It's not looking good for Frankie

You will recall my sister came to visit a couple of weekends ago, it was her birthday.  We went shopping, ate, talked, relaxed, and ‘hung out’.  While we were shopping a delivery person put one of those marvelous looking ‘fruit bouquets’ on my front stoop.  (It’s amazing it was not covered in ants by the time we got home.)  Anyway, attached to the bouquet was one of those helium filled foil balloons. 

When she was packing up to go home, we put what was left of the fruit bouquet in a special container, loaded her car and off she went.  It was not until the next morning I noticed her helium balloon was floating, hugging the ceiling, in one corner of my kitchen.  Uh-oh.

Oh, well.

Then, (you know me) I began to ponder helium filled balloons, in particular just how long they can remain inflated and thanks to the Internet, I discovered that under the right conditions they can last quite some time…from a couple of days to a couple of months.  This one looked pretty darn healthy, and I suspected it could last a pretty darn, long, time. I mention this to Frankie, and she simply snorted and said we’d be lucky if it lasted a couple of weeks.  I told her to put her money where her mouth was.  And, she informed me the balloon would be gone by the end of week June 14.

I told her….”You’re on.”  I said the balloon would last till the Fourth of July.

While I was talking with my sister, to whom the balloon belongs, I mentioned to her the bet between Frankie and I and she said she wanted a piece of the action and said she thought the balloon would last until August 3.

At this point I decided I’d better start a written list, memory being what it isn’t.  Then, I mentioned this little game on Facebook, and that whoever got closest to the date the balloon went kaput would get a prize, one of my Zazzle Store mugs.  Well, that was incentive enough for others to choose a date, too, and seven of us are now waiting and wondering just how long the balloon will remain in the ceiling corner of my kitchen.

It’s not looking good for Frankie.  The 14^th of June is only four days and some hours away, and the balloon is in the kitchen smirking at her.   Two people will then stand between me and the Fourth of July.  Come on Fourth of July, ‘er…come on balloon!

I’ve decided what constitutes the end of this endeavor.  When the bottom of the string attached to the balloon touches the floor.  Which means the balloon will be half way down from the ceiling.

Come on Fourth of July.