There has been a big change in my life since my last article came out. Mary and I are proud to announce that we have become the parents of a new computer. I didn't realize the effect it would have on me. Twenty hours a day on the Internet and I belong to six balloon chat lines. Only two are in English. There is a lot of junk and mis-information out there and I am just the person to set those people right. I do add some information at times. Like when I told the guys in Eastern Europe that I flew a Piccard and set records every time I fly. Well, I do fly a Piccard and what do they know about records? I also told them that Sid Conn is working on a formula to turn ordinary tap water into fuel for hot air balloons. The cost to fly will drop to nothing. But back to the computer. I don't have time for much else. I have to limit my flights to an hour so I don't miss anything that comes in. Most of the time you can tell who is criticizing you on the e-mail thing. It prints the address of the sender which usually includes the person's name (or nickname). In one case it didn't. That brings me to a related subject.
Remember when everyone had a CB radio? We all had handles. Super Cub, Red Fox, The Woodsman, and Shady Lady. (Never did find out who she was.) Now in ballooning there are only a couple of pilots with nicknames. Cajun Charlie, Capt. Phogg, a Dr. this and a Professor that. And of course Bubba. What kind of nickname is Bubba for a balloon pilot? All other sports have them. Fireball, Hot Shot and The King in auto racing. The Dream, The Glide and Sir Charles in basketball and they are all on the same team. In football, hockey, baseball and all the other sports, nicknames are common. Even among criminals there are nicknames. Bugsy, Dutch and Machine Gun Kelly. They recently arrested a guy down here in Mexico that was known as The Artichoke. Don't ask, I don't know. How about we try a few on balloonists for a start. Phil "Mr. Excitement" Glebe and Bob "Kool Kat" Corey are easy. How about Harold "Digger" Graves or Joe "Apollo" Heartsill. Maybe Charlie "Jumpsuit" Sundquist or Wayne "Big Pig" Bond or Lesley "Pink Skies" Davies. Or try Cheryl "Lil Mama" White and Chuck "Bwana" Beyrle. Find your favorite or not so favorite pilot and try one on him and see how it sticks. Yours till we meet again, Bill "Senor Globo" Murtorff.