The Good Life – September-October 2021

WRITTEN BY: EMMA VATNSDAL
It's no secret that the last year and a half has been
stressful for many reasons.
But it's how you deal with the stress that makes
the difference.
For John Boulger, the stress he faces each and
every day as he practices law in Fargo, N.D., is
slowly melted away as he fires up the burner,
inflates the brightly-colored envelope and takes to
the sky.
"I find it such a nice change from practicing law,"
Boulger said, from a conference room in his
downtown Fargo law office. "Because if you want
to fly safely, it has to require 100 percent of your
attention. So that's the only thing I think about
while I'm in the air."
Boulger has been a hot air balloon pilot for years
— 38 years to be exact.
"A gentleman named Greg Paul taught me how to
fly," Boulger said. "He taught several other people
in this area how to fly. You're licensed by the
F.A.A., Federal Aviation Administration, just like
if I flew a plane."
Boulger has flown his hot air balloons all around
the globe. From the bicentennial celebration
across Australia, to celebrations over Theodore
National Park near Medora, N.D., if there's a
recognizable, or even unrecognizable, balloon
festival, there's a good chance Boulger has been
there.
"We flew a balloon for Kodak of the Pacific (in the
Australia bicentennial), you know, for a division
of Kodak films," he said. "And I ended up flying in
Albuquerque at the International Balloon Fiesta
for Kodak for about 10 years. And because Kodak
was the name sponsor of the event at that time,
I would get to be the first balloon up on the first
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY: JOHN BOULGER
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