felt like writing this afternoon, this is a first draft and full of run ons.
they're really nice to you right before they push you out of the plane.
it was my fourty ninth birthday, and i wanted to do something nice for myself, something corageous and memorable. since i was a little girl i'd wanted to take a hot air baloon ride. i'd planned it out, how i'd pack the my family and friends into the station wagon and take the hour drive to napa, laughing and playing car bingo on the way. being stuck in the car would be no problem for us, we all loved taking road trips with each other because we loved each other's company. we loved to smile and look out the windows as the pretty green hills and fields whizzed by.
i'd planned this all out, months in advance, but the kids aren't talking to me that much these days, and taking a balloon ride is awfully expensive if you're just one person, and i think it'd get kind of boring after a while, being all alone up there making small talk with the pilot about air polution and wind currents. so i called the company and asked if i could have a refund, and they told me no refunds on reservations this late notice, but they could offer me credit for their sister company, (brand name) sky diving. sky diving sounded close enough, and even more adventurous. it seemed more appropriate for sending the message that although i was almost fifty and divorced and my kids didn't answer my calls, i was still a strong, independent, happy woman and they couldn't bring me down. i was a modern woman. i was a feminist!
the fields and hills were pretty, whizzing by. and the wind whooshed past my ears like if i'd rolled down the windows on the freeway, which we'd never done before because then we couldn't hear each other's laughing and stories about school and how much we liked each other.
steve, my coach, was really nice. he smiled a lot and helped me strap on my parachute pack. he showed me how to adjust the straps and which cord to pull, and which cord to pull in case the first one didn't work. he told me what would happen, how they would say okay, ma'am? ready? and i should tell them yes when i was ready, and then they'd give me a starting push out the plane and i'd count to one mississippi, two mississippi, up through ten mississippi and pull the chord he showed me, and if that one didn't work to pull the second and don't wait too long because after eleven mississippi it'd be too late but not to worry no one ever loses count and it'd be very fun and exciting and once i'd landed they'd be waiting for me to pick me up and tell me i did a good job and drive me back to the air strip to pick up my car and a week later in the mail i'd get an official certificate as a souvenir and a photograph of myself floating down to earth as proof of my very brave adventure.
how long had it been since i'd said ready! and they'd given me a very nice push? was it five mississippi, now? or was it eight? the sky was so pretty, the hills rushing up to greet me, the wind whooshing past my ears. this was much better than the balloon ride would've been, and the kids would be so interested to hear my story about my great and brave and independent adventure and see the photo as proof and certificate for a souvenir, they'd certainly call me back as soon as they knew i was home to come over and laugh and smile and tell me how much they loved me and how brave i was and how proud everyone was of me. they'd be waiting for me, they'd have planned a party for me, as a special surprise, and say wasn't that clever? how you didn't hear from us for all that time, that was just to make the surprise better!
i was thinking about all this and it made me smile so much that my eyes welled up with tears, or was that from the wind? the tears streamed back and slid up my cheeks, and i was going so fast that when they slid off my cheeks they seemed to fall up, to be going in reverse, back up to the plane. i was thinking about the happy drops hitting the underbelly of the plane, and how pretty the hills and fields were, rushing up to meet me, and how nice the wind sounded whooshing past my ears and how the next time we all took a road trip together we'd roll the windows down on the freeway so the kids could see how nice it felt. i tried to remember if steve had said i had to count to fifteen mississippi, or twenty mississippi, but the kids liked counting one alligator two alligator better, so i started over, counting one alligator, two...and i was all so pretty i really didn't care.
and for a brief few seconds, from alligator eight to alligator nine, i was falling up.
it was my fourty ninth birthday, and i wanted to do something nice for myself, something corageous and memorable. since i was a little girl i'd wanted to take a hot air baloon ride. i'd planned it out, how i'd pack the my family and friends into the station wagon and take the hour drive to napa, laughing and playing car bingo on the way. being stuck in the car would be no problem for us, we all loved taking road trips with each other because we loved each other's company. we loved to smile and look out the windows as the pretty green hills and fields whizzed by.
i'd planned this all out, months in advance, but the kids aren't talking to me that much these days, and taking a balloon ride is awfully expensive if you're just one person, and i think it'd get kind of boring after a while, being all alone up there making small talk with the pilot about air polution and wind currents. so i called the company and asked if i could have a refund, and they told me no refunds on reservations this late notice, but they could offer me credit for their sister company, (brand name) sky diving. sky diving sounded close enough, and even more adventurous. it seemed more appropriate for sending the message that although i was almost fifty and divorced and my kids didn't answer my calls, i was still a strong, independent, happy woman and they couldn't bring me down. i was a modern woman. i was a feminist!
the fields and hills were pretty, whizzing by. and the wind whooshed past my ears like if i'd rolled down the windows on the freeway, which we'd never done before because then we couldn't hear each other's laughing and stories about school and how much we liked each other.
steve, my coach, was really nice. he smiled a lot and helped me strap on my parachute pack. he showed me how to adjust the straps and which cord to pull, and which cord to pull in case the first one didn't work. he told me what would happen, how they would say okay, ma'am? ready? and i should tell them yes when i was ready, and then they'd give me a starting push out the plane and i'd count to one mississippi, two mississippi, up through ten mississippi and pull the chord he showed me, and if that one didn't work to pull the second and don't wait too long because after eleven mississippi it'd be too late but not to worry no one ever loses count and it'd be very fun and exciting and once i'd landed they'd be waiting for me to pick me up and tell me i did a good job and drive me back to the air strip to pick up my car and a week later in the mail i'd get an official certificate as a souvenir and a photograph of myself floating down to earth as proof of my very brave adventure.
how long had it been since i'd said ready! and they'd given me a very nice push? was it five mississippi, now? or was it eight? the sky was so pretty, the hills rushing up to greet me, the wind whooshing past my ears. this was much better than the balloon ride would've been, and the kids would be so interested to hear my story about my great and brave and independent adventure and see the photo as proof and certificate for a souvenir, they'd certainly call me back as soon as they knew i was home to come over and laugh and smile and tell me how much they loved me and how brave i was and how proud everyone was of me. they'd be waiting for me, they'd have planned a party for me, as a special surprise, and say wasn't that clever? how you didn't hear from us for all that time, that was just to make the surprise better!
i was thinking about all this and it made me smile so much that my eyes welled up with tears, or was that from the wind? the tears streamed back and slid up my cheeks, and i was going so fast that when they slid off my cheeks they seemed to fall up, to be going in reverse, back up to the plane. i was thinking about the happy drops hitting the underbelly of the plane, and how pretty the hills and fields were, rushing up to meet me, and how nice the wind sounded whooshing past my ears and how the next time we all took a road trip together we'd roll the windows down on the freeway so the kids could see how nice it felt. i tried to remember if steve had said i had to count to fifteen mississippi, or twenty mississippi, but the kids liked counting one alligator two alligator better, so i started over, counting one alligator, two...and i was all so pretty i really didn't care.
and for a brief few seconds, from alligator eight to alligator nine, i was falling up.