Balloon Fun

Over the last few days, I'm sure you have heard something about the "Balloon Boy", or something about the story. (CNN Thursday Denver Post Saturday) To abbreviate, on Thursday, in Fort Collins, Colorado, a weather balloon of sorts took off from the Heene home, and traveled sixty miles. During the flight, the family called the police in fear that a son, Falcon, was in the balloon. After police chased the balloon for hours, it landed, and the boy was nowhere to be found other than in the Heene attic. He said that he was hiding there because his dad yelled at him, and that it was "for the show". Now, police are looking to file charges on Richard Heene, and there is much speculation that the whole fiasco was a publicity stunt. After all, the family has been on ABC's Wife Swap, and Richard has attempted to make several science based shows, similar to Bill Nye. The weather balloon was one of his experiments, but was only designed to lift twenty feet off the ground, but the rigging to hold it in place failed, releasing it, and the Heene family, to the world.

Today, the country sheriff, Jim Alderden confirmed that the event was a hoax, a publicity stunt to put the family in a better position to star in a reality show. CNN reports: "The parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, met in a Hollywood acting school and 'put on a very good show for us,' Alderden said. Authorities know there was 'a conspiracy' between them, he added." The speculation started on Larry King Live, when the boy said the statement about it being, "for the show", and now, it is for certain. The parents met in acting school, and this whole event was probably planned, staged out in a way that they thought would be good for their family. Unfortunately, it has turned out badly. Their front has been revealed, and now, one of them could be going to jail.

What would push someone to commit such an unbelievable act? To commit a fake for personal benefit? I can't believe that they take people like the Heenes take these things lightly. Being on TV is probably all they think about, something they devote huge amounts of time to. You can see from their history that it is something they have tried, and been moderately successful at. They did make it on Wife Swap, but not much else. Richard's feeble attempts at educational science failed miserably, possibly forcing them to drastic measures, just like other fakers of deaths and missing persons.



Remember this face? She is the infamous "Run Away Bride" Jennifer Wilbanks from a few years ago. The woman just didn't want to marry, so she ran away four days before the wedding. She then called the fiancé three days later to falsely claim that she had been kidnapped and assaulted by a Hispanic man. Well, that was a lie, and she also was charged. She could have received up to five years in jail for her little adventure, but instead got two years probation, 120 hours community service, and $2,250 to the sheriff's department.

Only a few minutes ago, I was reading about how the brains of teenagers are not developed enough to make rational decisions. This is because the frontal lobes don't completely mature until around age 25. I'm not an expert, but as an attempt to explain their behavior, maybe the frontal lobes of the Heenes and Jennifer Wilbanks never finished developing. Their decisions and actions were clearly irrational. Some people might even think that their actions were very unwise, and not worthy of the consequences. But who knows? People in today's world do many irrational things. They may not be as publicized or as drastic, but they're still simply against the "normal" thinking of what is acceptable.