Up, up and away in a big balloon

AS WE FLOATED off the grassy field, the man in the basket with me feigned surprise and said, “Uh oh! What do we do now?”

I’d met the hot-air balloon pilot - a tall, thin man from Waynesboro named Dean Durr - a little after six that morning at the pilots briefing at the Canton Multipurpose Complex. It was the weekend of the Mississippi Championship Hot Air Balloon Fest.

When Mr. Durr found out I’d be riding with him on this morning’s “fun flight” as a member of the media, he asked if I’d ever flown before.