Flying High

When I was in high school, I lived in Texas. The high schoolers that were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints attended early morning seminary before school. Seminary is religious instruction given for an hour each morning to help prepare us for the day and for life. Early morning meant 6:00 AM - which meant getting up at 5:00 AM. For a high schooler that is a tall order. In Utah, seminary is a part of the daily school curriculum, so my kids got off easy :)



One year we had a seminary teacher named Bill Killpack. He was amazing and wanted his students to attend seminary each day. He decided that he would bribe us to come. I didn't need to be bribed because seminary was part of my daily routine, but some of the other kids were not regular.



One month he said,"Whoever comes to seminary every day this month will get to go on a hot air balloon ride." I was so excited. I knew I would be one of the ones to go. When the day arrived, my sister Lori and I had both qualified for this wonderful reward. Because of the number going, we needed two balloons. My mother requested that we go in separate balloons so that if there was an accident, we wouldn't both be in the same balloon. Comforting, right?



Well, to make a long story short, my hot air balloon ride went smoothly. The only awkward part was when we landed and tumped over in the basket. Lori on the other hand had a not so smooth ride. Her balloon bumped into a house, hit a tree and even landed in the water. I was pretty glad I wasn't in her balloon!

I have always been thankful that I had this opportunity.

The next month he issued another "bribe". Whoever attended seminary each day for the month would be able to go on a helicopter ride. I loved this teacher! Well, I don't remember who got to go...but I do know I did! I loved the helicopter ride. Helicopters are so much different than airplanes because they can go straight up and straight down. They are also like sitting in a fish bowl and being able to see out all around. This was a thrilling experience for me.



As I look back over my life, I am always happy when I think that I was able to go up in both a hot air balloon and a helicopter. But these were not my greatest accomplishments. For four years I had 100% attendance at early morning seminary. With our without the bribe, I knew where I should be and where I would be each morning at 6:00 AM.