Fiesta is the harbinger of fall, of lanterns and pumpkins. It is a smooth transition into the season of the fallen. Usually.This morning was cold. We launched around 7 am, and immediately drove south for the chase. Upon stopping at a traffic light a few miles from the launch site, I commented to Adam (the other crew on our balloon) that the balloon flying directly in front of us was too close to the power lines. Moments after I said that a line lodged into the side of the balloon's gondola.
For fifteen minutes I watched as the tragedy unfolded, powerless to help in the face of it all. The tension on the wire was so great that it was literally tearing away at the basket. The pilot tried to negotiate a drop line hitched to a truck to pull him out of it, but the line snapped and sent the balloon careening away from both the drop and power lines, dumping a passenger in the process. She died upon impact, from 60 feet up.
Powerlessness in the face of tragedy is at best humbling. Death came today, as it does, creeping in from the corners of our lives, the places we least often look. Death came today, and its questions remained unanswered.
Reese
4 comments:
Wow. You have rocked my world a little today. I can't stop thinking about the passenger, the falling. This morning, as we awoke at Jon and
Shanan's Holli and I saw a hot air balloon rising from the mountains. Serendipitous.
Wow indeed. So sad. Ok I am back to paying attention to this blog. It'd be interesting if the Z's expanded their watching to include mine :)
we hear about death,
we see it happen before our very eyes. but death, is life.
though, what is tragedy?
tragedy is an essence. it circumscribes itself and remains untouchable. it is like concrete.
it keeps us fastened to the ground.
Yea, that was awful and unexpected. Fortunately the rest of the week has been less surprising. I'll have some pictures up tomorrow.
Reese
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