In the spring of 2020, as the world retreated into “safe bubbles”, giant soapy orbs rose above the American Legion Post 199 pier on Mobile Bay in Fairhope, Alabama.

People were drawn to the bubbles like kids to an ice cream truck.

Turns out, it was one man’s mission to spread joy to this town on the bay. One humongous bubble at a time. Who is this “Bubble Guy”?

Meet Vories Pittman. “You can call me Big V,” he says.

Big V is a tall man with a gentle, soulful presence. A stubby cigar hangs from his wide smile. He was raised in Daphne, moved to Mississippi as an adult and was drawn back home to the water in 2011 “to watch sunsets and sunrises.” He landed in a 1921 Fairhope cottage near the bay.

After moving back to Alabama, he became closer to his 6-foot-5 little brother – one of his 10 siblings. His brother developed a formula which created giant bubbles that reflected vivid rainbow colors. V watched in awe as his brother’s wife circled the front yard, walking backwards, waving her wand back and forth while moving in what looked like “Tai Chi in slow motion,” surrounded by beautiful monster bubbles.

“These creatures can be 10 to 20 feet long and 4 to 7 feet tall,” V said. “I was mesmerized.” His inner child was inspired.

Over several months, V perfected his own version of the solution. He spent early mornings alone at the American Legion Post 199 beach, practicing and learning. “And boy did I learn,” he grins.

“Wind, humidity, barometric pressure, water and temperature all affect how my floating toys react,” he says. “Bouncing off the water, joining other bubbles then swirling and morphing into amazing forms.” Big V was beginning to understand his new-found power.

“I had learned the art of bubble Zen,” he says.

Big V is still a bit self-conscious about his talent. “I spent most of my life around soldiers and weapon systems,” said the Army veteran. “Making giant bubbles didn’t seem manly enough for a guy like me. But I have always been young at heart. As I get older, I get younger,” he says with a twinkle. “I guess my time has come.”

“After I got the formula and bubbling techniques somewhat in control, I branched out a little. My mother, who passed in 1986, smiles upon me each time a small child cackles with delight while chasing and popping bubbles.”

2020 delivered punches to the gut: COVID, George Floyd protests, racial strife. A tense election. Hurricane Sally turned Fairhope into a war zone. The iconic American Legion Post 199 building on the bay was hit hard and is still shut down for repairs.

The Big V Bubble Show was ready for prime time.

Big V took his 6 a.m. ritual down to the American Legion pier just before sunset, a popular spot for watching The Creator’s evening performance. It was pretty much the only show in town you could watch with open air social distancing.

Typically, Big V walks onto the pier, determines the strength of the wind at different distances from the beach, and sets up his 3-gallon bucket with a couple of wands. “A calm breeze is ideal for big bubbles that float long and far,” he says. “A strong breeze often causes smaller bubbles or pops them too soon.”

“I find the wind like a sailor, letting it determine the direction of travel.”

He was a bit uncomfortable bubbling in front of a crowd. “But then I noticed guys my age sitting at the American Legion Tiki Hut betting on which bubble would float the longest before it popped,” he says. “They often thank me for the entertainment.”

“People saw these huge bubbles while on their walks and be drawn in for a closer look. We would talk, they would take pictures while ooh-ing and ahh-ing. It made them happy,” he said. “And that made me happy.”

“Bubbles can change your life,” V says. “At least for a little while.”

Big V told the story of a young family with two small children. It was a calm and peaceful day, and they were the only ones on the beach. He angled himself with the wind at his back and conjured a super bubble the size of a Volkswagen that drifted, rolled and swirled towards the family.

“Look, dad! A giant bubble!” The kids came running down the pier. Big V gave them wands and turned them loose. “The little boy, about 7, made easy work of it, giggling and having the best time,” beams V. “Pure joy.”

Hurricane Zeta had run the family out of their home in New Orleans and they were staying in a nearby hotel, stressed and worried sick.

“As we were wrapping things up, the dad comes up to me and says, ‘Thank you so much. This is the first time we’ve laughed in weeks,’ he said. ‘It means more than you could ever know.’

“Perhaps retelling the story of making giant bubbles in Fairhope will remind them to smile and keep going,” said V.

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Find the Wind

One evening Big V was sunset bubbling on the pier and two ladies approached. One wanted to try her hand at making bubbles. V gave her basic instructions and handed her the wand.

“Put it up over your head and just find the wind,” said V. “Find the wind.”

“The result was a beautiful, long stream of bubbles,” said V, “and her friend captured the happy moment on video.”

A couple weeks later, V noticed the lady on the pier who had taken the video and he stopped to say hello.

The lady told him she sent the video via text message using his words to a longtime friend who was on her death bed. “Before she passed, my friend responded to the message,” she said.

Text message:

(Lady on the pier): Find the wind, my friend.

(Dying friend): Find the wind. I’m ready to fly free. With an attitude of gratitude love is the only emotion we can know. Days are becoming harder and harder; my energy is dwindling. Sleep is more and more attractive. I feel as though I am half in this universe and half in the next universe… the great Mystery beyond. I’m ok to let go, I’m very close.

Bubbles and Fire

One of the people drawn to the bubbles was Dunn Hester. If Big V is the Bubble Guy, Dunn has become the Bubble Shooter. I recently sat down with Big V and Dunn to discuss their creative bubbleship.

“During COVID, I loved walking my dog and taking sunset pictures down by the bay at the American Legion,” said Dunn. “One evening I saw this ginormous bubble floating by and was like, ‘Wow, that’s so cool!”

She walked towards the bubble and saw a man on the pier with a wand and bucket. Bubbles were pouring from his wand as he moved around the pier. “The colors were so vivid!” she said. She took a bunch of photos with her iPhone.

“I sent you some photos,” Dunn says to V, “remember?”

“I had never seen a picture of the bubbles. I didn’t know all that was going on until I saw your photos,” he said. “That’s what you gave me.”

“Different light conditions,” Dunn starts, “It doesn’t have to be a sunset. It can be the darkest gray” – V jumps in – “if there are gray clouds and no sun” – Dunn and V each finish the thought – “the bubbles are blue and absolutely gorgeous!”

“Once Dunn started taking pictures and I got to see them, that changed things,” V said. “She started bossing me around a lot.”

They both laugh.

“I did make him wade out into the bay one time for a reflection shot of the circle of fire … keep going, no, keep going …” Dunn says. “I call him my stunt man!”

“When these massive, beautiful bubbles are encompassing you, a sense of calm just comes over you and you get lost in them.” says Dunn. “It’s a natural antidepressant. They make me so happy.”

“Nothing matters but the bubbles,” V says. “If you just buried somebody, had a fight or are in a bad spot, you forget all that. Nothing matters, it’s just you and the bubbles. If you can do that for 5, 10 or 20 minutes, that’s huge. People pay big money for that!”

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It’s hard to be in a bad mood around bubbles. But sometimes, V says he reminds folks: “People, you can’t cuss around bubbles. It makes them pop!”

Dunn was at a crossroads in her life and career in 2020. The bubbles inspired her to take a refresher photography class with Stephen Savage at the Eastern Shore Art Center. She now shoots with the Nikon DSLR camera she used as an art student in college. And she invested in new lenses and accessories. Her photography skills bloomed, big time.

“I got my juju back!”

A few months after their first collaboration, Big V and Dunn added the Circle of Fire at the end of the sunset bubble show.

“He’d spin fiery steel wool at the water’s edge and I’d play around with capturing it at different shutter speeds,” says Dunn. Lots of spectators gathered to enjoy the shows.

Big V has worked his Bubbles and Fire magic for a wedding and a few memorial services on the American Legion beach.

“The Bubbles changed my life.” Dunn says. “I found my passion in photography again because of this random bubble experience. And I made a life-long friend.”

Before we parted ways, Big V reminisced about a perfect bubbling day.

“It was late spring on Dauphin Island last year,” V says. “Everything was perfect. 100% humidity. A tiny breeze going flat on the bay side. The bubbles went so far, I never saw them pop. There were hundreds of them, literally, no exaggeration. They floated until they were completely out of sight. It was enchanting.”

For all we know, they’re still floating.

When the wind is just right, you can hear a flock of cackling kids chasing after those Zen bubbles.

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JD Crowe is the cartoonist for Alabama Media Group and AL.com. He won the RFK Human Rights Award for Editorial Cartoons in 2020. In 2018, he was awarded the Rex Babin Memorial Award for local and state cartoons by the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Follow JD on Facebook, Twitter @Crowejam and Instagram @JDCrowepix.