I was six years old at a county fair in the autumn of nineteen fifty-eight. My dad won for me a big blue balloon with his skill at pitching straight. That balloon was my pride and joy for the rest of that cotton candy night. As we departed, that big blue balloon slipped my grip and rose out of sight. It rose to the stars, the sky swallowed it up, and my mother comforted me as I cried. “Rub your chest and make a wish, rais...
There was once a balloon that belonged to two little brothers. He floated against the ceiling in the corner of the boys’ room, his string hanging down. When the brothers brought the silvery balloon home from the birthday party, they fought over him. Their mother said they had to share. At first they paid lots of attention to him. Then they forgot all about him. Now his air was leaking out, and he was starting to sink. As...
