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DECEMBER 2023
Lawn Chair Larry and Property Management ‘A Man Can’t Just Sit Around’
At the age of 33, Larry Walters decided to fulfill a childhood dream. “I was always fascinated by balloons,” Larry began. He remembered a trip to Disneyland when he was 7 or 8. At the entrance, a woman was holding “what seemed like a zillion Mickey Mouse balloons.” Immediately, it struck him: If you had enough of them, you would lift up. He was hooked from that point on and knew that one day, he would fly with balloons.
tether (attached to a friend’s 1962 Chevy Bonneville). Fate would not have it so. He ascended so quickly (over 800 feet per minute) that the tether broke and he rocketed into the sky. Very soon after that, he dropped his glasses but had a spare pair. The “ground crew,” communicating with Larry through the two-way radio, begged him to come down. But Larry shared he had no plans to do that “because no way in heck, you know, after all this — my life, the money we’d sunk into this thing — and just come down. No way in heck. I was just going to have — have a good time up there.” However, Larry kept rising at a rapid rate. Soon, at 16,000 feet, he got concerned as air temps lowered into the single digits and his breathing became much more labored. Amazingly, two commercial flights spotted him, and one reported it to air traffic control: “This is TWA 231, level at 16,000 feet. We have a man in a chair attached to balloons in our 10-o’clock position, range 5 miles.” Concerned about how high he had gotten (by now he had lost feeling in his toes), Larry pulled out his BB gun, took aim, and shot out seven of the balloons. But a gust of wind blew him sideways and the gun fell from his lap. “To this day I can see it falling — getting smaller and smaller, down toward the houses, 3 miles down — and I thought, ‘I hope there’s no one standing down there.’” Lucky for Larry, helium began leaking out of the balloons and he started descending. And not a minute too soon. At the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hearings, officials estimated that if Larry didn’t shoot
I am not sure this is a good idea.
out the balloons when he did, he would have risen to 50,0000 feet and would have, in Larry’s words, become “a popsicle.” During the descent, Larry had a different problem. When he reached 2,000 feet, he began falling too quickly. He cut the water jugs and got rid of everything he could. The ground kept getting closer and closer. At 300 feet, he saw he was coming into a residential area and became worried about power lines. Larry shared, “The chair went over this guy’s house, and I nestled into these power lines, hanging about 8 feet under the bottom strand! If I’d come in a little higher, the chair would have hit the wires, and I could have been electrocuted. I could have been dead, and Lord knows what!” Police and rescue workers arrived on the scene. Power had to be turned off in the neighborhood for 20 minutes. The scene caused quite a stir in the community. After the police collected his information to report to the FAA, they let him go. He signed some autographs on some pieces of balloon and gave the chair to a young child on the street.
That day ended up being Friday, July 2, 1982.
After much planning, he took off in his flying machine, Inspiration I , at 10:30 a.m. from his girlfriend’s backyard. The “flying machine” consisted of a “darn sturdy” aluminum chair with waffle-iron webbing in the seat that he bought at Sears, to which he attached 42 helium-filled weather balloons and eight milk jugs filled with water for ballast. When asked if it had a seat belt, he said he didn’t bother because “the chair was tilted back about 12 degrees.” Armed with a parachute (he took one lesson before buying the chute), a two-way radio, a hand compass, an altimeter, a California road map, a camera, a flashlight, extra batteries, a medical kit, a pocket knife, a package of beef jerky, a BB gun to shoot the balloons, and 2 liters of Coca-Cola, he was ready … almost. Launch was delayed by 45 minutes while a friend ran to a store to buy a lifejacket when some worried that he could be blown out to sea.
The plan was to ascend to 100 feet and get his bearings before cutting the
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Cold Weather Defense How to Winterize Your Home Effectively
“Game of Thrones” may have ended over four years ago, but here in the real world, we can still expect winter to come every single year. But the weather can be rather unpredictable across the country during this time of year. Winter weather can vary across the country — some years, we may get incredibly mild winters, and during others, we’ll experience multiple feet of snow or ice storms. So, it’s safe to say we should never take winter weather lightly. If you want to stay comfortable and safe in your home this season, you must take the proper precautions right now to winterize your home. You likely already have some strategies in place, but here are a few others to implement you might be missing. Cover your outdoor faucets. Throughout the spring, summer, and early fall, many of us are outside daily, watering the garden with our sprinklers and hoses. As we approach the end of fall, we don’t need to water as often, causing us to forget about our outdoor faucets. Unfortunately, those faucets are not insulated, which means leaving them uncovered could lead to frozen or burst pipes in your home. Don’t let this happen to you! You can go to your local hardware or home improvement store and pick up hard or soft faucet covers for an affordable price. They’re easy to install and offer great protection for your outdoor faucets!
“If you want to stay comfortable and safe in your home this season, you must take the proper precautions right now to winterize your home.”
Keep cold air out. When the temperature reaches freezing, all we want to do is cuddle up in our homes and embrace the warmth. This isn’t easy to do when cold outside air sneaks into your home. Walk through your house and determine the origin of the cold air, as it could be coming from any of your windows or doors. If it’s your windows, you will need to cover them with a window insulator kit from the local store. If the draft comes from a door, you may need to replace the door sweep. Pry the old one off with a flathead screwdriver before cutting a new door sweep to size and sliding it into place on your door. Not only will the new door sweep help you in the winter, but it will also keep pests out once the weather warms up. If you’d rather purchase a door sweep from a hardware store or online, there are many options to pick from that will fit all types of doors! Replace the furnace filter. Your HVAC system is going to put in some extra work during the colder months. It will constantly recirculate the air in your home, and your furnace filter will be hard at work removing dust, pollen, and other contaminants. Over time, your furnace filter will become dirty, and you’ll need to replace it. Do so before winter begins — if you don’t, you could experience higher energy bills, low air quality inside your home, and a damaged HVAC system. Winter weather can be unpleasant and frustrating, especially when it affects your living conditions and the interior of your home. Don’t let winter weather become the villain in your story. Take action to winterize your home now so you can rest easy throughout winter.
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This year, many friends and families will set up their Christmas trees and work together to decorate them with their favorite ornaments. Some ornaments even have their own special meaning or associated memory that sends the entire group down memory lane. While this holiday nostalgia is wonderful, the problem is that many of these ornaments are old, from when kids were little, a married couple just started dating, or a group of friends first met. People rarely add new decorations to the tree and create new memories to look back on in the coming years. But you and your loved ones can change that this year by making your own DIY cardboard gingerbread ornaments together! DIY Gingerbread Ornaments: Add Sweet Memories to Your Christmas Tree
Lastly, punch a small hole (you can just poke the pen tip through) on top of the cardboard on the ornament, feed the string through, and tie a knot at the top to make a loop. You can put the loop over a branch on your tree, and it will look like a freshly baked cookie is hanging there! If you want to make the ornament even more meaningful, have your kids, friends, or other family members make themselves (or you!) as cardboard gingerbread people! They can add their hair, outfits, or anything else to their ginger-person design. Having everyone’s ginger selves hanging on the tree together will always remind you of the time you spent with them to create these decorations. The best part is they’ll never go bad, and you can reuse them every year!
All you need for this ornament is brown cardboard (from any box lying around), a white gel pen or marker, and string.
To make your “gingerbread,” you first draw out the shape of your ornament(s) in pencil on a piece of cardboard before cutting it out. Then, use your white marker or pen to add “frosting” designs. We recommend adding some of those traditional gingerbread frosting loops around the edges before going in and adding details.
Homemade Eggnog
… continued from Cover
As he walked to his girlfriend’s car, a reporter asked what made him decide to take a patio chair to the sky. “A man can’t just sit around,” he answered. Quick connection to property management: To me, “A man can’t just sit around” is about taking action, being proactive, and not waiting for things to happen. That is what “We are Doers” is all about. And that is what we strive for all our property managers and employees to be … Doers. Here’s to fulfilling your dreams (no matter how strange they may be) and not just sitting around.
Inspired by AheadOfThyme.com
Ingredients
• 3 cups whole milk • 1 tbsp vanilla extract • 3 eggs, room temperature • 4 egg yolks, room temperature • 1/3 cup sugar • 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups heavy cream • 1 1/2 tsp nutmeg For topping • Whipped cream • Ground cinnamon • Extra nutmeg
Directions
1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine milk and vanilla, swirling occasionally until it starts to steam. 2. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, egg yolks, sugar, and salt for approximately 5 minutes until the mixture is thickened. Slowly add milk and whisk to combine. 3. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring for about 6 minutes. 4. In another large mixing bowl, place heavy cream and nutmeg. Strain egg mixture into the cream and cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours. When chilled, fill a glass with eggnog and top with whipped cream, cinnamon, and extra nutmeg!
P.S. The kid Larry gave the chair to was Jerry Fleck who, three decades later, donated it to the Smithsonian. Inspiration I is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum.
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INSIDE
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Lawn Chair Larry and Property Management
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Your Winter Home Maintenance Checklist
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Spice Up Your Christmas Tree With Cardboard Gingerbread Ornaments
Homemade Eggnog
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Creative, Classy Ways to Use Holiday Garland
DECK THE HALLS WITH GARLAND
Place it on the mantle.
There are many ways to decorate your home for the holiday, from ornament- adorned Christmas trees to the dazzling lights of Christmas village displays. Of course, you can’t forget the holiday garland! Here are a few ways to use garland to bring Christmas cheer to your home.
Garland will help spruce up your living room regardless of whether there’s a TV, mirror, or family photos above your mantle.
Run garland along a staircase.
The best way to add Christmas spirit to your staircases is to add some garland to the handrail. You can let it hang loose along the top of the rail or tie it around the spindles.
Bring your garland outside.
Guests will likely come in and out of your front door throughout the holiday season. Add garland to the exterior of your door to create a welcoming entrance to your home.
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