I am simply speechless. (June 5th 2020)

[hotairballoonist]

OK, those of you whom know me personally may have just laughed out loud, however, I am truly humbled & eternally grateful from the support I have received from the balloon community.  Thank you everyone for your support, prayers, kind words and amazing encouragement as I continue to get my life as close to normal as I can.  I have gone nearly two weeks now with almost no headaches.  My physical abilities are getting much better and the strength is slowly coming back.  I still feel like I am on a pontoon boat in the ocean.  Sometimes the ocean is calm and sometimes I am in rough seas.  I have gone out for a short drive on my own the other day but only a short trip around the block.  The rest of the time my wife Gina is my chauffer.   I have a neurologist appointment on next Tuesday (the brain jokes have already started).  My vitals have been real good the last month.  We have had to make an adjustment in my blood pressure meds since I have lost more than 30 pounds.  Overall I am doing quite well.   I thank everyone for their continued support and words of encouragement.

Equipment 4 Sale

We have made a few changes to the Equipment 4 Sale section on the HotAirBalloonist.com site.  Here is a quick list of the features.

• We have 22 different categories of equipment so you can find exactly what you want quickly.
• Anyone can post equipment.  You do not need to be a member.
• You can add as much text, contact information and up to 20 MB of photos!
• Anyone can post a reply to any equipment. (Ask question’s make offers and more).
• Members can follow their post and get instant email notifications of replies.
• Members can edit or change their listing.
• Anyone can see the equipment listings.

If you have any balloon equipment for sale give the Equipment 4Sale section of the site a try.  Remember we are more than happy to help you and you DO NOT need to be a member to use the Equipment 4Sale section of the site.

New Articles and Blogs.

Since my stroke and with the pandemic I have had some extra time to devote to the HotAirBalloonist.com site.  I have posted some items in the Current News area of the site.  The Current News section has several great pages within it.  When you mouse over or click on Current News on the primary navigation bar.  There are several links that pop up on the top menu bar.

“The Covid Convo” This link will take you to a sub-category inside the Hot Topics forum on the front page.  There are many topics inside “The Covid Convo” category.  Feel free to log in and express your ideas. 

“Ballooning in the News” This page has a headline scrubber that scours the internet looking for any news items about ballooning.   You can find out about stuff before it hits the TV news or even the Reflector.  You will also find out about balloon related stories that you may have otherwise never known. 

Articles and News page.  This page has Articles written by our members and another News Scrubber that may find items the first scrubber does not.  This page also has a very helpful section on the right column that has Balloon Festival News, Upcoming events, Status updates and recently posted topics and more.  You can gain a bunch of information on one single page.  Here is an article I just posted.

The Blogs page.  Members can start their own blog on this page. Create a blog about how you are handling balloon flights and the Covid-19.  Start a blog about your favorite balloon adventure or event.  Tell us a story.  Here is a blog I recently posted about my stroke and commercial passenger flying.

As always the site is for YOU!  The site was set up and made for all things ballooning.  Remember the Members side of the site contains even more stuff to see and do.

Share your knowledge.  Start a club, Create a photo gallery, Look for equipment, Post an event on the calendar, Stick a pin in the member map, Look at the files in the Download Center. Watch some of the many “How To” video tutorials, Spend some time looking over the HUNDREDS of Notable Balloonists Biographies in the Hall of Fame category.  You may learn some history about pioneers you did not know.  Hang out in one of the chat rooms. 

Most of all,,,  TELL YOUR FRIENDS!  The site works best when YOU are involved.  Send us a note if you want to see a new feature added to the site or if you need help using something on the site.

All the best to you all and….

Thank you for all you do for the balloon world.

Jeff A Thompson.