Twitter opens new doors for people to get help, but because of it’s telephone-chain-style of information spreading, people further down the road aren’t getting information firsthand. We’re getting RT of an RT of an RT and so on.

With the balloon boy story fresh in our minds, and the reality that some people will indeed take advantage of the internet, it’s not surprising that so many were immediately skeptical of this story.

So, people, skeptics and supporters alike:  it’s okay to want to check out a story or a request for prayers or money. It’s not okay to attack someone or call them a liar straight out, but it’s A OK to say, “Hey, I want to help but I don’t know you. Can you give me something to work with?”

It’s good to see the community – real and virtual – come together to help this mom out. I hope that this family recovers from their loss quickly.

Well, sad news. It’s been confirmed by the Brevard County Sheriff’s office that this little guy did indeed pass away. So if you want to help/can help this family, check out twitter feeds for more info, or go to: http://ilikeitfrantic.net/2009/12/prayers-and-hugs-for-the-ross-family/

UPDATE

Yeah, don’t be hating. Nothing wrong with wanting to help someone but checking it out first…

There’s NO local police reports, no local news story. I work for the media industry and there’s no way a story like this would go unreported. Seriously: mom alone, hubby overseas, baby dies?

I’m concerned. Super concerned. Not just because people are giving money to what*could* be a hoax (hey, I could be wrong) but because if this never happened, then a mother is speaking as though her son is dead. That’s terribly troubling. From a psychological standpoint, what does that say???

Original post:

Yes, I’m jumping on the bandwagon.

A few minutes ago I read a tweet by a kind person wishing well to someone who’d apparently lost a loved one. I clicked on the @name and discovered a few tweets by a lady whose son apparently drowned in Florida about 16 hours ago. Very sad, tragic, shocking indeed. But wait…something isn’t sitting right.

Who tweets “Please pray, 2 year old fell in a pool” followed up by odd posts with pictures. She never really says the child died, but it’s assumed based on the comments (read here: http://twitter.com/military_mom). Plus it’s foggy out – likely chilly. I lived in Fort Myers: WE NEVER went swimming in December. But okay, maybe she lives farther south. Maybe it’s a heated pool. But what’s with the chickens?

Now mind you, if I was at the hospital and was trying to get some prayers, yeah I may twitter. There’s something about the camaraderie of your friends online – whether you’ve met face to face or not. I tweeted when a beloved friend died a few months ago. But my baby?

Fog rolls in. Hour later baby fell in pool. At what point between trying to get him out, calling 911, police, fire, medical rolling on scene, attempting CPR… at what point did she tweet this prayer request?

Something just doesn’t seem right. There are no news reports at all. The AP Florida Bureau has nothing. Google search has nothing with the mom’s name or the child’s name.

Here’s what I think. Sympathies to this mom if this happened. I hope she catches a break from the nasty comments putting blame on her. If tweeting brings you comfort and some therapeutic value, keep doing it.

However, as someone who has worked in Law Enforcement, I suggest someone pay this home a visit and check on mom and baby. It isn’t impossible that maybe she’s just overwhelmed and needs help (her hubby is deployed right now). This could be a little shout-out for someone to help her out. It may be a big fat red flag that something isn’t right.

Looks like this gal is heading up the research department: http://twitter.com/madisonmcgraw. She’s catching flack too, but she has a point: just verify the story. (Check out her blog here: http://girlarsonist.blogspot.com/ )

If it’s true, I’m sure LOADS of people will flock to assist this family right away.

Either way, this woman needs help pronto: either her son just died OR something else is going on and she feels the need to lie and say he did.

Comments welcome but BE NICE.

I’ve pondered a bit this morning (not too much because that would interrupt my tweeting and status updates) and I’ve come to a few conclusions:

1) As a single mom of two kids, my at-home conversations usually go something like this:

“Mom, guess what? I farted!” or “Mom, there’s this boy at school…” You can figure out which comment belongs to which child: the 7-year old boy or the 10-year old girl. As you can see, there isn’t much substance accompanying either of these conversation starters.

2) I grew up in the military (Army brat tyvm) and I’m lucky enough to have found several pals on Facebook from way back when. Facebook gives me the ability to keep in touch with these friends without writing lengthy emails all the time. Rather, I’m able to catch up on their life just by browsing their profile page, and I know they can do the same on mine (although I’m sure most of them skip over the silly stuff like “Mason just farted”). Facebook also allows me some downtime to embezzle in companies, rob banks and blackmail those in government positions (Hey, I’m talking about Mafia Wars!) or to work on planting fields and crops in FarmTown (a true aid for OCD as you can make those rows perfectly straight).

3) Sometimes I can’t put what I really want to say on Facebook. Maybe I don’t need a million replies or comments, but instead a spot to post a rant, rave or something funny that just popped into my head. Probably funnier to me than to everyone else but hey, I’m just sayin. Then there’s that pesky little problem with Facebook: My boss is my friend. Yes I know, that’s like, bad juju on Facebook. However, I tried to de-friend her once and blame the powers that be (must be a glitch) but she pitched SUCH a fit (it’s true) that I HAD to add her back. (Scroll through my posts and you’ll see her comment about kicking and screaming.) So now I have to keep my snarky work-related comments to myself and send them into outer space via Twitter.

So yeah, I may be throwing out random quotes or comments, but every time I update my status or send out a tweet, I sort of feel a strange connection to all those 450 friends on Facebook (I only *really* know about half of them…) who may or may not be able to sympathize or empathize with me. Maybe I’ll give someone a laugh or maybe someday I’ll post something truly poignant and world peace will follow.

And blogging? Well, I guess this is my way of ‘sharing a bit more details for those of you who really care… (cricket chirping noises).

Or maybe I’m just having a grown-up (albeit one sided) conversation.

=)