Are you guys watching this?

[LibraryLover]

Some please tell me they don't homeschool. I hate it when people give us a bad rep.

 

 

They don't hs.

 

But I am thinking they send their kids to school for the free babysitting.

 

That guy reminds me of someone I know who is bipolar.

Edited October 16, 2009 by LibraryLover

[mom2agang]

That guy needs help after I watched that wife swap. I am thankful they don't homeschool.

[Georgiana Daniels]

That guy is OUT OF CONTROL. I'd hate to falsely accuse, but after seeing the YouTube clip nothing would surprise me.

[Tidbits of Learning]

I watched the link with the little boy telling that they said it was for a show. He seemed totally little boy innocent and honest. The first thing the Dad said was, "Man" in a kind of oops what do I say now voice.

It does seem like it was planned. I have never seen their wife swaps or the music video or did I see any footage during the ordeal. I only read articles online.

So just from watching this one clip. It seems that the boy is telling the truth and the Dad is trying to spin it. The Dad's body language is odd after the little boy says it.

[Pajama Mama]

I'm not normally suspicious but after the "for the show" comment, I wonder. I saw the family on a clip this morning(I'll link it) The little boy was very, very sleepy and then threw up. My first thought was that they gave him something to keep him sleepy and quiet. That is such a horrible thought. I hate that my mind thinks that way. I really hope that this family didn't fake all of this. Fame is seriously not important.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33342538#33341104

[TravelingChris]

Yes, I saw it this morning too. I was aghast. Since they had a contained for the vomit, they must have been thinking it would happen. WHo would take their child who is nauseaus and about to vomit on national tv and not have him lay down or rest near a bathroom or something like that? How horribly unpleasant for the child.

 

They were tired since they wer being filmed at approximately 5 am in the morning in the tv studio. What time did those poor kids have to get up after being on Larry King last night? This family needs help.

[LibraryLover]

I'm not normally suspicious but after the "for the show" comment, I wonder. I saw the family on a clip this morning(I'll link it) The little boy was very, very sleepy and then threw up. My first thought was that they gave him something to keep him sleepy and quiet. That is such a horrible thought. I hate that my mind thinks that way. I really hope that this family didn't fake all of this. Fame is seriously not important.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33342538#33341104

 

 

Woah.

[jojomojo]

I read that both parents used to live in CA aspiring to be actors, met in acting school.

 

I get the feeling they are after their own reality show, like Jon & Kate. Except, their oddity is storm chasing and science experiments.

 

It would certainly explain the "show" comment from the little boy.

 

I feel so bad for the kids :(

[Tidbits of Learning]

All I can say is Wow! I just searched Henne on utube and it was very eye opening. The interview with the Today Show was eye opening also. Even without cable, he would have had to have known it had went beyond their little corner of the earth in coverage.

I don't know what is the truth, but I don't think it is all out yet.

[MommyRyan]

I read that both parents used to live in CA aspiring to be actors, met in acting school.

 

I get the feeling they are after their own reality show, like Jon & Kate. Except, their oddity is storm chasing and science experiments.

 

It would certainly explain the "show" comment from the little boy.

 

I feel so bad for the kids :(

 

I never even thought of the whole "angling for a reality show" aspect of this. I just assumed it was for their 15 minutes. Wow. I bet it's true.

[FeFe]

They were tired since they wer being filmed at approximately 5 am in the morning in the tv studio. What time did those poor kids have to get up after being on Larry King last night? This family needs help.

 

They were on Larry King last night? Wow, I can't imagine going through that kind of roller coaster emotion - everything turn out okay and then go on a show that very night. I think I'd be at home cherishing every moment. Actually, I know I would because I've been through having a child go missing (lost in the woods with a friend) and had fire rescue, police, neighbors, helicopter and search dogs looking for them. If someone had said, glad he's home safe wanna be on my show in a couple of hours...umm, no let us get over this and we'll call you.

 

Strange and very disturbing!

[AuntieM]

They were on Larry King last night? Wow, I can't imagine going through that kind of roller coaster emotion - everything turn out okay and then go on a show that very night. I think I'd be at home cherishing every moment. Actually, I know I would because I've been through having a child go missing (lost in the woods with a friend) and had fire rescue, police, neighbors, helicopter and search dogs looking for them. If someone had said, glad he's home safe wanna be on my show in a couple of hours...umm, no let us get over this and we'll call you.

 

Strange and very disturbing!

 

I am also surprised that they are running such an intense media gamut without waiting a day or two. Something's rotten in Denmark, I say...

[GnomeyNewt]

From one of the articles I read, they were on one on of those Wife Swap shows? So possibly they are used to the attention and going on Larry King was just an extension of their past media life? I'm with most of you in wanting to just be home and hugging the living lights out of my kids after going through something like that. I might also possibly pass out from exhaustion.

[Stacie]

Has anyone heard exactly what this family does for a living? I've seen the storm chasing, Wife Swap, YouTube video, actor wannabes, and balloon building stuff but I haven't heard anything they do for a living. Is that it or do they have "regular," jobs as well?

[fshinkevich]

Has anyone heard exactly what this family does for a living? I've seen the storm chasing, Wife Swap, YouTube video, actor wannabes, and balloon building stuff but I haven't heard anything they do for a living. Is that it or do they have "regular," jobs as well?

 

I think the father is a meteorologist, not sure about the mom. TMZ is reporting that they have been pitching a reality show idea to all the networks including TLC. So very possible this was all in the hopes of getting picked.

[Mrs Mungo]

Has anyone heard exactly what this family does for a living? I've seen the storm chasing, Wife Swap, YouTube video, actor wannabes, and balloon building stuff but I haven't heard anything they do for a living. Is that it or do they have "regular," jobs as well?

 

According to this news story:

In a 2007 interview with The Denver Post, Richard Heene, a construction contractor and amateur weather researcher and author, and his partner in The Science Detectives, Scott Stevens, said they hoped to rewrite the book on meteorology.

[elizabeth]

They don't hs.

 

But I am thinking they send their kids to school for the free babysitting.

 

That guy reminds me of someone I know who is bipolar.

As usual you called it . Perhaps a smidgen of personality disorder along the lines of http://www.narcissism101.com/....The wife is a certainly typical in her cowering posture and obvious pandering to his "moods." I hope CPS gets involved as it is obvious that there is something amiss beyond the recent episode with the balloon.

[swellmomma]

They are so eager for thier flipping tv time they can't be bothered to take care of that little boy when he is sick. :cursing: Take that little one out of the media eye, rock him and tuck him in bed. He is clearly not well to be forced to sit through that interview and then to simply give him a container to vomit and not rush to take him out of the room where he would be more comfortable just makes my blood boil. This pfamily needs to be investigated for sure. Between what was seen on wife swap, youtube, this hoax, and now worrying more about their 15 minutes of fame than about their ill child (and the other little ones who were clearly tired too), something is not right in that home.

[texascamps]

Though these folks may be vulgar, eccentric, and enjoy the media, and many of us wouldn't invite them into our homes....I don't think this was a hoax.

 

 

They stand to gain nothing from this.

 

They just aren't the Duggars.....so our first instinct is to condemn them.

 

My opinion.

 

 

( I love the Duggars)

[Cindyg]

On the boy's youtube music video, they say something like...."We go to school to get an education. No homeschool it's (something I couldn't understand, but their body language indicated it would be the opposite of getting an education; and perhaps they said that word which was the name of the song and would rhyme there, but is not suitable for this board.)

 

Anyway, I thought they slammed homeschool.

 

Nonetheless, I would hate to have the entire nation judge me based on what my six year old might say into a camera.

 

When they interviewed him this morning, the dad said as they watched the balloon take off, he knew he had to call someone for help. But the interviewer didn't ask him whom he called. I'd really like to know. Did he call 911 or did he call someone in the news media or a publicist or an attorney or what? I think the answer to that would make a difference here.

 

Also, while the reporters questioned the 6YO, I didn't see anyone ask the 10YO whether he really thought he saw the boy get in the basket, or why he said that. The answer to that would make a difference.

 

And on the interview this morning, when Dad was asked if he was sorry he yelled at the 6YO for getting in the basket (reportedly, the reason the 6YO hid in the attic), the teary eyed dad said, "Yeah, I probably yell at him too much." Well that may be true, but it seems to me that it was perfectly appropriate to yell at him at that moment. I hope the dad doesn't take away from all this that his kids need more freedom and less parental restraint.

 

Also, I'd like to know if the attic was a place that the kids normally had access to. In our house, a 6YO could not get into the attic. Is this a place they play? And had the law enforcement/rescue people previously searched the attic or not?

 

Weird situation, to be sure.

 

Oh, and I read a fiction book just like this. Has anybody read Enduring Love by Ian McEwan?

Edited October 16, 2009 by Cindyg

[fshinkevich]

On the boy's youtube music video, they say something like...."We go to school to get an education. No homeschool it's (something I couldn't understand, but their body language indicated it would be the opposite of getting an education; and perhaps they said that word which was the name of the song and would rhyme there, but is not suitable for this board.)

 

Anyway, I thought they slammed homeschool.

 

Nonetheless, I would hate to have the entire nation judge me based on what my six year old might say into a camera.

 

When they interviewed him this morning, the dad said as they watched the balloon take off, he knew he had to call someone for help. But the interviewer didn't ask him whom he called. I'd really like to know. Did he call 911 or did he call someone in the news media or a publicist or an attorney or what? I think the answer to that would make a difference here.

 

Also, while the reporters questioned the 6YO, I didn't see anyone ask the 10YO whether he really thought he saw the boy get in the basket, or why he said that. The answer to that would make a difference.

 

And on the interview this morning, when Dad was asked if he was sorry he yelled at the 6YO for getting in the basket (reportedly, the reason the 6YO hid in the attic), the teary eyed dad said, "Yeah, I probably yell at him too much." Well that may be true, but it seems to me that it was perfectly appropriate to yell at him at that moment. I hope the dad doesn't take away from all this that his kids need more freedom and less parental restraint.

 

Also, I'd like to know if the attic was a place that the kids normally had access to. In our house, a 6YO could not get into the attic. Is this a place they play? And had the law enforcement/rescue people previously searched the attic or not?

 

Weird situation, to be sure.

 

Oh, and I read a fiction book just like this. Has anybody read Enduring Love by Ian McEwan?

 

According to the press conference this morning the father called the FAA first, local news station second, and 911 LAST.

 

And that they had checked the attic, but this particular spot was in a dark corner and had been overlooked.

[Stacie]

On the boy's youtube music video, they say something like...."We go to school to get an education. No homeschool it's (something I couldn't understand, but their body language indicated it would be the opposite of getting an education; and perhaps they said that word which was the name of the song and would rhyme there, but is not suitable for this board.)

 

Anyway, I thought they slammed homeschool.

 

Nonetheless, I would hate to have the entire nation judge me based on what my six year old might say into a camera.

 

When they interviewed him this morning, the dad said as they watched the balloon take off, he knew he had to call someone for help. But the interviewer didn't ask him whom he called. I'd really like to know. Did he call 911 or did he call someone in the news media or a publicist or an attorney or what? I think the answer to that would make a difference here.

 

Also, while the reporters questioned the 6YO, I didn't see anyone ask the 10YO whether he really thought he saw the boy get in the basket, or why he said that. The answer to that would make a difference.

 

And on the interview this morning, when Dad was asked if he was sorry he yelled at the 6YO for getting in the basket (reportedly, the reason the 6YO hid in the attic), the teary eyed dad said, "Yeah, I probably yell at him too much." Well that may be true, but it seems to me that it was perfectly appropriate to yell at him at that moment. I hope the dad doesn't take away from all this that his kids need more freedom and less parental restraint.

 

Also, I'd like to know if the attic was a place that the kids normally had access to. In our house, a 6YO could not get into the attic. Is this a place they play? And had the law enforcement/rescue people previously searched the attic or not?

 

Weird situation, to be sure.

 

Oh, and I read a fiction book just like this. Has anybody read Enduring Love by Ian McEwan?

 

 

In the home video of the balloon taking off, the father is upset that the tether is untied and the balloon took off. Another child is saying over and over that the brother is in the basket. Apparently there was a hatch that is springloaded and closes automatically. The dad didn't hear him at first and when he did they couldn't find the little one.

 

The dad first called the FAA to make sure the balloon was being tracked, then the local news station he worked with often to have their helicopter follow it, then 911.

 

This information is what I've read this afternoon and came from a news conference or something earlier in the day.

[hsmom3tn]

Did anyone else notice the glow-stick that the boy had after he was found? Was that given to him later, or did he have it when he came out of the attic?

 

I know there could be a lot of reasons for the boy to have a glow-stick, but I'm wondering if the dad gave it to him since he was going to be in a dark attic, and a flashlight might look too suspicious?

[LauraGB]

Did anyone else notice the glow-stick that the boy had after he was found? Was that given to him later, or did he have it when he came out of the attic?

 

I know there could be a lot of reasons for the boy to have a glow-stick, but I'm wondering if the dad gave it to him since he was going to be in a dark attic, and a flashlight might look too suspicious?

 

Very interesting. I saw it, but I didn't know what it was.

 

Another thing that I find interesting is that my kids have never run to hide in the attic for hours on end because they were afraid of me. And I can yell with the best of them. This family states that this is normal behavior for these children. And if it is so "normal", then why didn't they look there first for him, since he had just been yelled at??

 

The whole thing is just...unfortunate.

[Laurie4b]

I hardly call this a publicity stunt.....

 

 

If you were watching live, then you would see that when they interviewed the family in their front yard minutes after he was found, the anxiety and tears from the parents were very real and the situation was credible. The father was obviously shaken. He didn't want to talk about his inventions or himself and as hesitated as he described the craft as if it was not worth talking about, as if nothing was worth talking about beyond his son. A man who obviously had his heart wrenched out for most of the day. He broke into tears as he said he was sorry for yelling at the boy earlier in the day.

 

He said he was going to talk with his family before resuming any of his projects.

 

As we were listening live, just south of where this happened, no one was talking about this family's youtube stuff or the Wife Swap stuff. It wasn't until later on in the day as folks started wanting to know more about them did any of their family activities come out....

 

I found it particularly disappointing to hear different folks on the news and radio call them odd and strange, the only evidence being that the father likes to involve the family in projects and tries to involve them in thought beyond what they get in the Public School.

 

Many of us on here could be called strange and odd because we involve our kids in family activities other than watching TV. Oh, and there's that homeschool thing.

 

I agree and would rather err on the side of not thinking ill of the family before there is proof. Law enforcement is saying that they do not think it was a hoax either. They were with the family all day. They will still re-interview to be sure, but they felt body language, behavior, etc. was consistent with the situation.

 

I watched the video repeatedly after the kid said ,"Because you told me to we were doing it for the show" and neither of the other *kids* reacted. If it had been a publicity stunt and little bro blew it, I would have expected a reaction from the other kids. I also repeatedly watched it and there was no sign of anger from either of the parents either--I would have expected a clenched hand, jaw, etc. that the kid had blown the thing. I just saw them dumbfounded and confused.

 

I think people are not fully aware of how children of that age can act under pressure of questions from adults when they feel they're expected to answer and don't know the answer or don't want to answer.

 

I've been in a similar position a time or two with one of my kids at about that age who, when asked a question by an adult that he didn't really understand, blurted something out to try to fufill the request for info. His responses were really quite astonishing to me as a parent who knew what had happened, etc. If you're a 6 year old and you don't really know why you ignored your parents calling because something psychological was going on that you didn't really understand? It's conceivable to me that he made something up on the spur of the moment that kind of made sense to him of the confusion he must have felt with the media presence and all the brou-ha-ha and emotion and now he's on TV.

 

I've also known of another child who was the victim in a criminal case and in prep for court said that his mother told him to say those things. That was not what happened, but he was feeling pressure and just made something up. (There were other witnesses, so all did not depend on the child's testimony, but a plea bargain had to be reached because of what the child said under pressure. It was a child about Falcon's age.)

 

I think since there are plausible other reasons for what the child said that I'd rather wait for more evidence before concluding that it was a hoax.

[stripe]

This reminds me of "Henry Reed Inc."