Is Falcon Heene, aka Balloon Boy, still Balloon Boy if he was never in the balloon in the first place?
Richard Heene, storm chaser extraordinaire, and the rest of his family had quite a scare yesterday when six-year-old Falcon was thought to have taken a trip in his father’s weather balloon invention. The eldest of the Heene children told his parents that Falcon had climbed inside upon lift-off and was now flying many, many feet up in the air, experiencing his own adventure.
The two hour chase on land and air proved successful as a bout of cold air pushed the helium out of the balloon, settling the jiffy-puff shaped apparatus on the soft, tiled grown in the Heene’s home state of Colorado. Rescue workers used shovels to open the balloon, piling dirt upon it to keep it steady on the ground. When opened, the balloon revealed no little boy, just an empty compartment.
Both relief and shock set in: did little Falcon fall out on his trip?
The answer is no. Falcon had been hiding in a box. Inside his family’s attic. The ENTIRE time.
“I played with my toys and took a nap,” Falcon told reporters outside his home yesterday afternoon. Apparently, the six-year-old had been afraid of his father, who had scolded him earlier. He came down three hours later of his own accord to hugs and tears from his mother, who was unaware of his hiding spot.
“He says he was hiding in the attic,” Richard Heene said Thursday to reporters, gripping his son for dear life. “He says it’s because I yelled at him. I’m sorry I yelled at him.”
Well, you should be, Mr. Heene...but was it all a stunt? Was Falcon Heene part of an elaborate hoax?
Falcon Heene made an interesting comment to Larry King live the other night about the whole thing “being for the show”. The family had been on the show “Wife Swap” twice and had supposedly enjoyed the limelight.
His father took it offensively and went on “The Today Show” early this morning to discuss his feelings with Meredith Viera.
“I’m starting to get a little ticked off,” Heene told Vieira in reference to the alleged stunt. “I’m repetitively getting asked this. What do I have to gain out of this? I’m not selling anything. I’m not advertising anything. My family and I, we do this all the time.”
Someone doth protest too much?
“The Today Show” shot the Heene Family interview around 7 this morning, which is about 5 a.m. in Colorado. Those kids were falling asleep as their father answered interview questions; he even continued the interview after Falcon Heene vomited on national television. The sounds of his gagging can be heard in the background as Richard answers questions from Vieira.
In any case, this is just another example of the media blowing things far out of proportion and of parents being unable to take care of their children properly. Had either Heene parent kept a close eye, there would be no Jiffy Pop Balloon Chase or media attention.
But there still might be vomiting. Especially once you’ve seen this:
