That Was Lucky

Was it a miracle when the fronds of a palm tree broke his fall?

Authorities and witnesses say that a palm tree likely saved the life of Joey Williams, a 4-year-old boy who fell Friday morning from a 17th-floor balcony after chasing a balloon through his apartment home at the Doubletree Grand Hotel Biscayne Bay.

The boy opened a sliding glass door, climbed over a covered balcony railing, bounced off the crown of the palm tree and safely landed on the ``dirt surface'' of an area surrounding the hotel's 10th-floor pool, said Kenia Reyes, a Miami police spokeswoman.

``It's a miracle -- he doesn't appear to have broken a bone,...''

Maybe. In which case, as James Taranto points out, it's good to have fronds in high places.

I just love it when real news sets up for full groan humor!