Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 10/22/09 Section: Opinion

A homemade balloon lifted into the air, unintentionally carrying a 6-year-old passenger.

While the boy hovered helplessly in the sky, the world stopped to express its compassion and worry for the family.

It's a shame that all those prayers were wasted on a hoax.

Turns out the Colorado boy, Falcon Heene, was hiding in the garage attic the entire time, according to his parents. They said he had fallen asleep up there during the time he was missing.

Anyone smell something fishy?

The boy was interviewed by CNN reporters on Oct. 15, and I'm sure everyone watching was shocked to hear him say, "You guys said we did this for the show."

He was referring to part of his father's master plan to get himself on another reality T.V. series - he was on "Wife Swap," twice.

Richard Heene, father of the boy and inventor of the UFO shaped balloon, is desperately trying to make a quick buck, and one man who worked with him told tales of Mr. Heene's heinous plans.

Researcher Robert Thomas spent months with the Heene family working on a pitch for a science reality TV show with Heene.

He wrote a detailed story on the Gawker Web site titled, "Exclusive: I Helped Richard Heene Plan a Balloon Hoax."

Both men built the balloon with the hopes that it would become a famous UFO, comparable to the Roswell incident in 1947, which would give them media attention that would no doubt give them a name in reality TV.

This was mainly Heene's idea and Thomas was promised a partnership on the show once it skyrocketed.

Looks like someone flew over the cuckoo's nest.

Obviously, the media has given more than 15 minutes of fame to the family. I just hope no television network falls for his stunt, because that's exactly what he wants.

It would also show that a surefire way to reach stardom is to exploit your children, and that's just wrong.

Well, one thing is for sure.

To have one of his children involved creates more media hype, so it doesn't surprise me that the Heene family will go down in history as another looney family - not that its crazy antics shown in its "Wife Swap" episodes told otherwise.

Heene was featured on "Wife Swap" because he is a scientist who chases storms. He brings his family along for the ride.

The family is as normal as the Griffins on "Family Guy" - minus the humor.

Although the parents haven't been charged with anything, it's going to take a lot more than just a "kids will be kids" answer to satisfy the people who were cajoled by Heene's crazy antics.

But there's more to this than just an annoying itch.

Plenty of taxpayers' money was spent on this family. The search and rescue money spent will not be charged to the family, but there is an investigation happening to determine if the parents should be charged.

They damn right should be charged.

If not for creating a media hoax for their benefit, then for wasting taxpayers' money on a story blown out of proportion.

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