We had a lovely time in Cleveland, OH, last week. The conference I attended was actually interesting. We also met up with a dear graduate school friend who lives in Ohio. She is originally from Newfoundland, participates in competitive ballroom dancing, and lives with 16 cats.
Cleveland was nice, and we could see the lake and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame from our hotel. Cleveland has had its struggles, though. It is sometimes referred to as the mistake by the lake. The Cuyahoga River caught fire here years ago. Nothing beats the balloon disaster, though.
In 1986, the Cleveland United Way proposed a fundraiser by trying to beat the world record for the number of helium balloons released at one time. Disney held the record. The United Way released 1.4 million helium balloons not far from where our hotel stands. They used substandard helium, the winds were uncooperative, and the balloons didn’t float very high and then came to earth. Balloons covered the roadways and the lake. Roads were obscured and people crashed their cars. Two fishermen who went missing in the lake couldn’t be located because of all the balloons. They drowned. Horses ate the balloons and also died. The United Way had to pay millions in damages. The Guinness Book of World Records stopped measuring balloon releases.
Any good disaster stories? What are your favorite disaster movies? How many cats is too many?
Trail Baboon 
The trials and tribulations of the disaster which is XXXpresident Donny, is a good disaster story. Since all of these are a “witch hunt”, we have learned that Trump weighs the same as a duck.
I like The Day After Tomorrow, a climate change disaster movie. Ken Welsh plays the United States VP and looks exactly like Dick Chaney who was the actual VP at the time of the movie’s release.
The number of cats should depend on the size of their human slave’s abode.
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Note: 45 created his own disaster and richly deserves his own consequences. He did it to himself.
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Rise and Shine,Baboons,
I used to watch WKRP in Cincinnati. They had an episode in which they did a fictional “Turkey Drop” before Thanksgiving, without considering that turkeys do not fly. They inflicted fictional carnage on Cincinnati that became the news. The episode was really funny and reminds me of the balloons. That episode was probably filmed around 1986 or so. Maybe the balloons incident was the inspiration.
I attended a wedding in the early 2000s that ended up taking place in an intense thunder and lightening storm that was so loud that the sound covered the music and vows. Then a lightening strike hit near by and an electrical surge came through the sound man’s headphones (he was recording the service) and knocked him out. This was a wedding that was not a good idea in the first place given the mental health of the two being married, so the storm was an apt metaphor. About a year after this wedding the groom was in a serious auto accident on 35 North when he pulled off the side of the road during a blizzard in a fit of manic poor judgement. He was intending to assist another driver. His car was hit by a semi and pushed into a cornfield. He was seriously injured and survived with many disabilities. Sometime after that he finally agreed to be treated for his bipolar disorder. It still leaves me astounded.
The wedding I attended this weekend was executed like a military exercise, on time and with great music. There were no such snafus in this one.
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Q: How many cats is too many?
A: One more cat than I have is too many.
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I’m not a big fan of disaster films. I haven’t even seen very many of them although I did watch the one a couple years back where the San Andreas fault fractures. It wasn’t very good but it had an Australian actor in it that I liked so I did watch it to the end. Agree with Wes about the current disaster movie playing out.
Cats. I love cats, but the limit for me would probably be three. Right now I do the kitty box Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. With one cat. I’m thinking if I had three cats that would be kitty box every day. I wouldn’t want to have to do the kitty box more than once a day so that would limit how many cats I’m interested in.
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I haven’t seen many disaster moves, but (having just looked them up) The Poseiden Adventure has to be my all time favorite. Unless you count Airplane… : )
I did also enjoy The Perfect Storm, and had even read the book.
Two cats is perfect, or was when I did that… they keep each other company sometimes, and I don’t remember it being too much work.
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Morning –
Can we call ‘Wall-E’ a disaster movie? That’s about all I know about disaster movies as I don’t watch them either. Saw some previews for Tom Hanks’ ‘Finch’. That kinda looked like a disaster too. Or a warning; I’m not sure yet.
Well, sixteen is DEFINITELY too many cats. Unless 14 of them are outside.
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A story which is repeated all across the country in various ways, so a disaster. Two weeks ago the insurance company my son works for laid off 200 people all across the company because of budget constraints. Friday at the end of the 200 employees first of two weeks notice the president sent out an email to all including the 200 that they had just paid out the largest dividend in company history and top executives would be getting bonuses.
Clyde
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Wow. Incredible.
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Corporate America… grrrrrrr
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tim
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Excellent, I was going to look for that!
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I was hoping someone would post that.
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That is really sad about the balloon disaster in Cleveland. There are often warnings on places like Facebook that highlight the damage that we humans mindlessly do to animals – one photo showed a beautiful fox killed by choking on a spent balloon…
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Any disaster movie must be accompanied by MST3K commentary. I recommend City On Fire.
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