Libby's Ashes

Libby's Ashes

The one thing Oscar Metford wished for above all else on his ninety-first birthday was the ability to fulfill his late wife’s last request. That he be able to take her ashes alone, just the two of them, his last expression of his love for her, and deposit them along the Alpine lake the two of them so cherished in their youth. But age and infirmity made the trek into the mountains and up to the lake on foot or even on horseback impossible for his arthritic body. Then a contest drawing for a hot air balloon excursion that would fly over the very location he needed to go in order to honor his late wife’s request gave him an option in fulfilling the obligation. The contest came to his attention in an ad in the local newspaper. The event was an advertisement for a local radio station. But when he made the request to his children that a balloon ride was what he wanted most of all for his ninety-first birthday, they rejected his request as too dangerous for a man of his advanced years and physical condition. That’s when he entered his name in the radio stations drawing on a whim, and won the trip of a lifetime; a balloon ride that gave him more than he bargained for when it came to friendship and adventure.<br /> <br />What seems an innocent balloon ride triggers a chain of events that proves life altering for six strangers. This is a story of survival, of unlikely friendships, and the strength of love and faith.<br />