KENNETH HART: Up, up and foul play 102509

Columns

Discussion

October 22, 2009

Anonymous The Daily Independent Thu Oct 22, 2009, 11:15 PM EDT

I’m beginning to think that the mental-health field is going to have a whole new subspecialty in the not-too-distant future.

It will be populated by psychologists and psychiatrists who do nothing but treat the emotional trauma inflicted on children by parents seeking fame and fortune via “reality” television.

Hey, the eight Gosselin kids alone would be enough to provide a decent foundation for some shrink’s practice, one would think.

Add the Heene kids to the mix and all of a sudden, the idea doesn’t sound far-fetched at all.

Not as far-fetched, at least, as the bill of goods the family tried to palm off on the American public a few days ago.

The Heenes, as you are no doubt aware by this point, are the Colorado family behind the infamous “balloon boy” saga in which 6-year-old Falcon Heene was believed to be trapped in a giant homemade helium balloon that had become untethered and flew to altitudes of up to 7,000 feet.

TV news cameras followed the mysterious, UFO-shaped object as it sailed more than 50 miles over three counties, eventually landing about 12 miles northeast of Denver International Airport.

When the youngster wasn’t found in the balloon, emergency workers feared he’d fallen out. A search was conducted, but later that day, it was learned the kid had been hiding in his family’s garage the entire time.

Suspicion that the entire incident was a put-up job engineered by Falcon’s dad, Richard Heene, began to grow when, during an appearance on CNN’s “Larry King Live,” the boy said to his father: “You guys said that, um, we did this for the show.”

The following day on the morning network shows, Falcon vomited when asked about his comment, and again when his father was questioned about it.

In the minds of many, that no doubt sealed the deal right there.

A couple of days later, Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden announced that authorities had determined the entire incident had been a hoax, apparently concocted by Richard Heene and his wife, Mayumi, so they could better market themselves for a reality TV show.

The whole thing would be funny if it weren’t so utterly monstrous.

Think about what an awful choice this kid was facing — let his parents down or go before the TV cameras and tell a story he knew to be a massive lie.

Faced with such pressure, Falcon reacted in a way most normal 6-year-olds would — he tossed his cookies.

And the entire country was there to watch. Lovely.

Think, too, about the emotions of all those who were involved in the search for Falcon, and how they must’ve felt when they found out they’d been had.

As of this writing, charges against the Heene parents — storm chasers and UFO hunters who’d previously been featured on ABC’s “Wife Swap” and reportedly had a development deal for a TV show in the works — had not been announced.

One would certainly hope they’ll be prosecuted for child abuse, among other crimes.

And, that part of their sentence will be that they are forever banned from appearing on TV for any reason.

Text Only

Columns

Carrie Stambaugh: Memories of years spent at the pool: 5/25/12
The official start to the summer is upon us. As a kid, this weekend was the most anticipated of the year.

May 25, 2012
Mark Maynard: Smelling your way to stories: 5/24/12
We do what we can to sell newspapers these days.

May 24, 2012
JOHN CANNON: Playing with Peepaw can be fun
When my youngest granddaughter, who will turn 3 in September, walked into the family room and asked Peepaw to take her to the “chicken place,” this old man knew immediately what she wanted. And I was eager to grant her request.

May 23, 2012
TIM PRESTON: Leftovers, small biz winners, pet spa
Tim Preston's weekly business column.

May 22, 2012
Cathie Shaffer: The search goes on: 5/22/12
Forget the calendar. As we all know, the long Memorial Day weekend signals the beginning of summer. Pools open, campers come out for the first time since fall and kids beg to put on their swimsuits and run through sprinklers.

May 22, 2012
Fond memories of 6 rooms and a path
Two country music performers, Bobby Bare and Billy Edd Wheeler, made lots of money several years ago with a cute little song about outhouses.

May 21, 2012
Lee Ward — 05/20/2012: Hey, up here: Thinking about parenting guidelines
Time magazine recently published a story about extreme parenting.

May 20, 2012
RONNIE ELLIS: Tea party influence still felt
Weekly political column from Ronnie Ellis in Frankfort.

May 18, 2012
Carrie Stambaugh: Help for those who serve just up the road: 5/18/12
A couple of weeks ago, I received a phone call from a local veteran who served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.

May 18, 2012
MARK MAYNARD: Grandchild can get Corky out of the pool
It takes a lot to get Corky Haberek out of the pool. You see, the pool is his sanctuary, the place where he goes to relax and compete.

May 17, 2012
More Columns Headlines

Columns

Search Results

Discussion

KENNETH HART: Up, up and foul play 102509

Site Map

Contact Us