am a native Californian. After moving to central end zone and watched the winning touchdown pass slip Illinois, where I spent the first four years of the through the fingers of the tight end, who dropped the ball 1980s, I decided to take a year-long sabbatical ten feet in front of me with less than one minute left in from the world and see the country. Jerry the game. Berger, a repatriated Albuquerque native and my The next morning came at 4:30 AM, as Jerry shook freshman roommate at the University of Hawaii me awake in the dark and we (Jerry, his two young I back in 1972, had invited me to come stay with him on daughters, and me – his wife had done this before and my way through the Southwest. On Friday, October 12, stayed in bed this time) piled into the car in front of his 1984, I called from the Painted Desert in Arizona to say west side home. The drive across the bridge into the I’d be arriving the following Saturday afternoon. Jerry darkness was guided by one of the most incredible said we’d be able to catch the Lobo football game that sights I had ever seen – headlights as far as the eye could night and then go see the final day of the Balloon Fiesta see! And nobody was moving! I had been in traffic jams on Sunday morning. OK, so what’s a balloon fiesta? before, especially in Los Angeles, but never at 5 o’clock in I arrived on Saturday, just in time to grab a quick bite the morning in the middle of nowhere! and head over to the football stadium to see the Lobos Jerry seemed rather calm about this, and so I just sat let yet another victory slip through their fingers. On this and remained fascinated by the slow movement of the night they literally did, as I stood on the grass behind the cars, the friendliness of the people directing traffic, and OFFICIAL PROGRAM 165