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by Mark Silva
It was "absolutely not'' a hoax, the father of "balloon boy'' maintains.
Just something they "do as a family," building a backyard helium-filled, mylar balloon in the shape of a flying saucer, chasing tornadoes with videocameras, appearing in the reality TV-show, Wife Swap, and then appearing together this morning on the Today show:
Where six-year-old Falcon Heene threw up.
While his father attempted to explain what the young boy who was found hiding in a cardboard box in the attic but was thought to have gone aloft with the runaway family balloon meant when he said last night on Larry King Live that "we did this for the show."
(See that comment below.)
The boy is six, his father explained this morning, and there was a lot of media around the house yesterday.
The boy also went off-camera to throw up when he was asked during another interview on ABC this morning why he was hiding "for a show'' -- "Mom, I feel like I'm going to vomit,'' the boy said, leaving the room with his mother.
For the record, dad is "ticked off'' about the hoax questions.
And he says he wasn't aware of the greatest chase on live cable TV since O.J. Simpson's white Bronco playing out yesterday as the world watched a runaway balloon.
"I don't even have cable,'' father Richard Heene told Today. "I had no idea what was going on... Our focus was Falcon.''
See a full recitation of the story and Today's interview:
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Comments
If these people aren't interested in the publicity, why do they keep doing these interviews?
Posted by: Karl | October 16, 2009 12:05 PM
If these people aren't interested in the publicity, why do they keep doing these interviews?
Posted by: Karl | October 16, 2009 12:05 PM
To make money?
Posted by: inky | October 16, 2009 12:52 PM
These parents rank right up there with Jon and Kate when it comes to parenting "skills". Why are they putting this child through all these interviews when he obviously can't take the stress of it all?
Posted by: Rebecca | October 16, 2009 1:04 PM
The kid is asked what he meant about "doing it for the show," and he throws up. What does that tell you about what happened to him after the CNN interview? A kid wouldn't act like that except under extreme duress.
Posted by: amr71 | October 16, 2009 1:21 PM
Don't woory kid. The 'Today' show makes me want to barf too.
Posted by: KJ | October 16, 2009 2:10 PM
CNN fell for the hoax--as you might expect.
And it wasn't even a very clever hoax.
Is there a reason to trust ANYTHING the dopey media says?
Posted by: Bruce | October 16, 2009 2:16 PM
This is clearly psart of ACORN's master plan to destroy America. That balloon was a secret prototype of the ballons that ACORN is going to use to spy on right thinking Americans, the real Americans, as they prepare to take over our government and turn it into a marxist socialist Nazi hell hole. The child was supposed to ride the balloon to prove that they could be used to transport the Secret Negro Ninja Army that Glenn Beck has warned us about.
Be afraid! Watch the Skies!
Posted by: This is all ACORN's fault | October 16, 2009 2:26 PM
An interview with the flying saucer would have been much more interesting.
Posted by: oh dear. | October 16, 2009 2:32 PM
Posted by: Bruce | October 16, 2009 2:16 PM
I bet the Ultra-patriotic Real Journalists over at Fox didn't fall for it, did they Bruce? I bet they called it a hoax from the very beginning and refused to cover it at all, unll;ike the left wing partisans over at CNN.
Posted by: Brice | October 16, 2009 3:00 PM
I am glad the boy is O.K. but I hope it was not a publicity stunt.
Posted by: Amy | October 16, 2009 3:34 PM
What does this have to do with Washington or Washington politics?
Posted by: kg123 | October 16, 2009 4:49 PM
This story is truly crazy to me.
Posted by: Chrystal K. | October 16, 2009 5:42 PM
These people are compulsive attention junkies.
They need to stop.
They are hurting their kids.
This is what 'reality TV' America has become, and they want to be on the G or H 'celebrity list' of notables.
Posted by: C.Morris | October 16, 2009 6:31 PM
Posted by: This is all ACORN's fault | October 16, 2009 2:26 PM
Finally someone with the guts to tell the tale! Oh these Obamaites are crafty! If that 'balloon' is ever weaponized it's the end of America!
Now, get all these hotties, flappers, Lindy hoppers, jitter-buggers and the like to the nunnery! Then we'll have something boys!
Posted by: T. Herman Zweibel | October 16, 2009 6:38 PM
Bruce,
You need to start watching PBS's News Hour.
They didn't even report it. They knew the intrinsic worthlessness of the story.
Ditto NPR.
Posted by: TheReamer | October 16, 2009 6:47 PM
God, This is All, keep that under your hat.
This was going to be ACORN's answer to Elian Gonzalez.
You remember, the Cuban boy the dolphins wafted to safety, but then the wicked Janet Reno and her INS goons dragged from the arms of her CubanoAmericano aunt before she could cash in on the wunderkind...
Anyway, this was going to be ACORN's Wonder Child.
He was supposed to drop leaflets all over Kansas.
Ordering them to convert to Islam or else.
But the evil Acorn plan was foiled.
And Balloon Boy went back to his father and lived happily ever after.
Posted by: ornery | October 16, 2009 6:56 PM
it's hard to believe that so many people believed that a 6 year old kid was still inside of this deflated balloon, even right at the end when it was barely keeping it's own weight afloat
Posted by: Sam Kaufman | October 17, 2009 2:38 AM
I want to know if these people are related to the Palins. That poor kid is named Falcon? Putting him into the balloon was to show he could fly???
Posted by: lochnessmonster | October 17, 2009 7:37 AM
Everything wrong with America is on display in this family.
Stupidity, ignorance, compulsive narcissism, cruelty disguised as caring.
This is why America is failing the test of history.
Posted by: They Might Be Mimes! | October 17, 2009 8:42 PM
'When they say it ain't a hoax, it's a hoax.'
Posted by: BS Mencken | October 17, 2009 8:45 PM
these are not good parents. Why would he force his son to lie. His child knows it is wrong, that's why he is sick. SAD
Posted by: bmorris | October 18, 2009 2:12 PM
Just a family planned fake and stupid show. Nothing serious about it.
Posted by: Comcast Cable Deals | October 19, 2009 10:02 AM
It was an hilarious story
Posted by: Comcast Deals | May 17, 2010 11:07 AM
Good to know that nothing happened to the boy.
Posted by: Tax Attorney | May 23, 2010 2:04 PM
It's amazing what people will do for publicity. I know this story had all the tv networks and internet sites ablaze.
Posted by: Connie Munoz | July 20, 2010 4:38 PM