Pre-Ramble:  I promised myself that I would not, under any circumstances, write about the “balloon boy” incident.  That saga, while for a few fleeting moments had all the makings of fantastical folklore, quickly degenerated into a series of fraudulent, pathetic missteps.  The nanosecond the words “wife swap” came up in the back story, this scenario clicked into a whole different category. 

The thing is, while it is easy to dismiss the balloon boy incident as a lot of worthless hot air, it becomes more than a foolish attention-getting ploy when you consider its impact on the three young boys who were involuntarily drawn into the deception.

This is not your delightful, Little House on the Prairie, home-school environment where children thrive on first-hand experience grown out of curiosity and freedom. Young Falcon was not indulging a keen interest in meteorology or passion for flight.  This isn’t a couple of folks getting carried away with a silly idea either. This is something else.  This is two pathetic people who put their kids “out there” and at risk in a desperate and pitiful play for attention, fame, riches, whatever.  These are parents who are seriously, and in this case I believe criminally, misguided. 

The Take-Away:  As I indicated at the start, I am not going to dignify this incident with any discussion, except to express my deep dismay and concern over the plight of the three children who have been subjected to the incorrigible charade. Even with two feet on the ground, it is clear that little Falcon lives in as much danger every day as he would have experienced aimlessly drifting thousands of feet up inside a weather balloon.

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