Every Fourth of July, Chicago's Christian Industrial League throws a barbecue, called the Alternative Taste of Chicago, for the city's homeless. After the meal, as a choir sings "America the Beautiful" or "Battle Hymn of the Republic," 50 red, white and blue helium balloons are released.

"The balloons are powerfully symbolic. They represent hope and freedom to these people, who need to think that they can reach for the stars," says Richard Roberts, the league's executive director. "Besides, the kids love them."

This year Roberts did an interview with Chicago public radio station WBEZ publicizing the picnic, and he mentioned the balloon launch. The morning of the Fourth, the league's office was flooded with phone calls from citizens who had heard the radio piece and were irate over damage to the environment from the ceremony. The Chicago Tribune reports that one caller worried that fish and pigeons would choke on the deflated balloons.

Roberts went ahead with the launch. "At first I felt badly," he admits, "but the more I thought it over the more peeved I became" that not one of the protesters showed any interest in the event itself. "Where were these 'concerned' people last winter when we ran out of food at the shelters and were in desperate need for help?"

Callers will be relieved to know that a strong breeze blew most of the balloons into trees on the league's West Side property, where they popped and were collected before they could do damage.

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