Sometimes, people do silly things. There. I said it. While these may be the entire basis for this blog, it is humorous to see some of the craaaaazy stuff the ol’ Homo Sapiens are up to. Why, here’s one!

Larry Walters (1949-1993) had always dreamed of flying, but he had bad eyesight, so he was denied a job as a pilot by the Air Force. So, he settled for truck driver. But in mid-1982, he had an idea. He decided that he would fly over the Mojave Desert!

He bought 99 luftballons 45 eight-foot weather balloons from a military surplus store, and filled them with a helium tank from a balloon store. When he was asked why he had to buy the balloons, he lied and said that they were for a TV commercial. The $109 ($355 in 2024) lawn chair was from Sears. Then, everything came together; he flew, and on July 2, 1982, residents of Los Angeles and Long Beach reported something strange in the sky. Namely, this:

It was an accident.

The cord he tied the balloons to broke prematurely, and he soared up to 16,000 feet over Long Beach. he was reported by two commercial airplanes. He contacted R.E.A.C.T., a radio monitoring organization, told them he knew he was in federal airspace, and after a 45-minute flight, headed nowhere towards the Mojave Desert. He shot some balloons with a pellet gun he brought along, but he accidentally dropped it. He eventually ended up tangled in some electrical cords and landed.

Upon landing, he was arrested, but they didn’t know what to charge him with. Neal Savoy, regional safety inspector, said, “We know he broke some part of the Federal Aviation Act, and as soon as we decide which part it is, some type of charge will be filed.” Walters was fined $4,000, but dropped to $1,500 after he appealed.

Walters died in 1993.

His story became famous, getting him on David Letterman, and having movies, musicals, and TV episodes inspired by the event.

That was certainly an interesting story! Who knows, maybe soon someone will re-live Up and lift their entire house off the ground!