Save Balloon Boy

Save Balloon Boy, originally uploaded by chrisfreeland2002.

I was out to dinner last night with friends and there was a TV on mute covering all the "Balloon Boy" madness. I'm glad the kid's ok. The family seems a bit...odd...but that's beside the point, which is:

I can't believe how big the story got so quickly. But then, with our "always on" culture, why should I be surprised? It all made me consider "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and my favorite moment from that flick - the shot of SAVE FERRIS painted on the water tower. I remember watching that for the first time in the 80's thinking "oh, ha ha, how could you get the word out that fast?" This was pre-cell phone, pre-internet, pre-social networking, and so of course it was an absurd idea; that's the joke. Now that we're always connected, is the joke on us?