the meaning of blimp

Sometimes synchronicity reveals itself right in your face. Today's example:

In our staff meeting at work, we discussed whether we want to continue renting a helium tank. We use the tank to fill festive helium balloons for promotions and events. The consensus is that the tank rental and refill are not worth what we are paying, so it will be returned to the supplier. A discussion ensued about what to do with our big supply of balloons and the contents of the nearly full tank, before we return it. How do we have a helium balloon "blowout" to use up the gas that is ours? Somebody suggested "Danny Deckchair" for the summer day camp kids (okay, it was me). Someone else suggested completely filling a squash court with helium balloons (okay, me too that time - I can't help it if I take imagination vacations during staff meetings). Someone else (not me this time, really, but I liked it) suggested we have a "helium voice" staff meeting next month.

Later in the same meeting, the programmer for the weight room announced that all of the old free weights (iron dumbells and barbells) will be replaced with new ones some time this year. The old weights are past their re-saleable life, but will probably be taken away by the supplier of the new weights, and likely recycled.

These two discussions were only vaguely connected in my mind, and I suppressed the image that they prompted. That was all there was to say about that, or so I thought.

On the way home from work, I heard about this in the news. The meaning became clear to me. We can use the helium balloons to float away our old weights. Small dumbells will need only a few balloons. Barbells will need a dozen or so at each end. The big weight plates from the leg press machine will need to be sent up singly, each with 50 or 60 balloons. What a sight it will be. I just hope nobody is standing underneath when they fall to earth. Scrap metal salvagers will find treasure bombs littering the landscape. An inflateable boat or two might be sunk, and a bird shall surely fall from a tree. On second thought, I guess maybe it's not such a good idea.

question: do you see the connection?

mompoet - BANG!