Fellow balloonist Tom Barrow, diagnosed with brain cancer in 1990 and losing the war on April 20, 2000, best answered that question in a 1997 interview. After learning his cancer had returned, Tom thanked ballooning for shaping his philosophy of life. In part, he said,

"I like the idea of going where the wind takes you... allowing yourself to willingly go downwind feels real natural to me... because if you are just going downwind, if you truly have no destination, you instantly gain three advantages... you can't get lost, you can't be late and you can never go in the wrong direction.”