Ten Thoughts on "Balloon Boy" - or - The Family Who Cried "Balloon!"

My hometown of Fort Collins had another 15 minutes of fame last week…

1) Does anyone else notice the irony? - a family stages a balloon HOAX in order to promote a proposed REALITY show. Makes you wonder about the credibility of those "reality" shows, eh?

2) The next time a child really does get into trouble like this (or my dog accidentally takes off in a radio-controlled airplane), people are immediately going to be less likely to believe it. This stunt has the potential to diminish future REAL rescue efforts.

3) One wonders what was going through the parents minds when the story went viral last week. "They've just shut down Denver International Airport to protect your boy!" --- "Phew – (Umm, I sure hope we don't get caught.)" I sincerely doubt that they expected the thing to go global - which it did. The BBC still has it as a top headline.

4) Think about it - they publicly exploited their own children in a scam to make money. That's despicable....and very sad.

5) No matter what happens, I'll bet "Wife Swap" sees an increase in their ratings (if it’s still on TV – I don’t even know). There's no such thing as bad publicity. Also sad.

6) I fully expect the typical media twist to occur. Pretty soon, people will start blaming the sheriff's department for their handling of the event, and will ignore the root cause - which is the Heene parents.

7) I can't help but feel that the media LOVED this, regardless of the truth. And this is, candidly, how most of the media operates these days. Truth is non-essential. It might even get in the way of a good story.

8) I've never watched "Wife Swap" before this, but I did a little research and found the Heene episode on YouTube. Sick. The only way to end this madness is to stop watching it. Cancel your cable. Use the money for a really nice family night once a month. Make a statement.

9) I'll bet the Fort Collins sheriff's department (and a few others around the country) change their policy to search the whole house next time something like this occurs. By the way, I admire my sheriff and his role in this whole episode.

10) This incident is a microcosm of the deception going on in so many people's lives. It's clear to me that this family needs Jesus. So I'm going to pray for them. Join with me.