Takin' the Blog for a Walk
Join Waukesha resident Brien Lee and his blog, Sir Fido, as they explore the city and report on the interesting things they find.
Email Brien at howlinblog@yahoo.com.
The Answer My Friend Is Bloggin' In The Wind
The last five years of Bloggin' the Walk has been fairly therapeutic for me. Five years ago my weekend Journal Sentinel delivery job ended. As an independent contractor I loved the freedom, responsibility and challenge. I enjoyed the physical part of the job, meeting people at the Waukesha stores I delivered to, being outdoors in all kinds of weather, pressure of delivering on deadline, being the first to read the headlines, the nightime quiet, moon, stars, planets...
Did I mention meeting my future wife at one of the gas stations I delivered to? Married 21 years now, and the proud parent of two handsome young men, used to bring the boys on the route when they were still in diapers. (Working two jobs, it was one of the few times we could spend time together.)
With the loss of the sizeable paychecks I debated finding another weekend job. Delivery was a good job for me, it forced me to take care of myself and our vehicles, but many weekend plans were disrupted by it. It would be nice to spend more time with the family and rediscover what weekends were made for.
What else happened five years ago? About the same time my delivery job ended I began blogging on something new called WaukeshaNOW. Five years ago I also became acquainted Ken Walter and the hot air community.
It's a pretty good relationship; where I used to rise very early for the job, I'm now up very early to chase hot air balloons. Instead of missing out on weekends due to work, I now have a weekend hobby I'm passionate about . . . and a venue to blog about it.
Five years of hot air ballooning! The sights, the places, friends, family... A hobby that doesn't clutter up the house or cost a lot of money - at least not mine anyway. I've floated over Waukesha and winter ballooned over the St. Croix River into Minnesota. I've been present for a hot air wedding, and just this last Sunday chased the balloon in which the man proposed to his girlfriend. I was there two weeks ago when Melanie soloed for the first time and have celebrated many birthday and anniversary flights as chase crew.
Thanks for sticking with me for five years. Another five?
p.s. The Monroe Balloon Rally is this weekend, starting Friday. Take a look at the website for a cool hot air video.
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