Faux Balloon Boy Mess Seems . . . Um, Odd, Doesn't It?

Once the world learned yesterday that the 6-year-old Colorado boy, Falcon Heene, was NOT inside that homemade helium balloon which flew 50 miles away from his home and crashed into a field, that the kid was safe hiding in his attic, everyone breathed a sigh of relief . . . after all the cable networks went wall-to-wall with live coverage of the runaway balloon after which the U.S. military sent a Black Hawk helicopter and other aircraft, and for which the FAA grounded take-offs in the area. The child's older brother had told authorities that he thought his younger brother was on board the balloon.

Then we started learning other things about the family, which apparently spends spare time chasing storms and inventing things. Videos of them on the reality show Wife Swap surfaced, as did a "rap video" the three young Heene boys did.

Then it got even weirder.

They went on CNN last night and, when the boy was asked why he hid from his family, Falcon said, "We did this for a show." (The CNN clip is shown in the Today Show segment below.)

This morning, the Heene family did the circuit of morning talk shows. During NBC's Today Show, Falcon threw up. Did the family cut the interview short? Nope. The interview continued, thoug Meredith Vieira offered to take a break and return once the family had gathered itself together, much too late for my tastes. The Heene family also did another interview on ABC's Good Morning America even though their son was physically ill. Diane Sawyer had to suggest to the Heenes that perhaps one of them should go after the 6-year-old who ran away from the camera while puking. After his mother helped him in the bathroom -- vomiting clearly heard over the microphones -- the mom and Falcon RETURNED to sit in front of the camera. Here's the link to the Good Morning America interview.

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The Heene family also released a video of the moment when the balloon took off yesterday.

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Am I simply a jaded cynic to suggest that something just does not seem right here?

UPDATE: My Mommy Tracked column on this whole saga is now up on Mommy Tracked.