by Deb Alter
On Saturday evening, August 1, at about 9 pm, two Berlin residents sitting outside saw lights moving across the sky from west to east. First they saw one, then two, then five, and eventually they counted about twenty or thirty of them. For about twenty minutes, the lights floated by, and then they were gone.
[private]
It was a mystery what they were. Binoculars helped a bit – through them, they could see small hot air balloons, powered by the heat from a flame, maybe a small candle.
The floating light show was followed by two cannon shots in the distance.
The next morning, one of the flying objects was found in the driveway. It was a small tissue-paper hot air balloon, faded light blue in color, with graphics and the words “I love you” stamped on it.
Who launched the balloons and why, and how far they flew, remains a mystery. [/private]