Balloon boy a hoax

We should have known.
The Heene family succeeded in convincing millions that their little 6-year-old boy, Falcon, had been lifted thousands of feet in the air inside a helium-filled balloon.
It was all fake. The parents, Richard and Mayumi, were trying to score a reality television show about their family because the couple has an unusual career — they are stormchasers.
There was some speculation as to exactly how credible this situation was, but with something like this where a child could be in danger, it’s difficult not to believe something until it is proven otherwise.
The boy let the cat out of the bag when he said, “You guys said we did this for the show,” on “Larry King Live.”
At first, people wanted to ground that kid until his prom because he was found hiding in the attic the whole time and not actually in the airborn balloon. But now, people are wondering about the parents. Who does that to their kid? And what message is that sending to Americans? That if you have a good enough hoax you can get your 15 minutes of fame?
The sad thing is, after this couple used their child to further their own incomes and the world knows it was fake, they will probably still receive some sort of compensation for their story.  Some Web site, blog or sensationalized magazine is going to buy their story for publication. How sad.
Who knows — maybe the Heenes were only trying to provide for their family. Perhaps they really needed the money to survive. We don’t know. But we do know there was probably a better way to go about it.

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