DO NOT Do This Outside

Back in yonder days when our family lived at the old (newly built) house in Rockspray subdivision, my friend Kara "The Maniac" Szczepaniec and I were spending a lazy Saturday or Summer day (can't remember which) at my house. It must've been pretty boring because we went with my dad to the grand opening of Peachtree National Bank. FOR FUN. And I'm pretty sure it was the first real bank in our town. It was on the corner of Crosstown Road and Peachtree Parkway, and I think another bank now takes its place.

We got a bunch of balloons.

A bunch.

And I got this crazy creative idea to make "hot air balloons" for my brother Jess' hamsters.

Which we did. We fastened the balloon strings to plastic cups and spent a heckuva long time trying to distribute the pull of the balloons evenly on all sides. (Because one of the hamsters took a little sideways spill on the first attempted launch.)

Then came the actual launch. 10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . .

And then we had hamsters . . . floating V-E-R-Y slowly . . . around the living room.

I can't remember if they ever made it all the way up to the top of the high ceiling, but I remember they went above the fireplace and floated all around the room. V-E-R-Y slowly.

We were in awe. Those hamsters must've been having the time of their lives.

When I went for a hot air balloon ride in college, it was the time of MY life. But I'll save that story for another day.