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Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High near 90F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

Frozen’s Olaf balloon floats at Columbus Circle during the 91st annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 23, 2017, in Manhattan. James Keivom/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service

Frozen’s Olaf balloon floats at Columbus Circle during the 91st annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 23, 2017, in Manhattan. James Keivom/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service

There is a shortage worldwide of helium, I learned this past week.

It is a concern not merely to be reported on but one that is affecting life in the north country.

A friend was celebrating a birthday last week.

A gift and card were purchased.

Before I deliver a birthday gift, I always stop at the Dollar Tree in Harte Haven Plaza for a helium balloon to accompany the gift.

I walked into the store.

There were no balloons that had been inflated in the netting near home goods.

I saw the balloons along the front wall with numbers attached.

I turned to a clerk and told her I needed two balloons.

Her immediate response was that they had none.

“We don’t have any helium,” she said. “And we probably won’t have until next year.”

For the past few years, I have purchased a balloon to accompany my birthday gifts.

I wasn’t completely discouraged, though, because I knew Price Chopper always has balloons displayed throughout the front of the store and at each cash register.

I entered Price Chopper and immediately noticed there were no displays of helium-filled balloons at any cash register.

I went through the checkout aisles with a few purchases and asked about balloons.

I was told I could purchase one in the floral department.

A lovely woman, whom I believe was named Tina, went with me.

I selected a balloon, and she began inflating it when florist Rhonda arrived.

Rhonda is an amazing woman, always making sure each floral order I have placed arrives perfectly.

She always creates the most beautiful floral arrangements and, on this day, would make my friend’s celebration complete.

She also mentioned the shortage of helium, explaining there was a shortage worldwide.

Rhonda explained the limitations on balloons that she is facing.

I delivered the balloons to my friends (there were actually two celebrants that day).

I then came home and searched for news reports on helium and learned the second-most common element in the universe is in limited supply.

I learned as I read about helium that it isn’t just the key ingredient for party balloons but cools MRI machines and scientific equipment.

Helium also lifts weather balloons, allowing meteorologists to make forecasts, I read.

Price Chopper florist Rhonda explained that helium is a natural element whose supply has been depleted.

Helium is now manufactured with the supply diminishing for a variety of reasons.

The news reports explained that helium is produced as a byproduct of natural gas refinement at 14 plants around the world.

Disasters recently have struck the largest of these plants, disrupting the supply, the report I read said.

This has created a helium shortage.

I remember hearing something about a helium shortage in a televised news report but at that time paid no attention.

When there was absolutely no helium-filled balloons for a birthday celebration, the report on a shortage of helium took on new meaning.

With no helium, I wondered if we will see massive balloons accompanying the floats in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City.

And I wondered if I will now have to rely on the air pump The Gardener uses to fill balloons in the future.

My thanks to Rhonda and Tina for assisting me with balloons for my special birthday celebrations this week.

And on Sunday, there were four balloons displayed at the cash register at Price Chopper.

Yes, one more friend had a birthday balloon filled with helium to lift it to the ceiling in celebration.

Hopefully, helium supplies will soon be available again so there can be times of celebration — with balloons.

A dear friend, whom I have known since we were in a book study together in Massena about 40 years ago, moved downstate recently.

We have kept in touch the past few years with notes and cards sent.

I treasure each handwritten letter I have received.

A letter arrived this week with a newspaper clipping enclosed.

I was delighted to think someone had cut out a newspaper article in 1949 and saved it for sharing.

I smiled as my friend described her family members going through the storage locker where many of her belongings are now because of her “saving ways.”

I believe we should all treasure gifts and remembrances of times gone by through our “saving ways.”

The clipping was from the Malone Evening Telegram and told the story of a robin who had been injured by an “aggressive cat.”

The yellowed newspaper clipping detailed how Malone resident and florist William S. Topp had rescued the robin and nursed him.

The robin, named Joe, had “summered” in the North, the article told readers, but the robin had no desire to winter in the North.

Since the robin’s wing wasn’t strong enough for a flight to Florida, caring Malone residents (the article said 300 of them!) saw Joe the Robin off on his journey on a plane flying to Miami.

In Miami, he was to be cared for by one of Mr. Topp’s friends.

This newspaper story from 1949 touched my heart with the concluding paragraph perfect for this day, I thought.

Malone’s plane-riding robin was the subject of a Jan. 11 editorial in the New York Herald-Tribune, which was quoted in the Malone Telegram article.

The New York newspaper referenced “Malone’s kindness to a robin named Joe,” saying space should be provided in the newspaper for this kindness.

The article concluded that whether “it is summer or winter now or next century, a broken world can best be mended by the kind of men (and women) who care for broken wings.”

My thanks to my friend for saving a newspaper clipping.

And my thanks to the example of north country residents who cared for a robin named Joe.

“Give every day the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life.”

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