Balloon Fiesta; 60; Sid Cutter Interview

to be publicized in that, but a bunch of drugs and blotus are bad. Actually, it used to be real bad. They used to get, a lot of them get just fallen down drunk. But that didn't happen much anymore. I guess the driving, you know, greater than driving stuff, but they, you know, they do have alcohol, but not like they used to. And so, but with the social aspect is, is a lot to do with it, and people, it's kind of like going to work, you know, you get rewarded for doing something, you know. And the reward is, the reward is personal. And it's kind of a good feeling to have done something for somebody else, you know. That's a lot of it, a lot of it is to maintain the safety. So you have the success of running a safe event. And they have meetings to make sure all the kinks, because you're trying, you're host to all these people coming in, including the blue and this,

including the spectators. So you don't want, you don't want anything to happen to put a bad taste in their mouth. You're showing off your city, you're showing off your event, you're showing off the bull and you're showing off the personality. So that's what I guess attracts everybody and why everybody's in a good mood. It's kind of like a muddy grove. Only thing is, they don't have to be shwacked out of their mind here. They're going to get it high on the hot air, you know. This is what an amount is to do. Do you have any more questions about history? No, we just need to get into that now and say, oh, God, there's so many fun things there. We need some kind of setup for that answer. OK. You gave them a setup, but I don't think it's. I guess they are. The rewards, the banquets and the parties, stuff like that. More just, it's not of interest.

It's not of interest. The interaction people get out of it. Yeah, that wouldn't be of interest to the TV viewers, other than that. It's all about albacurty and the event and how great it is. And we're not going into anything negative. And parties aren't negative. It's true. But also keeping it accessible to the public is very much about what the public can come and see. So which is necessarily the. I was just hoping that we could say, you know, that the spirit of the Fiesta really is. I mean, the people, I mean, that would be wonderful. I think you might have put the spirit of the Fiesta is. Do that truck goes away. But you know, you come. Some people just come to the Fiesta get a souvenir. You know, or a bratwrestling sourcroutides. I love that myself. And so a lot of people go to the concessions and the concessions do a pretty good bit of it.

Because you see how many of them there are there. And there's a lot of people that it's kind of like going to a steak pair or something. You have to go to the various booths and see what's new. And see what sort of trinkets they have for sale. In some places, you know, in the old days, you couldn't find anything that was a memorabilia of ballooning. And now, every one of this, not every one of the booths, but all the booths have got some sort of memorabilia in there to remember your trip to Obacarkey and remember going up in the balloons or something like that. And I'm going to step back a bit. If you could say for me, the spirit of ballooning is it's people. OK. From Spirit of the Fiesta. Spirit of the Fiesta, thank you. Well, the spirit of the Fiesta here is the people that participate in it. Not only the spectators, but all the volunteers and things

they get. They come in there, excited about it, and they're enjoying it. And they're the camaraderie and just the visual experience. It is kind of what makes it. And then the people are what makes that. And I'm going to have you shorten it again and say it. We'll do it again with a plane. OK. I think the spirit of the Fiesta is the people. They're having a great time. And they're the people that make the festival with really the event of the lifetime. And what we have here is a, basically, now world-class event. Albuquerque is known all over the world. In New Mexico, now you don't need a passport to come here anymore. They found out that it's in the union. And that Albuquerque is where to go to see the balloon. So I think that's what makes us all happy.

And when you go out to the Fiesta, everybody's happy. Break, break. Did you get it, we get it? Let's just run with that a little bit. You'll see giant dinosaurs. You'll see people with a corn dog in each hand. And you'll see little babies. And you'll see abelitos and grandmothers and all this stuff, I mean, something like that. Let's have some fun with it. All the people at Fiesta, you know, you can see everybody is always smiling. You know, they get a dinosaur in the background. And toddler in a wagon being pulled along. And maybe an old person in a wheelchair. It appeals to all the demographics. And everybody seems to be smiling.

They want to see it all right now. And they're participating in their lines in each concessions that people just out having a good time. It's a festival. Thank you. World Class Festival. Oh, God. See you. Anytime. I think the mass ascension is one of the things it really tops off the festival. You know, you see all these balloons in the air and stuff. And I sit there and watch it even as long as I've been doing it. Now it's what 37, 8 years. I sit there and watch it until a last balloon lands. It just mases me even though I've seen it hundreds of times. And I think that's one of the great things that the PST has to offer.

It is a visual impact that it has and the feeling that it creates in you. Coming back. Hi. I'm not working anymore. Anytime. The mass ascension is probably the paramount thing for the festival. The last thing that happens on Sunday and I look up there and I just, I forgot what I'm saying. I've been doing this for 37. Oh, yeah. I've got to do it for 30 years. I, the mass ascension is really the thing that's awe-inspiring to me. I've been doing it for 37, 38 years. And I keep watching it until a last balloon lands. It just, it mases me.

I keep watching it until the last balloon lands. And it just mases me every time. Oh, I forgot every time. I watch the mass ascension till the last balloon lands and it amazes me every time I see it. One more time. Let's just do. I watch the balloons until the last one lands cause. And it just amazes me every time I see it. I can't even say it. Yeah. The mass ascension is, is, is, is, is, I watch the mass ascension and I've been doing this for 37, 38 years now. And I watch it until the last balloon lands. It really amazes me.

And see that right either way. It amazes me every time. Every time that's what I meant to say. I meant to say it amazes me every time. I watch the mass ascension till the last balloon lands. It amazes me every time. Drill from this. Now it was perfect. One more time looking right at Amber and give it some feeling this time. The mass ascension. I watch the last balloon land. It amazes me every time. That's not good. We're lucky to have a motorcycle on that one. Yeah. So tell that one on the floor. So tell her like you've never seen her before. You want to call her name? No. Well, just look right at Amber and tell her. The mass ascension is the finest part of the history. I watch until the last balloon lands every time.

And every time I'm amazed. It amazes me every time. And what we said. The mass ascension is one of the most. God, pal. The mass ascension is what? The final mass ascension. The final mass ascension is really the variation. That's wow. I really enjoy the final mass ascension. I watch it until the last balloon lands. It never ceases to amaze me. Cut. That was.

Allown almost there. Anytime. The last mass ascension is the one that's been so enjoyable. I watch until the last balloon lands. It amazes me every time. Nice one more. More. There. Feeling the first section. Hold on. Okay. Anytime. The last mass ascension. The last mass ascension. The last mass ascension. The last mass ascension is amazing. Now, foe. The last mass ascension is what I enjoy the most. I watch it until the last balloon lands. I'm amazed every time.

It's getting a little cammy. Yeah. You ready? So what's the deal with the zebra? Oh, the zebra is a... The zebra. They kind of their own little organization. I got that started with the striped referee shirts and stuff. And from then on, they just took it with their own. And they've expanded on it. They paint their faces. They put tails on their shells like zebra. But they do a great job for the thiesa there. They're basically our safety net for the balloon. They're the ones that launch them. They're ones that seize it to clear above them and stuff like that. And they're ones for the smooth launching of the mass ascensions. So they're not launching into another balloon and stuff like that.

A fun group. They have meetings so that they don't have problems. They're in radio contact with the tower. It just tells them when they can go ahead and launch. And then they give the balloon the signals to take off. And if you could just say to me, the zebra is the launch director. Is that short? Yeah. The zebra organization is a launch director for the festival. Let's do that. I saw a podium there when they painted the zebra. Anytime. The zebras are the launch directors for the festival. And actually, they're the fun things for the festival. They launch all the balloons and they eat the balloon is happy. I keep them anytime.

The zebras are the launch directors of the festival. And they're also the fun directors of the festival. Very nice. I'll never get on the Academy Award. Yes you will. We're going to get you up there. Um, so I want to get into the Albuquerque box. And why the yesterday has stuck with Albuquerque because the box is here and why they find that fun. So if we can find a little way to say, you know, the yesterday box. People love the box. Albuquerque is famous for the Albuquerque box. Actually, the Albuquerque box happens at other places in the world. But it's one Albuquerque is the one that got it famous. What it is is the air cold air moves flows just like water. It flows downhill.

And then when it heats up, it flows uphill. So that's what creates the box. You go down low, you flow down the valley. And you go up maybe 500 people come back. People think you can steer these balloons, but you can't really steer them. You find a wind going the way you want to go. And so the Albuquerque box has got famous from its exposure to the rest of the world of Willoney. But truly, it will happen anywhere you have a valley. And you fly in the cold mornings. But it's famous. So we're enjoying it. We'll copyright it. No. Airplane? Yeah. It's still waiting on this plane just a little bit. Okay, Amber. So how much fun is it to use the box to fly in it? Oh, it's great because if people on the ground think you can steer these balloons and you can't really steer them.

You've got to go with the wind and the idea is to find a wind going the way you want to go. If there is one, it isn't you don't carry. You just want to go somewhere. You're in the crowd of balloons. You can literally feel the burners suck up the air. You can feel the brush around you. You feel he? Can you describe what it's like to walk through that through a balloon? Well, I can give you a few things that you probably want to flip out. But it's actually against the law to mill around with the balloons. According to the FAA. What they consider we are as an air show. And even though we're doing the same thing we do when we're not an air show and not together.

In an air show they have a regulation saying that spectators can't be among the participants. Well, we've been doing it a lot longer than the FAA has known, I guess, and the fact that we've always walked among the balloons. I guess they just turn their head the other way, which is fine because I don't think they can make it stick in our case because we've never had an accident. We had a little horse mounted patrol step on somebody's foot once. But that's the only accident we've had from people being around the, excuse me, around the balloons. So I know you're going to put that on the floor, but I just want you to let you know that it's not supposed to happen. And a lot of balloon races around the country and it doesn't happen for that one reason. I know that some festivals go ahead and have it roped off.

And then once the balloons are all inflated, they'll let them out, which I still don't think that qualifies according to the FAA. Anyhow, the people milling around the balloons when they're inflated is just a really rewarding experience, especially in the balloon glows, you get in the evening when the balloons are glowing. So they do them all glow now or something like that or intermittent glow. But when they all glow now and you're out amongst them, the whole place lights up like it was daylight because of these burners all going off. And that's quite a bit of noise from the burners going off. And you actually feel the heat from all the burners going off the side reflected heat and stuff. And it's just a sensation that you don't get any other way in ballooning as when you're out there in the glow where they're all burning at the same time. And in the daytime when they're not going and then you walk out amongst them and stuff like that, you can be right there while they're taking off.

And you can see the zebras working on sand move this way and then give them a thumbs up for, okay, it's time to go. And so that's another experience that people love to see. Sid, you've walked through the balloon glow. What's your experience? How would you put it in the words? I just did. Well, okay. Well, you know, a lot of the ballooners I know, a lot of them I don't know anymore because there's so many of them. But you know, get out and among them when they're all inflated and you're walking through them in the balloon glow at night and everything lights up when they when they glow. And you can see who the pilot is and all the spectators around and it's kind of nifty really. It's a different experience altogether and being on the ground usually I'm in the balloon and that's a different story.

But seeing as I have a kind of retired from ballooning now, I'm more likely not in the balloon unless somebody needs some help or something. It's just a rewarding experience to be there and the burners going off the noise, excitement, people talking and giggling and stuff. And I enjoy seeing everybody having a good time. And sort of what I want to hear about is that when I was when I was in the middle of the balloons, my first blow this year is I felt like I was being taken to a different world because they're just these huge and smiling down at you. And you can't help but stare up and then you realize you're going to step on somebody.

You really just suck into a different state of B. Can you talk to you a little bit about the spectators you see that that happens to them or has it happened to you? Well, when you get out among the balloons in the balloon glow, there's people everywhere and they're all happy and they're looking up and they're bumping in to one another by half the time. But it's an experience that you wouldn't get any other way. The warmth from the burners, the light, when they all burn together and the noise and all the people talking and stuff. And everybody looking up in the balloon and not to step on their toddler and stuff like that, it's really something that you should experience. Thank you. One more question about the glow. So what do you think is the most fun about the glow?

What do people find the most exciting, the most fun? This is what I'm here. I drove the two hours of traffic. Well, that's all fun. Anything you're doing out there is fun. Some of the things that they see where they look up in some of the special shapes and see all the different compartments that cause it to have that shape. Like a light bulb, so that you got that experience and then you have all the people around and stuff like that. I think that's what the thing does it to you. The thrill of life. How would you describe that? I can't even imagine what it would be if you didn't start.

As a pilot, you want to be sure you climb real slow and kind of spooky from a standpoint of being a pilot with all those other blooms up there. Lots of times I kind of creep up until I get above everybody so that I don't run into somebody. It's all right to run them into this way. But you don't want to do it this way because it spoils the guy on the bottom's day. We've never had anything serious happen during a mass ascension. Sometimes on launches they've had a little collision going on. But running sideways, they call that balloon kissing. That's all right. And it's kind of fun. But you don't want to do it up and down. So you have to be real cautious when you're around that many balloons. And you want to make sure you're doing it and stable air because unstable air you better get out of the way. You don't get that sort of thing in Albuquerque very much. But I've been in that situation where you had a lot of balloons up and very unstable air.

So it's a safety thing. What if I'm just a passenger and I'm just looking out? What am I going to see? Well, you're going to see people waving saying, hi, how are you and stuff like that. And you're going to see all the different balloons. And then the pilot will say, hey, look at this special shape over here flying along or there's the football balloon over here. And so you're going to have a lot of distractions and want to look at all of them all at once. And it's just kind of nifty. And you're not having to worry about running in other people. The pilots worrying about that for you. And it's not hard. I mean, it's not bad to run in other people as long as it's sideways. If I don't get to do it, if I'm sitting watching the television, what might it look like? I'm trying to get a sense of what it's like to be in the middle of all that and what might I see?

Well, of course, if you're passing your balloon, you're looking down quite a bit, looking at all the little people that look like ants and stuff. And they're waving at you and they're hollering back and forth because in a balloon when the burners are not on, you can hear from miles. So you can hear people talking on the green. One of the famous things is hollering down where are we? You can't kid me. You're right there. But that's somebody's old story. I don't tell jokes on cats. But, you know, you're looking at all the different colors. You're looking for balloons that you recognize as a spectator, you know, pasture in the balloon. You're looking down and seeing the various things you see in the shadows. It's one thing that maybe it's kind of interesting.

It's the shadows of the balloon, the ones that are going up. And it looked like the shadows are playing games on the ground. So it's just that you got to do it. I can't hardly describe it. And so after that final mass ascension, and the rest is over for another year, another year is completed. You've done great. What are you thinking? We pulled it off again. No, it's, you know, you're glad it's over yet. You know, you were very anticipating that starting, you know. And it's, you're pretty tired because you've been doing this for nine or ten days, plus getting ready for and stuff like that. So you're, you're, where you welcome it's over and that it's all done safely. And, you know, maybe you over and doge in the tailgate a little bit. Now you want to go and take a nap.

And you kind of covered this, but I'm going to ask you in a different way. You, I'm thinking of the last day of the yesterday, made it through 30 plus years, made it through nine days, watching final mass ascension take off. What goes through your mind in that moment? Yeah, I can't believe I've done this all this time, but I'll be back next year. Hopefully. And if I can have you say that for me, saying as I watch the final mass ascension, just so I have the full statement. So we're having, we have an in section that's where our credits are going to be just sort of wrapping up. Sure. So what do you think with all the cars?

Well, you know, you're, you're waving at your friends and it goes on and so on and stuff like that. And you're kind of glad that it's over, you know. It's one of those things you start to have to take down all the festival now, you know, take the flags down, take the fences down, take the things down. But I don't do so much of that anymore. I'm kind of different kind of volunteer now. But, you know, you kind of leave a little sad that it's over, but you're glad that it's over because you're dead tired because you've been at it for 10 days. But you've had it all for good time. You're ready for a nap, but you'll be back next year. Beautiful. I just told a story about tumbleweeds that used to be part of the yesterday.

I want to know more about that. Let's wait a second to see what the people from Holland come over here. What's the tumbleweed? We have to tell them what it is or where to find them. Well, you know, there wasn't a big variety of events in the early days. I mean, we didn't have balloon blows and night flights and things like that. So, we had to come up with something to entertain the crowds. And so, we'd go out and put an event on called a tumbleweed drop. And these people, that really takes the competitive, competitive nuts out of it because tumbleweeds don't fall straight down. So, we'd have them go out on the mason and get a tumbleweed. The funny part about it, some of the people from Europe don't know what a tumbleweed was.

And we have tell them it's a Russian. This or you probably shouldn't know that. But we tell them where to find them. Against the fences and the ditches and stuff like that. Don't get a green one. That's dead already. We try to tell them about it. It's a weed that tumbles in the wind. That's for a western story, not the blinthiest. So, then they tie a little tag on it saying it's theirs. And they carry it outside the basket because tumbleweeds are this one and they stick real bad. And then they fly in to a target. And then they drop the tumbleweed over. And it goes down and every which way. And they think they're going to have to target what they can't. The aerodynamics of the tumbleweed really snows up. So, it was kind of fun. We had to have a big bonfire afterwards there.

The ones that did get in the field. And so, we finally dropped the tumbleweed. But that was one of my early ideas. Another one of the early ideas I had it. I forget what the name of it was. But what we do is get all sorts of different conveyance like a pogo stick, a unicycle, an elephant model teeth forward or something like that. Fly out of the field, pack up, come back to the gate, and then they'd get on a different form of conveyance. They didn't have much sense in those days. And so, they'd come back in and make cross-up finish line and stuff like that. The elephant was scratched because his triners didn't want to bring their strung circus elephant over for us. But he was right over there in the stalls.

And so, we had some fun time there with bicycles and things where we had a bicycle attach it to the gondola, and we fly away, and they'd land, and they'd get off the bicycle that crewed, pack it up, and they'd ride the bicycle back to that thing. Those weren't long successful. Oh, we ran them for a couple of years. I think the tumbleweed dropped last the longest. But, and I think they still do it out on their balloon club fly-ins out on the mason, but we don't do it anymore if it's got good ones. So... Can we do the tumbleweed drop of the shirt version? Yeah. What? The short version. We're going to do a quick version. And I love what you said about, you know, it's not all about competition because you drop the tumbleweed. Yeah.

It just goes. So, if you could do the tumbleweed drop again, it's sort of... The tumbleweed drop was an event we started because we didn't know what kind of events to have, and that was something that was also the Southwest. And what it was, you go out and find yourself a big tumbleweed with a tag on there with your name on it, and you fly into the target and try to drop it on the target. Of course, tumbleweeds are aerodynamically unstable, and so they don't fall straight down. They drift all over the place. So, we had a lot of fun with it. People think they were going to hit the target and they didn't. So, what is paper someone to win yesterday? Could it be like an amazing pilot or just luck? Well, for the competition. Yeah, for the overall competition. Yeah, you get the competition.

And the fellas take an interest in that. They say, oh, I've got this race second in this race, and they see if they can end up being the overall winner. Because the overall winner usually gets a pretty good prize. Now, we don't tell them in advance what the prize is, but it's been everywhere from a bulldoom. We've actually given a bulldoin away and a motorcycle, big screen televisions, and stuff like that. It's, you know, when you have 800 bulldooms, if you're only given maybe 25 things away, you can have a pretty valuable. So, the bulldooms are really competing for them all. Oh, they don't care. They're having a good time. And if they don't get it, that's fine. I think you get it. Wow. That's a truck. Well, that ballooning is, what is it they say,

99% locking, 10% skill. But what happens is the wind is different at every 20 feet sometimes. So, you get through the balloon and the wind going the way you want to go. Which works out fine if you're going right to the target and you stay in that wind, but then this guy comes over and bumps you out, which is not to have makes you happy, but because you were going right to the target. The idea is they're changing altitude. That's what you see. These balloons going up and down again. Changing altitude, trying to get a wind going the way they want to go towards the target. And sometimes it changes as they go. They think they've got it made and then all of a sudden the wind changes. But the idea is to get the wind to take you to the target.

And that's what you see when all these people are jockeying around. The bad parts when they bump into one another, then they both miss the target altogether. But that's the way they steer the balloon, so to speak, try to get them. Most of them will open a wind going the way it's going towards the target. If it doesn't, it doesn't. What are you physically doing in the basket though while you're approaching the target? Well, they're using the burners to go up. And of course they're venting air out the top, hot air out the top to come down. Because it's replaced by cool air underneath. So they're working these things pretty serious, because they're trying to stay within five feet or so to get to stay in that wind. And so they're venting to come down and burning to come up. Sometimes they're doing both at the same time.

They're so confused. But that's the idea. They're burning to go up and venting to come down. And then it's against the rules to touch the ground. So some of these guys get fixation on the target. And they come in and they forget to burn and hit the ground while that disqualifies. Those things happen. Do me a favor, and just I need you to say, as I'm approaching it, as you approach the target, you're pulling this or you're doing that. And you want it as a first person from his experience? Yeah. Okay, yeah, if I can have it from like from you're doing it, what you do. So I'm venting and pulling. When I get, I start coming into the target, I get pretty active. I do a lot of things probably, not of which is helped, but it's supposed to help. Maybe burning a little three second burn or something like that. And I see thinking that the wind is better, that altitude.

And that turns out it's not. So then I vent with the vent, which dumps hot air out the top, which allows me to start coming down. And then the idea is to get as close to the target as you can. So I'm burning to go up, venting to come down. And I'm going like this and all these other balloons are going like that. And hopefully I get there quite often I do. Quite often you do? Quite often I do. Have you ever gotten the pole grab? Yes. Oh, tell me, tell me. Well, I got it. The balloons were supposed to wear gloves. I didn't wear gloves. Well, they had a key. It was a key to a car. And they had it on this pole. And I'm coming in and I'm going to get it. Well, normally it's supposed to be on a ring. And taped onto the end of this pole. But they just, they taped the key right on the end of the pole

and taped it pretty good. And I grabbed it and it started cutting my hands and stuff like that. And I end up breaking the pole in two places. And it ripped the key right out of my hands. So I go on and I'm unhappy because it should have come off. And so they put the pole right back up and a friend of mine right behind me. They taped the pole together and stuff like that. And I guess I loosened the key to a point he got the car. So that's the only time I've been, I've been close to lots. But that's the only time I got the key to the car. It's so sad. Yeah, I know. I cried all the way back to the lunch. I feel like I got a Budweiser. That's my tailgate. I got more light on your lens there. Yeah. Oh, there it is. Thanks. Rolling per card. We're good. And I just want to get that story again.

That was great. Oh, coming into Target, I get pretty excited when I'm the closer I get the more excited I get. And so one day I got coming in to get the key. And the key was the key to a new car. I always wanted to get one of those. And almost always we lose one or two at the festival. But this day I'm coming right in on it. And of course I'm burning here with this hand. I'm venting some of the hot air out with this hand. I'm trying to lean over here. Use a little English to get the basket to move over. You get pretty busy, you know. It's very grand. And you try not to get the fixation to the point where you hit there. You want to be right at the height of the key. And anyhow, they taped the key on with a duct tape. And apparently did it too much. You're supposed to put a ring there where you just come along and grab the ring.

And anyhow, I grabbed the key. And it didn't come off. It didn't come off. And I'm trying to get off. Of course I'm moving. It's pretty soon the pole breaks. I should have taken the pole with me. But I didn't. And it finally cut my hand because I didn't have gloves on it. And it fell down on the ground. And a friend of mine just behind me got it. But I was kind of upset because I had it. And done all my work to get into this position to get to it. And it fell to the ground. And I didn't get it. Oh, I'm trying to get it. Get out of here. All right. So if I can have you tell me from where the pole gets put back up?

Oh, yeah. Well, I'm not in a good humor about that time with my hand. I think it's bleeding a little bit. And a friend of mine, they put the pole back up. A friend of mine right behind me comes in and gets the key to the car. And I, you know, I was a little upset. But, you know, I'm glad somebody got it that I knew. And when we were in the basket with you, you barely missed it because the balloon bumped you. Yeah. I remember I got bumped out. That's those things happened to me in serious competition, or the National Championship, too. Well, you know, sometimes I score real well. And then again, sometimes I don't. And that's all right. Just a fun of light.

Okay. Great. So when you're getting that close to target, you're on track. What's going through your mind? Well, I get really excited. I start getting close to target than the more movements I make. And even though I shouldn't be in doing anything, I'm working like I'm putting the burner and I'm putting the vent. I'm putting the burner, putting the vent. And I don't think it's doing any good. Yeah. But I think that that's what I'm supposed to do. And how much fun is it to watch people compete? That's all you on the side lines watching. Oh, yeah. I think, you know, it's great to see somebody come in and get the keys. I'm going to put the little baggy right on the X or in the case of golf, maybe coming right next to the stick and stuff. Watching them maneuver their balloon, let's me know kind of that they know what they're doing.

And I'm proud of it and I'm happy for them. And what about just the sense of excitement watching? The crowd goes nuts when somebody comes and takes the keys. And they just, yay, he's got it, you know. And they just make a big hurrah just like they've made a touchdown or something like that. How hard is, instead of saying keys, how about envelope? Because they've got envelopes up there now and that's what we see. But how hard is it to maneuver the basket to get to that envelope? Well, if you've got the wind, it's not hard at all. But if you don't have the wind, you do. What the idea is that you try to find a wind going the way you want to go. But if there isn't, there isn't. You know, and that's just too bad that day.

The envelope has usually got, well, maybe $1,000 in it or it actually doesn't have $1,000 in it. But it will have a note saying that they'll pay you $1,000 at the PSO office or it might have a thing for a new car or a motorcycle or something of value. And they've got what I think they had this last year. They had about five poles out. So it's a lot of the poles fall, almost all of them will fall. When I say fall, the pole doesn't fall. I mean, the prize is gone. They get it. Okay. Anytime. When it's coming in to get the envelope at that time, you know, we've got everything's going just right. I'm going right at the envelope. The wind's right.

We're going the right speed. We're the right altitude. We've got this thing, not a fact. We've even spent the money in our minds already. And about that time somebody comes and bumps you out. And we end up missing it by five feet. So those things happen. But that's the fun of it, I guess. Am I? It's got a lot to go. We got them. We're coming into the envelope. I got everything set up just right. We're going to make it. I've already spent the money actually. And somebody bumps me out. Okay. One more time. Coming into the envelope. I'm right at the right altitude. I've got my hand on the burner ready to go. And I'm getting ready to reach out and grab the envelope. And somebody bumps me out.

Thank you. Question but otherwise. All right. Okay. I forgot to ask you this earlier. Well, what did you think the first time you saw the darn panorball in? It's kind of a crazy boy. Star Wars? Yeah. No, I just, I had to go look at the details. Because, you know, I built balloons myself. And that was such a work of art that I had to go see it up close. And I thought it was amazing. And of course, the spectators, it really has a draw. And with the ground crew right in there. They look like just great too. You know, all of them are a little different star troopers. Quite a balloon. What else to say about it? It's a fight you have to say after this goes away.

Okay. All right. Whatever you ready. Oh, the Darth Vader run. I saw him start to inflate. I had to get over there and get up close. I have you to it. And it's just amazing. The detail that they've gone to. The spectator attraction that it has. It's just something else. It's amazing. How about this is no ordinary balloon? Yeah, no, this is no ordinary balloon. It's a special shape of the first degree. And I hate to have to pay for it. There's a Darth Vader balloon. I'm sorry. Okay. This is no ordinary balloon. When I saw the Darth Vader balloon starting to inflate I had to get up close to it.

And it's extraordinary detail on the balloon. This is not an ordinary balloon. Okay. One more time. Take one more time with it. When I saw him inflating the Darth Vader balloon I had to get over and see it up as it went up. Looking at the detail. This is not an ordinary balloon. And one more time. And we'll be ready. I hear somebody coming. Truck or something. Okay. The Darth Vader balloon. I saw that starting to inflate. I went over there and a look at the detail it has. This is no ordinary balloon. Are you ballooning? Yes. I said you've been doing this for a few years. I mean, where do you want people to know about this thing? A fiesta.

I want them to come to see the fiesta as they have never come to see it. And I hope that I can personally see a lot more of them too. What makes a fiesta special? I think we've probably covered that. I think it's a world-class festival. It's like the Montagrar, the Rose Bowl, and stuff. And it's really made publicerky in New Mexico. Put it on the map. We're known worldwide for balloons. Anywhere you go in the world, you say the world is publicer. Oh, that's where the balloons are. And that's kind of neat. It's something that I'm kind of proud to help get going here. And it's rewarding to me.

And hopefully it'll continue to be rewarding to me and to Albuquerque in the city. Anything else? And Room Tone. Thank you.