Fifteen minutes of fame !

It is said that everyone on the planet is entitled to fifteen minutes of fame. Just what you do with that fifteen minutes depends on whether you become a winner - or a loser !



Yesterday a family in Colorado hit world wide attention !



For reasons unknown the family had constructed a house sized silver balloon, shaped like a " flying saucer " and filled with Helium gas. It was tethered in the back yard when the father admonished his six year old so - Falcon - for playing in the balloons cabin space.



A sudden gust of wind broke the balloon loose - and panic followed. Falcon could not be found - and it was thought that he was still aboard that runaway flying machine.



What followed was an " only in America " rescue attempt. Air Force jets and Army helicopters tracked the balloon in the air and on the ground police cars roared along country roads - sirens screaming - keeping the balloon in sight.



All this was carried live as a " breaking story " on the nation's television networks.



Eventually the balloon descended and rescuers grabbed trailing ropes and brought it to the ground, but a frantic search revealed no Falcon. The balloon had reached a height of three thousand feet and covered eighty kilometres - and it was feared that Falcon has probably fallen to his death.



A happy ending when the six year old was found hiding in the loft of his father's shed. He claimed to have hidden to escape his father's wrath because he had disobeyed orders and played in the balloon.



Some doubters think the whole episode may have been fabricated to gain publicity, given that the family were storm chasers and often appeared on reality TV programmes.



Whatever the truth, this drama grabbed the nation's attention and young Falcon certainly made good use of his fifteen minutes of fame. Money will be offered for TV interviews, appearances on shows - possibly Letterman and Oprah. Then there will be book rights - and a movie would not be out of the question.



It is a classic example of striking while the iron is hot. When your fifteen minutes of fame arrives - milk it for all it's worth. There is no reason why you can not be both famous - and rich !