My favorite and most unique job

A balloon chaser.  Not so many years ago I worked for Aamodt's Hot Air Balloon Company in Stillwater.  We would be on call and work wind permitting.  Anything over 9 or 10 mph winds and the balloons wouldn't go up for safety reasons.  Which meant I would work on the most gorgeous and beautiful sunrise and sunset days in the spring, summer and fall.  We would blow up the huge hot air balloons with the sun just rising over the horizon.  Peaceful, serene.  Then the balloon would go up with smiles on the customers faces.  Me and the crew would get in a van with our walkie talkies and follow the balloon for an hour and try to be at the spot where they would land.  The take down of the balloon was the hardest part, and the putting away of that big piece of fabric that had just been flying in the sky.  But I loved every minute of it.  I even loved it when I jumped on the basket to try to give it some more weight and then it crashed into a tree and I looked up and said, "trees on fire..." as me and the basket and the customers went bouncing down a steep hill.  I even loved it when me and the crew were running with all our speediness early in the morning through tall wet weeds to try to catch the balloon and I tripped and fell and me and the earth became one.  Ah... those were the days.... !

Lots of jobs, lots of learning, lots of fun

I work too much.  That is a given.  One day I hope to take it easier.  But for now work is an integral part of my life.  I love my jobs so that helps.  I also like learning new things... and one way to learn new things is by taking on a new job and getting paid for learning something new.  My main bread and butter job has stayed the same for 22 years.  I work at a preschool center that has changed names 3 times since I started there in 1988.  Daybridge Learning Center, Children's World and now currently Kindercare.  Over the next few days I will post some different jobs that I have had in the last 12 years or so that supplemented my income at the preschool and also helped fund my photography passion.  Oh, and those extra jobs also helped me purchase my beautiful red canoe.  Can't forget the canoe.  I love that thing.

Joe Seliga - Master Canoe Builder

Here is a photo of Joe Seliga the one time I got the honor to meet him. He was a Master Canoe Builder for most of his life up in Ely, Minnesota which is right on the border of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (bwcaw). I was helping to photograph a wedding up in Ely and he was attending the wedding. After talking to him for about 20 minutes or so I saw this empty rocking chair on the porch and asked him if I could take his picture with him in the chair. He chuckled and said Sure!

Joe died a few years back but you can read about him here.

My good friend and photographer Deborah Sussex also took all the photos for a book about Joe's canoe building. The book is titled, "The Art of the Canoe with Joe Seliga". Check it out if you are interested.