Kenyan Man Who Was Denied Helicopter Ride At Wedding Takes Matters Into His Own Hands

Daily Mail - This is the shocking moment a man hangs onto a helicopter as it takes off from a wedding in Kenya.

Heart-stopping footage shows Stephen Odhiambo Ouma dangling hundreds of feet in the air and clinging on for dear life as he soars through the sky.

A stunned crowd can be heard gasping as they watch on in horror, praying for the father-of-two's safe return.

Ouma, 28, had reportedly asked the chopper occupants for money and a ride before grabbing onto it as it left Rapogi village on Sunday, April 13.

After becoming aware of the extra passenger, the pilot made an emergency landing in a field nearby.

Ouma told local media he was quite relieved to be brought down, as he had started to feel exhausted mid-air. But he remained unapologetic and insisted he would have completed the 65-minute journey to Nairobi without issue.

America has been doing weddings all wrong for years. The only good thing American weddings ever had going for them was the part of the ceremony right before the "I do's" where the officiant asks if anyone objects. But nobody does that anymore. I'm not convinced that's ever actually happened outside of movies. Best case scenario for an American wedding is a quick 5 minute ceremony, a great meal, a top shelf open bar, and over 50% participation in the Cha-Cha Slide. And American wedding traditions stink out loud. All we have are a couple one-on-one slow dances, a couple cliche speeches, throwing flowers into a crowd of people, throwing the bride's waist underwear into a crowd of people (which you can't even sniff cause there's like a million eyes on you), throwing rice at the couple, wearing blue, smearing cake on each other's faces. Which is all great. I love a good wedding. It's one big party with free booze. Occasionally someone makes a fool of themselves. They're very fun...

But have you seen what other countries do? Have you ever seen an Indian wedding? They're insane. First off the brides all get to dress like Lil' Wayne. They bling out their entire bodies and get tatted up from head-to-toe. There's multiple costume changes. The groom get to dress like an emperor. Do you know how badly I wish I could wear a bejeweled feathered turban at my wedding? Do you have any idea how much respect a bejeweled feathered turban commands? 

I'm getting married this summer. Guess what I get to wear? A rented tuxedo. Black with an ivory shirt. The big fun decision I get to make is picking out a tie. No hats whatsoever. Not a single costume change. 

Then the Indian wedding itself is a week long ordeal. The entire town shows up. There's elaborate dances that everyone in India is born knowing how to do. The song lyrics don't even give them instructions. There's pranks that involve stealing the groom's shoes and extorting him for money over them. The bride and groom ride around on elephants the entire time. It's like if a pride parade and the Moulin Rouge had a baby. 

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But this is the first Kenyan wedding video I've ever come across. I like what I see. Their venue choice of 'tent in open field' could use some work. But the wedding is giving "anything can happen". That's what American weddings are desperately missing. A looming threat of chaos. There's no possibility that any of my wedding guests will call a helicopter to land 100 feet outside of the reception. There's no threat a crazy father of two will use that as an opportunity to demand a ride and money from the helicopter couple. There's no threat of this.

Or this.

No chanting. No parading a cartoonishly exhausted man from the farm where the helicopter dropped him off back to the wedding tent. Just me and all my loved one's doing the Cupid Shuffle and drinking from the second cheapest open bar package our venue has to offer. Maybe if we're lucky one of our uncles will get too drunk and fall into the dessert table. But nothing more than that. 

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I really wish I knew more of the story behind this helicopter man. I like how the article specifically states he demanded both a ride AND money. Typically you'd offer to pay someone who was giving you a ride in a helicopter. But I like this guy's style. He drives a hard bargain. Ask for the moon and end up settling for what you want. It's the art of the deal.

I also appreciated his attitude about the whole thing.

Daily Mail - Ouma told local media he was quite relieved to be brought down, as he had started to feel exhausted mid-air.

But he remained unapologetic and insisted he would have completed the 65-minute journey to Nairobi without issue.

Describing the experience as exhilarating, Ouma noted that he often relies on donkeys for transport so the flight marked a historic moment for him.

Quite the upgrade from a donkey, indeed. He's just happy to be able to say he's rode a helicopter before. It was impressive stuff for him to hang on for the ride as long as he did. Honestly, to simply call that a "ride" doesn't do it justice. That took strength, courage, mental fortitude, a strong back & core, excellent grip strength. Some might say it's more impressive than traveling to the edge of the Earth's atmosphere. Some might say significantly more impressive.