The Balloon Boy Hoax No Joking Matter

Move over Jon & Kate Gosselin there seems to be a new family in town. Let's meet Richard & Mayumi Heene and their three boys. By now everyone has heard of the amazing flying Falcon Heene. Most of us watched in horror as the families make shift silver spaceship seemingly launched by accident with Falcon on board. Mr Heene, terrified dialed 911 as soon as his youngest son tearfully told his dad that Falcon was aloft. An all out rescue effort ensued. Jets were launched, helicopters were in the air, news stations were camped out and we all held our breath and prayed for the young lads safety. After a long day and a heroic capture of the floating silver ship it was found to be empty. Imagine the surprise and consternation of all who valiantly sought to save this small boy from bodily harm. Did he fall out and the cameras just missed it? No, not likely with so many filming and working diligently from air and ground. Once CNN got ahold of the story and heard that the youngster was actually hiding in the garage attic it peaked Wolf Blitzers curiosity enough to interview the new celebrities.

Which, in point of fact were not so new after all to the bright lights. The Heene family had already been featured on the reality show, Wife Swap. The concept of that show is a bit odd. Wives get swapped out and have to follow the original wife's family rules for a week. On week two the new wife institutes her own rules. What happens to the children on this reality show is pretty sad. These little kids and sometimes not so little kids have their whole life upended. They have to deal with a new woman taking away their favorite hobbies, activities and often food. Most of the women featured on this show are way out there. In most cases the kids end up crying and so do the adults. It is something I would never put my children through. Does the mental health of anyones children matter anymore? It would seem it depends on how much money the parents can make. The Gosselin's succumbed to the glitz, glamor, and gold of Hollywood and their family is now in ruins.

To a lesser extent, the Heene's have also become a poster family for "mothers against going Hollywood", if such a group existed. I think someone should start one up. The problem with the Heene's is how fast they crashed and burned. All it took was a silver flying ship that resembled the genies hat in Aladdin. Once that came down the whole family did too. When Wolf Blitzer of CNN asked young Falcon why he hid away so long his answer was unmistakably clear to everyone. He answered, "we did this for the show". Double take time and two seconds of head scratching was all it took for the public to know what this little boy meant. We all were the marks in this balloon hoax. This little scheme is no slap on the wrist matter either. We all remember the runaway bride. People cannot just falsely employ the police, firefighters, government aircraft or even our news stations both locally and nationally to try and turn a buck. That's not fair to the parents that have real missing children. It's not fair to the children that I see on the poster every time I walk into my Walmart of children that are gone. Children that are ripped from a family and mourned each and everyday. These families must be irate when hoaxes like this occur. I'm irate that for a short time relived the same feelings I had for little Jessica McClure who was stuck in a well for over two days. I was so happy when she was rescued. The rescue workers lives had forever been changed when that baby was taken out alive.

The Heene's second grasp at the brass ring leaves them with more than just empty hands. These people now face prosecution for filing false reports and more. The worse case legal scenario could be six years in prison and a $500,000 fine. What is the worse case emotional scenario for the three Heene boys? They were taught by their parents that it is okay to lie and cheat if you get a payout from it. If one or both parents go to prison they get to feel guilty that they helped put them there. They get to go to school now and get laughed at by the other kids. They learn what it is like to be infamous rather than famous. Jon Gosselin now falls in the infamous category. Kate Gosselin retains a bit more of the famous aspect of their reality nightmare but the jury is still out. The Gosselin children who have become pawns in a messy divorce will pay a huge emotional price. Maybe no one goes to jail in their situation but their lives are still shattered.

We all like to take part in family birthday parties. It's fun to honor someone and celebrate their life with a cake and balloons. The last Gosselin birthday party that we saw on their now defunct TLC show known as Jon & Kate Plus 8 was actually painful to watch. They had the cake and the balloons but there was no life in the party. The Heene's balloon had no life in it either it turns out. The families, Gosselin and Heene self destruction was about as fun to watch as a runaway helium balloon. It's startling as it goes flying around the room like a projectile on speed until it hits a wall and slowly slides down to lay amongst the cast off wrapping paper and confetti at the end of the party. Everyone ends up exhausted and deflated themselves especially the children.