It's all about teamwork

Thanks to John Kugler, the McCook Chamber of Commerce, all the sponsors and the balloonists who shared their weekend with us for the annual High Plains Freedom Flight.

It's really a kick to see those giant, colorful cloth globes floating against the blue sky and puffy white clouds, over the golden corn and wheatfields and multi-hued fall foliage.

We have a page full of color photos on page 16 today, thanks to city editor Gloria Masoner, who takes part in the chamber's balloon committee and usually comes back from Freedom Flight weekend with some interesting stories.

Her son, Jeremy, has some stories of his own to tell this year. If you find a pair of glasses in your cornfield this fall, I think I may know whose they are.

I hope people realize how generous the balloonists are to share their sport with us in McCook every year, but I think I'm beginning to understand why they do it.

Yes, they love flying their balloons, but there's more to it than that.

You could tell that by Saturday's activities. Only three balloons got off that morning, before the winds whipped up too high for safe launches. They didn't even try to fly that night, which is usually the big event of the weekend.

But they did a lot of hangar flying, and I'm sure everyone enjoyed the sponsor-pilot steak dinner that evening.

Teamwork. Camaraderie. Friendship. Achievement.

I think that's the secret to ballooning's attraction.

You don't just go out and fly a balloon by yourself.

Every year, teams of volunteers are trained to help the visiting balloonists get off the ground. A lot of experiences become a lot of memories and a lot of friends are made the way.

I get the same feeling when it comes to sailing. Our sailboat is a little too much for me to handle by myself, so more than one friend has been roped into going along as a "crew."

Sometimes, if you've read previous columns, you know that even the best of cooperation isn't enough to keep an even keel!

How about football? Everyone from the school board to the cheerleaders and student managers contribute to the effort to win games.

Sometimes the effort pays off in a great way, like last year's championship for the McCook Bison.

Sometimes, our best efforts don't even result in a winning season.

But even losing games result in great stories, lifetime friendships, personal accomplishments. Learning how to work as part of a team gives us the tools we need to face life's challenges.

In the end, those results are far more important than flying a balloon, sailing a boat or winning a football game.

But there's still room for individual achievement.

How about the World Rock, Paper, Scissors Championships, held last weekend in Toronto?

Rob Krueger won the $3,825 World RPS Championship prize with a rock-paper-paper combo.

Ahh, the old rock-paper-paper. That'll get you every time.

Rob's a member of the "Legion of the Red Fist" team, so even RPS players benefit from teamwork.

And, how about Icelandic fisherman Sigurdur Petursson, AKA "The Iceman."

As captain of the fishing boat "Erik the Red," Petursson appreciates good teamwork, and didn't like the idea of a 660-pound shark threatening his crew as they cleaned the day's catch, near the shore.

The Iceman grabbed the shark by its tail, dragged it to dry land, and dispatched it with his knife.

If he doesn't watch it, he may wind up being governor of California.