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.... !