Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Whilst in Albuquerque, I was, for the most part, hunched over a laptop in the laundry room at our campground, resigned to listen to an awful local radio station for hours at end. College essays.
Friday night, however, we finally went to see what all the fuss was about at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta--the largest hot air balloon festival in the world. An estimated 750 balloons attend every year.
We were present for the Special Shape Glowdeo, an event during which an announcer calls out various criteria and a countdown encourages the selected balloons to 'light up' or shoot fire into their envelopes. The roaring of flames from the burners, revealing the beautiful designs of the hot air balloons in the darkening evening sky, and the subsequent shouts of delight from the crowd were incredible. There were simply people everywhere.
A typical snob, I was not expecting much for the Fireworks Show. I thought we had seen far and away the best fireworks show in the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia, and that was including all the Boston Fireworks celebrations (New Year's and Fourth of July) to which I had been privy. But Albuquerque was pretty incredible as well.
I think the secret to fireworks that I had not anticipated was the effect of the people with you. I knew that there were no two other people I would rather have been with at that moment in time and I loved them for it. It was frightfully cold and we all shook and chattered, snuggled together for warmth in the middle of this sea of people in a large field, but it was perfect. Yes, fireworks are an incredible art form, requiring various chemical knowledge to affect sound, color, timing, height, and diameter, and the act of weaving them together is akin to composing an orchestra, but I did not care. I loved the people I was with. It was a perfect moment.
The balloons continued to light up after the show, but we opted for looking around the booths lining the road. We returned to camp quite tired yet satisfied.
Day 95: Saturday, October 9, 2010
Flash Balloon Chasers
The next morning we awoke before dawn to join the crew for Flash, a hot air balloon from Texas. He was owned by a sweet couple, Jim and Sharon, both tough and sharp and driven. With them were Jim's uncle and his wife, Bob and Helen. This was our crew. The deal was if the three of us helped inflate the balloon, get it in the air, and put it away, we could have a free ride. Usually these rides run for $300 a head. We were excited.
We followed Jim's truck out into the desert outside the city and pulled into a perfectly ordinary-looking parking lot by the side of the road. Slowly more and more trucks pulled in and people began to gather. Matthew and I snacked on GORP while Auntie Cindy socialized with the womenfolk.
When Helen and Sharon joined Matthew and me, I discovered that they were both sweet and friendly, talkative and curious. My kind of folks.
Unfortunately the winds were too strong and blowing towards a nearby airport, so the balloonists opted out of flying that morning. They were disappointed, but not surprised.
The Flash crew, sad that our trio had not seen Flash inflated, took us to another parking lot to at least tether the balloon. There was the basket, which came in two pieces; and the envelope, a suffocatingly enormous swath of tough nylon. We had to assemble the basket, attach the envelope, and then hold the fabric in place while Jim wheeled over a huge fan. It was hard work pulling that envelope open against the buffeting wind and forcing it in the right part of the balloon. But it was so worth it!
Flash was a beauty when inflated. We got to hop in and see how it functioned. Nowadays all the gadgets are electronic, including the positioning gear and GPS and fuel gauges et al.
Taking Flash down was even harder. We had to squeeze and coax, battle and punch every bubble of air out of the envelope before we could put it away. The entire balloon fit in a relatively small bag, the size of a grizzly bear. Surreal.
Day 96: Sunday, October 10, 2010
Farewell Mass Ascension; Bodies: The Exhibition
Sunday morning the trio awoke once more in the wee hours of the morning to head to the Balloon Fiesta for the Farewell Mass Ascension. It was absolutely frigid and I was bundled in so many layers it was amazing I could still move and flap around. Surprisingly, there was quite heavy traffic for that time of the morning; apparently others were in the know and were staking out a spot.
As the fine fingers of dawn peered over the horizon, tinging the morning sky with color, all of the balloons were still tethered to their trucks. The announcer repeated that the wind conditions were unfavorable, as the day before. Then, quite suddenly, one balloon lifted off and floated across the sky. It was quite dangerous in the limited light and violent winds, but he was a risk-taker.
As the morning warmed up, slowly more and more balloons joined the first in the sky. The balloons themselves were incredible--of all different shapes and colors and sizes. Many were the typical upside-down teardrop shape, but others included a Pepsi can, Darth Vader's mask, Humpty Dumpty, a cow, a stagecoach, and Spongebob Squarepants. 
The balloonists were from all over the world, many of them displaying the flags of their countries of origin. One red one took to the sky bearing a large gold star for China.
Soon the sky was filled with balloons. Every time one would take off, the group of spectators left below would cheer and wave, take pictures and hug, and then move on to the next balloon. They were such bright and cheery colors, lighting up the sky, so innocent and carefree, that I felt inside myself the feelings of wonder and awe returning from my childhood. I think there is something about the balloon's ability to defy gravity that intrigues us and captivates the imagination. Perhaps we look with fascination, perhaps with jealousy; regardless we are drawn to these spheres floating in the wind.
We poked around the booths once more, indulging in lemonade and some wool hats from Ecuador and Guatemala, and then we headed out of the area now roasting in the sun.
That afternoon we did something altogether unexpected. In fact, I had first suggested it as a joke, much to Matthew's disgust. We visited Bodies: The Exhibition. Weird, yes?
Auntie Cindy insisted such a visit did not have to be morbid; we could just be curious individuals. I thought it would be morbid. I wore a zombie hat in celebration.
I loved it. I flat-out adored it. I was absolutely captivated by the minutia of capillaries, nerves, neurons, and aureoles that networked through our bodies, the intricate systems forged between each part of the body, the grandeur of the human body as an entity. I pretty much gawked at naked Chinese people for a good two or three hours. Allow me to explain.
There is a huge controversy regarding this exhibition because all of the bodies are from China. These were all Chinese people. There are an awful lot of bodies in these exhibits. The Chinese government alleges that the bodies belonged to ordinary citizens with no living kin who died of natural causes; perhaps this is true. There are some, however, that speculate that these bodies may have once been prisoners and therefore did not die of natural causes. The debate rages on.
My main question is this: If the technology to polymerize the body's tissues was officially discovered in 1995, how in the world was the technology discovered? How many other bodies were used? And where did they come from?
I should also mention there were fetuses in jars.
Quotes from Wikipedia:
'ABCNews' program 20/20 produced a major report exposing the 'secret trade in Chinese bodies.' Claiming that bodies are sold on the black market for $300, the report spawned not only a series of other articles but also a Congressional inquiry, an investigation by the NY Attorney General, and the resignation of Premier's CEO Arnie Geller.
'In 2008, the front page of the exhibition website had a disclaimer describing the presumed origin of the bodies and fetuses:
'New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo concluded his investigation of Premier, finding "The grim reality is that Premier Exhibitions has profited from displaying the remains of individuals who may have been tortured and executed in China. Despite repeated denials, we now know that Premier itself cannot demonstrate the circumstances that led to the death of the individuals. Nor is Premier able to establish that these people consented to their remains being used in this manner. Respect for the dead and respect for the public requires that Premier do more than simply assure us that there is no reason for concern. This settlement is a start."'Disclaimer:-This exhibit displays human remains of Chinese citizens or residents which were originally received by the Chinese Bureau of Police. The Chinese Bureau of Police may receive bodies from Chinese prisons. Premier cannot independently verify that the human remains you are viewing are not those of persons who were incarcerated in Chinese prisons.
-This exhibit displays full body cadavers as well as human body parts, organs, fetuses and embryos that come from cadavers of Chinese citizens or residents. With respect to the human parts, organs, fetuses and embryos you are viewing, Premier relies solely on the representations of its Chinese partners and cannot independently verify that they do not belong to persons executed while incarcerated in Chinese prisons.
And even assuming the bodies were legally obtained; does that make it morally conscionable? What does the success of these exhibits say about us as a society? Are we pushing science too far?
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