Puffer Alert

Well, the trip to Albuquerque for JW's funeral was extremely eventful. The funeral service was lovely with lots of wonderful tributes from his family and friends. Jim and Charlie both served as pallbearers and did JW proud. We are all fairly certain, however, that JW wanted to yank their chains just a bit before they left town. After laughing that he got Birk inside of a church for over an hour and also wearing a tie, JW must have thought he'd keep us in town a bit longer. We headed to the airport later than planned and arrived to learn that Jim and my flight to Denver was delayed beyond any hope of making a connection to Columbus. The very nice United gate agent had already rebooked us on American routing us through Dallas and was glad to see us check in. Just as she started to print the boarding passes, American called to say that all flights into and out of Dallas were on a weather hold and that they would not accept us as passengers. Instead we left the counter with 2 hotel vouchers, 2 dinner vouchers, 2 breakfast vouchers, and confirmed seats on a plane today (Thursday). Because our cancellation was due to the crew not showing up on time, we were compensated for our troubles. Charlie's flight had also been delayed, but he worked a scam with Northwest and was going to make a quick hop to Memphis to handle some things for his father's estate (only Charlie would have his dad's death certificate along to use for a special bereavement rate). He treated Jim and me to a drink and headed off to security. We took the shuttle to the the Wyndam along with a young guy that said his flight to Dallas had been cancelled. When we were checking in I noticed that Jim had two boarding passes for the Denver to Columbus flight and none for the Albq. to Denver one. Back to the airport we went. I called Charlie because I was sure that he was NOT headed anywhere. We were correct, he was standing back at Northwest retrieving his checked bag and had to bum a spare bed from Jim since he got nothing for the weather related problem. We met up with Pat, Karen, and Mark at the bar for drinks and dinner (thanks again to the HOF). Since it had been a long stressful day, we headed to bed early which was good because all of our flights were at 6 AM. Left the hotel at 4:30 and after checking Jim's bag and getting more boarding passes (another story of its own) we started through security. Jim said we should go through the "Puffer Machine" because you didn't have to take your shoes off. Well, I had on Crocs and didn't care about the shoe situation but blindly followed Jim and Charlie. We put all of our stuff on the conveyor belt including our shoes because you DO have to remove them and stepped into the Puffer. Guess who got stopped for a Puffer Alert.......not anyone who might possibly REALLY have gun powder residue on them. ME. After they released me from the Puffer machine, I got to have the "complete" body pat-down including as the TSA agent said all of the "sensitive" parts. She promised to go quickly so that Jim and Charlie wouldn't turn around and laugh. No such luck as they were already almost peeing their pants. After the pat down, I got to go to the "penalty box" where EVERY item in my bags was examined and sniffed. The agent asked what medications I took and when I asked why she wanted to know she told me that they are emitted through the skin. Since I only take Aleve, I haven't a clue what set the damn thing off. We shared our vouchers with Charlie and all had bagels and cream cheese before heading off to our gates. I ducked into the restroom and came out to see BAM walking back from the counter. Guess the "Cramer and Birk party" had been paged because there were too many boarding passes for us. They let us sit in the seats we wanted so all was right with the world. Arrived in Denver with a 2 hour layover and of course discovered that our new gate was right next to the one we just got off. Had we had the 50 minutes like the original schedule, we would have walked a mile. Flight to Columbus was fine - had one last drink courtesy of the HOF. I got home around 5 and Jim was still only halfway last I heard from him. Charlie made it to Detroit and was headed to see his brand new granddaughter that was born while we were flying. She weighed in at 8'14" so Michelle had to have a C section. Both were doing well and Charlie promises to send pictures.

JW Byrd - One of the Four Amigos

The ballooning world suffered a great loss on Thursday, August 23rd with the passing of JW Byrd. For those of you that never had the chance to meet or get to know JW, you really missed out. He was definitely one of the "good guys" and understood the foundation of this group better than most. His smile and sense of humor will be greatly missed.

This might have been one of the first FAYA pictures ever taken. Our fingers were all directed at Dickie, but only in the most loving way..........

Serious Competition

Well, this photo was just submitted by one of our junior members (not old enough to legally drink). Never let it be said that this group does not take competition seriously. They will do about anything to stay in first place. All is fair and love and war and if you read the FAYA rules you would know that there is no penalty for this action.

Two Events Sign On

Two events have requested official FAYA sanctioning. The first will be held this weekend (August 17 -19) at Findlay, Ohio. Phil Clinger will uphold the FAYA mission to make the event fun and full of parking lot stories and fellowship. The next event will be Labor Day weekend. The Pumpkin Drop will have no problems meeting the sanctioning guidelines. I'm pretty sure that they don't have any rules and I know from numerous drunken phone calls from past events that they have the fellowship part down pat. If you haven't been invited to either of these events......too bad for you. Let's see who is ready to get the official FAYA tattoo.

Birthday Week for Charter FAYA Members

Well, it was a big birthday week for three of the charter members of FAYA. Bubbs, the Big Taco, and Peggy all celebrated their respective birthdays in style. In keeping with tradition, the other FAYA members toasted them from their home locations. Allen will be glad to have tomorrow off from drinking as it is his day to volunteer at the hospital. Anxious to hear all of the details about the birthday parties and see any pictures that might have been taken.

Great Lakes & Ohio Championship

Well, the weekend was a success!!! Thirteen balloons came together at the Birk Lake Invitational for the first FAYA Great Lakes and Ohio Championship. Friday evening began with a wonderful cook-out with Michigan corn and then 8 balloons took to the skies for a fun flight. Everyone had a great flight and Tammi Clinger made a new friend, Loretta, at Phil's landing site. Capt. Willy Lavigna had no trouble piloting his balloon; it was the trip back to propane that was the challenge. There was lots of fellowship following the flight before heading back to the hotel and campsites.

Saturday morning was perfect for flying. Bubba called a two part task: FIT and MJDG. The target for the FIT was just north of Birk Lake and the measuring team said it was spectacular standing on the dock watching the balloons make their approach. The MJDG were irregular intersections so there was lots of chatter on the radio about where to put the markers. Defiance can be a challenging place to chase with the river and few bridges, but everyone was found in quick order and returned for Mimosas and

more donuts before heading into Bud's for some bacon and eggs.

There were all kinds of activities Saturday morning. More than one clay pigeon bit the dust - enough that the local law enforcement showed up to see what was going on. Not to worry, he took down Jody Leatherberry's name and social security number and nothing must have come up on the computer because he left without making an arrest. There was lots of lounging on the dock, some swimming with Walter, corn hole, hillbilly golf, and stories galore.

Saturday night was a hog roast with Ohio corn and other sides. Jim Wolfe had 3 pieces of pie before filling his dinner plate and finished with a 4th piece of pie. I think that might be why he opted not to fly Saturday night and instead played the role of landowner. The winds were a bit brisk and some people decided to fly to the Indiana border before landing. A few more landowner friends were made and Capt. Willy's crew maintained their tradition of taking out at least one mailbox a year. More fellowship after the flight before crashing.

Sunday morning we awoke to rain which was probably a good thing as most people appreciated the opportunity to go back to bed. The awards ceremony was held at 8:00 and Phil Clinger was presented with the Tom Tyler Memorial trophy. This is to be a traveling trophy designed and handcrafted by Jim Birk and will be brought back to Defiance in 2008. Jim Birk won the Ohio Championship and received a FAYA official ball cap.

Friends came together from Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Florida to enjoy what we have missed about ballooning. Good friends, good food, and good flying. It was so much fun listening to pilots talk on the radio and give the people behind them tips on where to find the right winds. Landing and launch sites were shared and crews helped each other pack up. There were no "near misses" even with lots of close drops on the X. Nobody filed a protest even though measurements were made to two different intersections at one of the MJDG. Everybody chipped in to pay for the propane and food. I can't tell you the last time I had this much fun. My face actually hurt from smiling so much.

To Jim Birk and Dick Rudlaff who made this event a reality - thanks. To all of the pilots that participated, you will receive a charter membership for FAYA. Look for information about dues and how to get your event on the FAYA schedule in the mail soon.

Patty