As we celebrate a child’s birthday with traditions of gifts, cake, balloons, and playtime at the park, can we imagine the fate of the blue balloon as it is released into an endless sky? We chase the balloon with our eyes until it is gone, fading into the east across the town, over the bridge, yet don’t notice its destination, fallen, into the vastness of the ocean. It is nesting season for the leatherback, and the female sea turtle swims toward her usual spot on the sandy Florida beach. She is a survivor of an ancient species who has overcome both natural and manmade threats to her survival. As she carries in her a large clutch of eggs, she is tired and she is hungry. Encountering her next meal, nothing’s as it seems. It is perhaps now that we begin to question our innocent party tradition and ponder the message that lies within the blue balloon.