Up, Up and Away in My Beautiful Guest Editor Balloon

dangibs | July 2, 2007 9:15 am
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1881, President James Garfield is fatally shot; 1937, Amelia Earhart disappears over the Pacific; 1962, the first Wal-Mart store opens in Rogers, Arkansas. The second day of July hasn’t historically been the luckiest of days for humanity, which means it might not be the best day for me, Dan Gibson, to fill in as a guest editor again here at Idolator. However, instead I’m hoping to follow the historical footsteps of another July 2nd event…Larry Walters in 1982 using 45 helium balloons to lift his lawn chair to an altitude of 16,000 feet. Mr. Walters stepped beyond his discernable talent and all reason and common sense to fly boldly three miles above his home, until he dropped into a power line, blacking out a California neighborhood. I can only hope for an equally provident outcome today.