner. I met some more wonderful people including the person responsible for making sure that the trees are trimmed along the route (and I thought I had pressure).
The instruction was a repeat of what I had watched virtually before heading out, but it was nice to meet some more people and charge my phone again.
Sorry, I signed an NDA
I didn’t hang out in New Jersey just to take the train and hang out in New York, there was an actual reason, besides being cheaper. Wednesday I participated in a Test Flight of a new balloon. These tend to happen in the Prudential Center and are super secret - which is why I’m telling you about it.🙄 actually, being Lawful Good and signing a Non Disclosure Agreement, there isn’t much you can say. It was a new character balloon, we tested it. That test consisted of marching with it and testing stresses by doing things that simulated strong winds. It was supposed to last until noon, we were over a little after eleven. I hit the road and by 10:15pm I was being attacked by Bailey and Issi as I tried to go to sleep in my own bed.
Sue and I will return for another training session in October, then we’ll discover our parade assignments. As Flight Management Trainees we get to attend Balloonfest. After my lackluster performance during the last training, I am assuming I will still be a handler this year even with rumors of the need for more Pilots and Captains. I’m happy to help wherever I’m needed. As long as my “help” doesn’t make things worse. This has been an amazing experience and while I’ve checked it off my bucket list more than once I think it’s something I will continue to do as long as they let me. Now “Let’s Have a Parade!”
Fitness, by the Numbers:
I normally wouldn’t do this, but I was tired at the end of each day and I decided to figure out why… my average guesstimate, as a retired guy who draws and works part time at a comic book shop, is I walk about 4,000 steps on a good day.
Saturday: 6,922 steps with the CITO event picking up trash in a park, most of the day was on the road driving.
Sunday: 8,535 steps from Balloon Training in a mall parking lot. Note: most of these steps were done walking backwards.
Monday: 14,734 steps As the patch on my jacket says - “Not all who wander are lost… but I am”
Tuesday: 25,211 steps Yes, I know they have a very good public transit system in New York.
Wednesday: 4,704 steps this is from the flight test mostly, since I spent about 11 hours on the road.
Thursday: 4,434 steps ummm… I did the laundry, and mostly did nothing.