up, up away in my beautiful balloon

Went out for dinner with my momma and the giant little brother. My little brother stole a balloon for me. Granted, it had been floating on the restaurant ceiling for over an hour with no one to claim it, and the kid who let it go probably left a long while ago, but still. After all, my brother had gotten up to get the balloon when he saw a toddler reaching ineffectually for it. The kid was obviously about seven feet too short to get to the balloon. My little brother, being extremely NOT little, easily reached up and took the balloon by the string. Then he offered it to the kid, who gave him a look of shock and started walking away backwards. And that's when I got the balloon instead.

I tried to think guilty thoughts about having the balloon when the kid wanted it, but the kid passed on it after all. Inside I was going, wheeee! I have a ballooooon, I have a balloooooon! But outside I wore a serious and hopefully dignified face as I walked out of the restaurant with the cheerful orange orb floating behind me.

(wheeee!)

I took it home and drew a happy face on it. Then I tied it to a dead 9-v battery and placed in center stage on the dining table. Sometime during the night the balloon lost its will to float. It was dozing peacefully on the table, and I hadn't the heart to get rid of it, so it was moved to the buffet. Shortly after lunch the balloon made a come-back, and someone hit me in the nose with it. And then someone else squirted me with diet 7-up from an erupting bottle, but that's a different story.

It's been a while since I've had a balloon. I've recently purchased balloons, but I usually gave them to Owlie with breadsticks or cupcakes tied on the ends. No one ever got me a balloon, not beyond the high school years, and certainly no one tied anything edible to it, which, if you ask me, is a pretty brilliant idea. Why put corn dogs on sticks when you can tie them to balloons? I'd buy that for a dollar! A floating basket of fries? Amazing.

This random blog brought to you by the Kabul Restaurant; good food, surly service, free balloons.

posted by Abez @ 2/04/2005 09:06:00 PM