A Lot of Ballooney

Who can forget that bright, sunny day in October 2009 when the soon-to-be-famous “balloon boy” reportedly untethered his dad’s hot air balloon, climbed inside and went for a nerve-wracking 60-mile ride across the Northern Colorado landscape?

Except for the fact that the kid wasn’t actually inside the balloon.

Yes, the whole world was caught up in the high-flying drama, as five-year-old Falcon Heene of Fort Collins was reported to be inside the silver, saucer-like craft barreling through the skies.

Millions were glued to their TV and computer screens that day as the story swept across the globe. Anyone who’s ever dealt with a five-year-old boy’s mischief watched horrified as the balloon raced along thousands of feet above the ground.

Would the kid suddenly tumble out of the balloon? Or would it crash into something or fall precipitously to the ground?

Whatever the outcome, it seemed the boy was probably doomed.

News helicopters raced to the scene and then raced some more to keep up with the fast-moving craft, drawing a camera bead on it so the folks at work and at home could watch all the drama unfold.

Gradually, the balloon lost altitude and slowly made its way back to Earth. Would-be rescuers following in vehicles on the ground jumped out and ran to the balloon, looked inside and found – nothing.

The whole thing had been an elaborate hoax.

Relief soon turned to anger. What was going on? Was it an honest mistake or something else?

At first the kid’s parents claimed the boy had been hiding —  unbeknownst to them — inside the house. Later, it came to light that the whole thing had been staged by the boy’s father, Richard Heene, a frustrated reality TV nutcase.

No one could adequately explain Heene’s motivation for such a hoax, other than being attention starved.

The Heenes’ moment of fame faded quickly and they moved away from Colorado to Florida after brief jail terms, no doubt to escape a huge dose of social ostracism.

But the story didn’t end there.

Richard Heene, never wanting to totally disappear from the public consciousness, put the famous balloon up for auction in an attempt to squeeze some cash out of it.

Asking bid: $1 million

Winning bid: $2,502

And now the 20-foot-wide balloon has returned to its starting point – back in Colorado. Dubbed Flimflam One, the balloon was purchased by Michael Fruitman, owner of Mike’s Stadium Sportscards in Aurora.

Since July 21, the balloon has been hovering from the store’s ceiling for the amusement of customers and the curious.

Fruitman told Business Wire he couldn’t resist having some fun with the balloon. He’s planning to display it until October 15, 2011 – the second anniversary of the now-infamous flight – and then cut it into slices of memorabilia for those inclined to care and sell the pieces to benefit a Thanksgiving food project.

“It’s a win-win no matter what, provided my (kids) don’t get any clever ideas,” he said in the story.

A fitting end, perhaps, to a shameful episode.

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