Minnechaug Regional High School - Falcon Yearbook (Wilbraham, MA)

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UP UP AND AWAY In the 1800 ' s, just the mention of man being able to fly brought on snickers and sarcastic remarks. Since then the whole concept of air travel has changed. With the invention of jet air- crafts and rocket ships, everyone now takes for granted man ' s ability to be transported through the atmosphere and beyond. One method of air travel hasn ' t changed much since those early days — the hot air balloon. When a man named Montgolfier launched the very first balloon in the early 1800 ' s, he was probably thought of as a lunatic. Al- though his idea does not play a large role in present day aviation, offshoots of his invention have in the past. Zep- pelins, dirigibles, or what we now call blimps rose in popularity during the 1930 ' s and hit their peak during World War II when they were used for recon- naisance. Soon after, these great air- ships became literally extinct making airplanes a better and safer alterna- tive. Although no longer feasible for com- mercial use. a small number of them still survive, the most recognizable being the famous Goodyear blimp. More common today are their smaller cous- ins, the hot air balloons. These are usu- ally owned and rented for recreational purposes by people who enjoy getting away from a highly mechanized soci- ety and being free. Totally unmotor- ized, the balloons can float for hours on wind currents traveling many miles. Re- cently three men completed the transatlantic journey in a balloon called the Double Eagle II putting themselves in the history books. To the typical person, however, these large, colorful airships are little more than very curious and unique conversation pieces with adventurous and foolhardy pilots. While other forms of transportation have evelved into modern, complex structure, the simple balloon has remained as it was in the 1840 ' s. Sorry, Mr. Montgolfier! Jim O ' Shaughnessy i Happiness is like a balloon. It starts out small, but the more that is added to it, the stronger and fuller it grows. -Anynomous

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v THE UPHILL CLIMB To be a Freshman again! No. scratch that, I ' ve waited long enough to be- come a Senior to go back and repeat the whole process like some forgotten eight-track. It has been interesting, though, after all I ' ve gone through. Going back to being a Freshman would be a little too severe after hav- ing already endured swimming in the dead of winter. So it ' s up, up and away to bigger and better things. The first thing that happened to this innocent Freshman upon arrival at Cahug was they handed me my Freshmen year schedule on a comput- er sheet I couldn ' t read and asked me to write it on a locator card I couldn ' t understand in triplicate in half an hour. They also expected me to understand blocks and their crazy system of rota- tion. To a confused Freshman, this is no small task! Sophomore year I improved a lot in that I got the blocks right, I no longer worried about the Seniors, and I didn ' t get lost. I could also laugh at Fresh- men. It was the first year that I was truly comfortable with the school. I knew where I was going, I knew more peo- ple, and I no longer felt insecure. The school became a place to learn. Sophomore year was also a killer for gym. Not only was there Sophomore pool, where you learned lifesaving and very nearly learned drowning, but also project adventure. In project adven- ture you had The Wall, The Wobbly Walk, The Trust Fall, and The Incline Log, where you learned the effects of paralyzing fear ....