Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 22 : Fall 2014 | Page 68

the ride of a

Lifetime
By Karen Gonya

Nick Krause, age 14
of Fort Fairfield, and his dad,
John, got an unexpected ride
of a lifetime during the Crown
of Maine Balloon Fest this
year in Presque Isle.

“It was so worth getting
up for!” he exclaimed to mom
Terri when he got home, which
is saying a lot from a teen who
likes to sleep in but had to be
at the launch field at 5:15 a.m.
that Saturday morning.

The Krauses got the
call just days before the
festival began to see if Nick
would be interested in having
a free balloon ride, courtesy
of a generous anonymous
donor. The donor had a ticket
that he couldn’t use since he
was going to be out of town.
He decided to put the ticket
to good use and donate it to
TAMC “…to share with a
deserving child and hopefully
provide a joyful experience to
him or her.”

“It was an incredibly
thoughtful gift, and we reached
out to our Aroostook Pediatrics
staff to help identify a child
who would really appreciate

66

FALL 2014