The Continuing Escapades
of blindMELVIN
The Great Balloon Adventure
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After blindMELVIN's daring escape from Canadian Custom Officials, Mel took to the skies in a stolen hot air balloon. Now Mel had never been in a balloon before and the first thing he noticed after he had cut the securing line, and was making his way skyward, was there was no steering wheel. This was not a good sign. Looking around Mel spotted some levers and proceeded to pull one of them. With a whoosh and a blast of flame above his head, the balloon started to rise and immediately caught the wind currents. Unfortunately for poor Mel, the winds on this day were from the south and he started off in the wrong direction. | |
Mel floating by the Parliament Buildings
in Ottawa, Can.
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Mel's voyage took him north to the nation's capitol in Ottawa. Here the wind direction changed as a warm front moved in from the east. It was rare this time of year the wind would blow to the west. Poor Melvin, unable to control the balloon, was in the hands of Mother Nature herself. He felt doomed. As the afternoon sky turned a shade of orange that only a picture could describe, Melvin floated within spitting distance of the world renowned CN Tower in Toronto. He was getting closer to the border! | |
Mel spitting on the
CN Tower in Toronto
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It was here that things went decidedly the wrong way for blindMELVIN. As the easterly warm front hit a small cold front coming down from the north off Lake Huron, all hell broke loose! Lightning and thunder so loud Mel thought his head would explode. The fur on his back was standing straight up from the electricity shooting through the air. The wind was swirling the large balloon higher and higher....Poor Mel was having a rough time of it. He had to watch his step, in the small basket, for the little brown chunks that now accompanied him. He was really scared shitless! | |
Mel rides out the storm
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After surviving the stormy night in the balloon, Mel saw a familiar sight not far off to his left. It was Niagara falls and on the other side of the river was United States and the freedom he desired. The wind had calmed down and was now from the north-east, taking him in the direction he wanted to go. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get the balloon down to the ground safely. | |
They won't get Mel this time!
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Things were starting to come together for Mel. He crossed the border
into the US about 30 minutes ago. Behind him the Canadian officials would
still be searching for him. He hadn't found a way to land the balloon
but he was on, or at least above his own country once again.
They would not catch him again! The balloon
was heading in a south-west direction which sure as hell wasn't taking him
closer to his beloved Adirondack homeland. Would SPEGlum be missing him?
Probably Speg was not missing the little present Mel used to leave in
his hat when Speg forgot to feed him before leaving for work. The gentle
wind was taking Mel to the south-west. Mel passed over the many cities and towns as he continued to drift. Below him he spotted a large muddy river and in the distance a large city with a brilliant form in the skyline. Maybe Mel could get help here. |
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Mel looking for Pumpernil
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If anybody could help him, it would be his chat buddy from the trivia room. Mel new his chances of locating Pump were slim and none. But what Mel didn't know was that slim had left town. The balloon swooped down but poor Mel didn't even know what Pump looked like. He hadn't seen Mare's webpage. As the balloon swept along to the south-west, Mel fell into a deep sleep. He slept soundly for the next 30 hours and awoke to find himself still drifting but feeling mighty hungry. The dried catfood he had managed to escape with was running out. He knew he had to find a way down. Below him the terrain was beginning to become more mountainous and in the distance he could see a great gorge with a thin thread of blue water snaking along the bottom. Perhaps he would finally luck out and run into one of the high trees that lined the ridges. | |
Mel admiring the view of the Great
Gorge
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Mel drifted along the Grand Canyon wondering why the f*** there was snow on the ground in the middle of August and the temperatures in the low 70's. Maybe he had been caught in a time warp or perhaps he had slept longer than he thought. Soon Mel was heading out over the desert. He had been in the balloon for 4 days now and was growing weary of the journey. In the distance he could see the gleam of what looked like a mirage in the glimmer of the hot sun. The bright reflections reached out toward him. | |
Mel's side trip to Vegas
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Mel had always wanted to go to Las Vegas, but with his feet on the ground.
Although the view was nice, it would not put food in his belly. The wind
continued to carry him westward. He could see the peaks of the Sierra mountains
looming in the distance. This may be his last chance before he reached the
ocean.
What Mel did not know was that his presence in the sky was know. He had been spotted in Vegas, by one of the many transplanted Canadians. A phone call to the right people and the word came down from the top to 'get that cat'. The defence department quickly responded to the call and dispatched a group of fighters to intercept the balloon. |
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The True North Strong and loaded for
Bear
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The fighters quickly located Mel and circled their target trying to force it to the ground. Unfortunately Mel still had no idea how to fly the balloon. Looking around he decided to cut loose some of the sand bags that were tied to the side of the basket. He released 3 of them and immediately started to rise. The circling planes spread out in a long formation ...... It didn't look too good for Mel. They started to close in one at a time. | |
Is this the end of the line for Mel??
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| No indeed. Just as Mel thought things couldn't possibly get worse, the
lead plane's wing suddenly seemed to erupt in flame! Mel didn't believe what
he was seeing.
To see the exciting conclusion to this adventure, |
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