You know what’s crazy? I’ll tell you what’s crazy!
Like you, I watched this insanity unfold. Close up shots of a Mylar balloon dipping and dancing on the peregrine wind currents of Colorado.
The breathless announcers on CNN and FOX NEWS kept wondering if there was a six year old boy inside the balloon.
With little attribution and even less facts, the networks went wall to wall with “hard-to-turn-away” coverage of the incident.
Questions were thicker than mold on two day old gym clothes. Would the little boy live? Would he die? Was the 6-year-old cold? could he even breathe?
It was live drama beamed to the world, and the world stopped to watch. Office production dropped as workers four and five deep gathered around monitors.
The shiny aluminum flying device soared against an enigmatic blue sky.
By now, you know the story ;the kid was in the attic and the family is reality tv crazy. The sheriff now confirms the story was full of holes and the family lied their asses off to try and land a tv deal.
SAD
Forcing children to be complicit in a hoax. It’s disgusting.
Like you, I invested my time and some prayers Thursday afternoon. I was upset thinking about a six year old in a balloon. I thought of my own children trapped inside this insane device.
Helpless and crying and freezing and perhaps running out of oxygen at 7,000 feet.
I was anxious when the balloon landed, praying that the little boy would be rescued. It was pure drama as the authorities rushed through the field to the balloon.
Within a minute it was clear, the boy was not there. I was relieved, but still upset. Where was the child? With no more facts than the visual on the screen, the anchors continued conjecturing, that the boy fell out of the balloon.
Oh my God, not that!
Within hours we learned the cute kid was in the attic. When asked why he hid, he told the gathered throng of cameras he was afraid that his dad would spank him for letting the weather balloon go.
I was relieved. So were you.
Now I’m angry. It’s wrong. The dad seems to put his children in harm’s way to go chase F4 tornadoes. He seems abusive on Wife Swap throwing things at the other woman and screaming profanities. He claims to be a science wiz, but the sheriff says he only completed High School.
So much of this story didn’t add up. Why would you call a TV station before calling 911. Why did the kid throw up every time he was questioned about where he was? Why did he tell Larry King, “it was all part of the show.”
Now the sheriff says it was all a publicity stunt. Charges are possible and who knows how much the family will be billed for the rescue attempts. An airport was shut down! Flights were diverted? Choppers were scrambled. It is a colossal amount of money.
If the boy was in the balloon and it was all real, then who cares about the price. That’s what America does, it throws the kitchen sink at the problem, especially to save a kid. Nobody asks about the cost, only the results.
But now, that we know it was a hoax, the parents are looking at serious charges, and the DCS is involved to check on the families welfare. It is a sad commentary on needing to find fame and fortune and at what price?
It’s so sad, it’s crazy.