Larry Walters of Los Angeles is one of the few to contend for the Darwin Awards and live to tell the tale. have fulfilled my 20-year dream," said Walters, a former truck driver for a company that makes TV commercials. "I'm staying on theI've proved the thing works." Larry's boyhood dream was to fly. But fates conspired to keep him from hisHe joined the Air Force, but his poor eyesight disqualified him from the job of pilot. After he was discharged from the military, he sat in his backyard watching jets fly overhead. He hatched his weather balloon scheme while sitting outside in his "extremely comfortable" Sears lawnchair. He purchased 45 weather balloons from an Army-Navy surplus store, tied them to his tethered lawnchair (dubbed the Inspiration I) and filled the four-foot diameterThen, armed with some sandwiches, Miller Lite, and a pellet gun, he strapped himself into his lawnchair. He figured he would shoot to pop a few of the many balloons when it was time to descend.

Larry planned to sever the anchor and lazily float to a height of about 30 feet above the backyard, where he would enjoy a few hours of flight beforeBut things didn't work out quite as Larry planned. When his friends cut the cord anchoring the lawnchair to his Jeep, he did not float lazily up to 30 feet. Instead he streaked into the LA sky as if shot from a cannon, pulled by the lift of 45 helium balloons, holding 33 cubic feet of helium each. He didn't level off at 100 feet, nor did he level off at 1000 feet. climbing and climbing, he leveled off at 16,000 feet. At that height he felt he couldn't risk shooting any of the balloons, lest he unbalance the load and really find himself in trouble. there, drifting cold and frightened with his beer and sandwiches, for moreHe crossed the primary approach corridor of LAX, where startled Trans World Airlines and Delta Airlines pilots radioed in reports of the strange sight. Eventually he gathered the nerve to shoot a few balloons, and slowly descended.

The hanging tethers tangled and caught in a power line, blacking out a Long Beach neighborhood for 20 minutes. Larry climbed to safety, where he was arrested by waiting members of the LAPD. As he was led away in handcuffs, a reporter dispatched to cover the daring rescue asked him why he had done it. Larry replied nonchalantly, "A man can't just sit around." The Federal Aviation Administration was not amused. Safety Inspector Neal Savoy said, "We know he broke some part of the Federal Aviation Act, and as soon as we decide which part it is, a charge will be filed." © 1994 - 2012 Submitted by: Ed Greany, Douglas Walker, Walter Hecht Reference: UPI, Stabbed with a Wedge of Cheese by Charles Downey Larry's efforts won him a $1,500 FAA fine, a prize from the Bonehead Club of Dallas, the altitude record for gas-filled clustered balloons, and a Darwin Awards At-Risk Survivor. He gave his aluminum lawnchair to admiring neighborhood children, abandoned his truck-driving job, and went on the

He enjoyed intermittent demand as a motivational speaker, but said he never made much money from his innovative flight. married and had no children. Larry hiked into the forest and shot himself on October 6, 1993. He died at the age of 44. Excerpt from Robert Fulghum's Book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten am a member of Crest REACT, a non-profit organization that monitors CB Channelantique barber chair accessoriesI have the entire event recorded on cassette,wooden chair rental mn while Larry and Santiago REACT Unit 66 were in CB contact. buy flexible love folding chair was not rescued by a helicopter, as you inaccurately report (see our previous version)rocking chair for sale australia

but came down of his own actions and became entangled in powerHe later committed suicide. He recorded a song called "Lawn Chair that Flew" c. 1982 ASCAP and gave me a personalI invited him to be a guest speaker at a later REACT Council meeting in Corona, CA. The CB recording is not Copyrighted, and you may have a copy by sending $2 to cover duplication to:leather club chair wayfair Ed Greany c/o Crest Reactsalon chair india price Ed says, "I prefer cash as it is simpler, but any medium is okay." An informative article by alanboyle.NEW & USED OFFICE FURNITURE OVER 35 BRANDS IN STOCK FUNCTIONALITY AT IT'S FINEST Truckloads of National Office Furniture Come take advantage of this HUGE buy! Fire Proof File Cabinet Sale Used prices starting at $499! Furnish Any Office in Style

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