The Red Balloon
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 10:31AM 
Thanks SO much for all your responses to my Birthday Post. They meant a great deal to me.
I received some wonderful gifts from friends and family for my birthday. Part of Jeff's gift, for example, was focused on my obsession with tea.
And my friend Walter made me cry.
Walter's gift
The photo above is of The Red Balloon DVD and children's book adaptation. The 34-minute movie by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse was one of my favourites from childhood; Dad had rented it from our public library and brought it home. I loved the book.
The story itself is very simple; if you don't mind spoilers, read this Wikipedia entry. The film won a bunch of awards, including an Oscar for Lamorisse for writing the best original screenplay in 1956 and the Palme d'Or for short films at Cannes. 
One of my many early Red Balloon doodles
I had no idea that it was available on DVD until I opened Walter's present. I cried for somewhat complicated reasons, but partly because I was so touched that Walter knew how much this gift would mean to me, and that he had taken the time to track down the DVD and book. 
I painted a Red Balloon on my office door!
Plus, ever since I saw that movie and read the book, red balloons have always been one of my very favourite things. It's not just about the children's story for me, but about the innocence and joy of childhood. 
Another early Red Balloon doodle. You can tell my early drawings because I signed them "ohi" instead of "d.ohi".
I've told the following story in Blatherings years ago, but I can't seem to find it for linking, so am going to re-tell it here:
Shortly after graduating from university, when I was living on St. Patrick St. in Toronto with friends, I was feeling a bit down (I can't remember why). On impulse, I bought a red balloon and tied a little note to it with my address and a cartoon drawing of me.
I wouldn't do this now -- sending a balloon out into the wild isn't exactly environmentally friendly, and attaching my home address is just crazy. Anyway, some months later I received a letter in my mailbox from a little boy in Lockport, New York, where his father had found the balloon in one of their fruit trees.
Gift from a friend familiar with my Red Balloon obsession
We became penpals, and wrote for quite a few years before the correspondence finally stopped.
But my obsession with red balloons continued. :-)
Thank you, Walter, for your gift and your friendship.
I'm getting together with Allison and Jodi tonight for our last practice before FilKONtario. Only a few more days!
Yet another Red Balloon doodle from years back.
Reader Comments (4)
And here is a red balloon
I think of you, and let it go....
Suddenly that song is a whole lot more hopeful for you having shared your story..
I also loved the film The Red Balloon. We rented it too. I always found it so magical and wonderful. Letting your balloon go just shows the far ranging impact we can have on people.. including those we don't even know!
Thank you for sharing this and reminding me of the film. I'm going to get a copy to show Grace.
i'm an artist at Texas Tech University, and much of my work deals with red balloons...i'm obsessed with them too!
I remember seeing "The Red Balloon" as a kid as well. I only saw it once (in class, on one of those "movie" days when the teacher would wheel in a film projector) but I've never forgotten it. I had no idea it had won Oscars, etc. I think I might have to order the DVD, too.