Nightmare at 1000 Feet
I’m a big fan of the old Twilight Zone series; in fact, I’m pretty much a sicko when it comes to TZ trivia. I can name who wrote each episode and even tell you what original short story it was based on.
My very favorite episode has to be Nightmare at 20,000 feet written by Richard Matheson and based on his short story of the same name. (Matheson is best known for the groundbreaking science fiction/horror novel, I Am Legend).
The story involves a recovering mental patient, Bob Wilson (played by William Shatner) who, while airborne on a commercial jet, looks out the window and sees a gremlin standing on the wing. But, is it real, or is Wilson still suffering from mental illness?
He attempts to convince himself that it’s just a temporary lingering artifact of his recently cured mental illness, but when the gremlin starts ripping back the fuselage exposing sparking wires, he freaks out and alerts airline personnel who, of course, think he’s delusional.
The story ends with Wilson strapped to a gurney and babbling as he’s wheeled out of the grounded plane. But, the joke’s on the airline because, as aviation inspectors examine the plane, they discover the mangled fuselage.
It’s a great episode by one of my favorite authors.
The photo you see at the top of this post was taken last Saturday by one of our hot air balloon passengers, David Hunter. If you look closely you’ll see a lizard clinging to the outside of the basket going along for the ride. Although the balloon easily exceeded heights of 2,000 feet that day, at the time this photo was taken, I estimate the balloon to be about 1,000 feet AGL (above ground level).
As soon as I saw it I was reminded of Nightmare at 20,000 Feet and got a kick out of it.
I love how the lizard is staring menacingly into the camera.
Note: a few of you are voicing concern for the lizard; I’m happy to report he returned safely to the ground where he probably ran off to tell his little lizard family all about it. 
If you’re interested in Twilight Zone trivia, I highly recommend The Twilight Zone Companion. A great reference I personally use all the time. It’s filled with everything you need to know about the show, it’s writers and even some on-the-set antics.
You might also be interested in Twilight Zone: The Complete Definitive Collection on DVD. It’s not cheap, but when you think about it, it’s a lot cheaper than the way I got it, which was buying each season as they came out (28 DVDs in all). I don’t remember how much I paid altogether, but it was considerably more than what this set costs.
More hot air balloon photos can be found on my Flickr Hot Air Balloon page.
Dead Rooster is the online home of 
Lizard. Lizard! LIZARD!!!! This just proves that lizards are a menace and I have been right all along to chase them.
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William McCamment
reply on August 17th, 2009 12:52 pm:
My kitties never tire of chasing lizards. They also never tire of presenting them to me before I even get out of bed in the morning.
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Lizards are cute! Not so cute when cat mangled, though. Loved that TZ episode with Shatner. Agnes Moorehead as the old hag battling the two mini-astronauts, as well as Mr. Bemis in Time Enough, are great episodes. The one near and dear though is “KIck the Can” ’cause it give me hope!
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William McCamment
reply on August 17th, 2009 4:15 pm:
Those are all great episodes too! I also really like The Howling Man where an order of monks are holding the Devil prisoner in their wine cellar. LOL
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I actually watched that TZ episode wehn I was a small kid…which I think was in the late 80′s. I missed TZ and Alfred Hitchcock presents which has the same theme as TZ.
Now, do you think the lizard will die at that height if it fall to the ground or will it survive just in case there’s a grassy land below?
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William McCamment
reply on August 17th, 2009 8:59 pm:
I was wondering if it would survive if it fell and to tell you the truth, I’m not sure. No one noticed the lizard until they were at altitude, so there was nothing that could be done. Luckily, though, the lizard survived to go on another hot air balloon ride if he so chooses.
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I’m glad to hear the lizard survived to tell his little buddies his tall tale.
I recently saw that episode of the Twilight Zone and it’s still one of my favorites, along with To Serve Man. I remember shivering at the end of that one.
Switching gears (and grinding them)–If you’re in the mood for something raunchy, check out the uncensored Comedy Central Roast of Shatner. it’s a hoot.
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William McCamment
reply on August 19th, 2009 3:43 pm:
To Serve Man is another great one!
I saw the commercials for the Shatner Roast but missed it. I’ll bet it was hilarious.
I’ll have to look it up on ComedyCentral [dot] com.
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Who doesn’t love that episode? One of the best ever.
Like others, I was concerned about the lizard too. Don’t know why. Could have been flicked off and it probably wouldn’t have mattered, but for some reason, had a strange affinity for the little guy.
Glad to hear he survived.
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William McCamment
reply on August 20th, 2009 1:33 pm:
Oh, yes, he survived. I was on the ground and saw the basket as it approached landing with the lizard skittering around. At that point I didn’t know anyone got a picture. When I saw it I begged him to email a copy. LOL
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I’ve heard of flying lizards before, but this is taking it a bit far, isn’t it? Next he’ll want his own balloon license.
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William McCamment
reply on August 21st, 2009 1:17 pm:
Well, he’s already got his first hour of flight training. LOL
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I love lizards, so glad he survived! Very cool photo.
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William McCamment
reply on August 22nd, 2009 11:59 am:
Thanks! I’m glad he survived too. Lizards are cool!
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“Shatner at his over-acting best”!!!
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William McCamment
reply on August 22nd, 2009 12:00 pm:
There was a little over acting in there for sure, but he’s done worse.
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Perhaps the little fellow is related to the Geico lizard…
should we expect to see a campaign directed at balloonists?
(Glad he survived!)
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