Oh, come on!

Balloon boy? Really? Are you kidding me?

"Mad scientist" parents, big helium balloon, reports that a 6-year-old boy had fallen off, or was possibly trapped inside. "The structure at the bottom of the balloon that the boy is in is made of extremely thin plywood and won't withstand any kind of a crash at all."

Media jump all over it, authorities go nuts, videos, live tracking, coverage on every channel, web alerts, breaking news, even as far away as Australia. Reporters trip over themselves in the rush to report, to run the exclusive, to give the full story, to capitalise on this potentially dreadful catastrophe - and big news story. And why wouldn't they? It had all the makings of an incredible story. Besides, one of his brothers "saw" the boy climb into the craft and undo the anchor rope. That fact alone was enough to swing the investigative wheel into top gear.

Eventually, the balloon comes down, gentle landing, but gasp! The boy is NOT inside!

Egads! Big search. Where could he be? Time ticks by. What to do, what to do!

Well, while the drama unfolded and histrionics reigned supreme, the so-called "balloon boy" was safe and sound - in a cardboard box in the attic above the garage, for heaven's sake.

Now I understand that this could have had a different ending. And I get that some people think we have to know everything every time something happens. And I applaud the media for sticking to their mandate - the public has a right to know - but seriously, can you say, "Whoa, Nellie!"

So, what was all that? A temporary distraction, perhaps? A welcome diversion? An otherwise slow news day? And then it hit me ... of course ... yes ... the perfect publicity stunt. That had to be it! Finally, something that makes sense about the entire show.

Tsk, tsk everyone. Now, back to work!