After a time, however, this lost its appeal and I returned inside to do something productive. Like . . . make a cup of tea. Or spend time on the Internet.
I later returned to check on the head's progress. And my heart almost stopped.
Somewhere. Somewhere within the trivial details and useless minutiae I've accumulated in my brain over the years lies the knowledge that hot weather does bad things to balloons. Knowledge painfully acquired through years of outdoor decorating for children's birthday parties in the often oppressive heat of an Ontario June. Sadly, upon my return to Nova Scotia, that knowledge had been submerged. Only to come rushing back as I stared out the window at the Tusken Raider head. A mere fraction of its former size and imploding by the second.
There was no time to lose. I grabbed a styrofoam head, which, fortunately, are never far away. I burst what was left of the balloon and shaped the still-damp head around the styrofoam. Thankfully, it would survive.
And the moral of this story . . . ?
Apart from keeping balloons out of extreme summer heat, the implication here is obvious:
Never leave a drying head unattended. Ever. This may require considerable sacrifice. Take a stack of books along if necessary, or perhaps a cold drink or two, and remain vigilant in your deck chair until the drying stage is complete. And always - always - keep a spare head within easy reach.
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