Needless death

I can't stop thinking about Natasha Richardson and how quickly her life came to an end. What I really can't understand is how someone could fall so hard on a bunny slope, on the snow -- a fairly soft surface -- that she could end up with a subdural hematoma and die. Reportedly, the ski school offered her a helmet which she declined. No one can say for sure, but it seems pretty logical that having protection on her head for that easy run down the beginner hill could have saved her life.

I would expect Richardson's family will dwell on Natasha's helmet decision in the years to come. If I were her child, I'd be downright angry. Maybe not today, but eventually. I lost my mother when I was a teenager, and I know that even when a death doesn't result from a decision or a choice, those left behind get angry at being abandoned. Her death was unnecessary and preventable. Not that I'm blaming her. I've done the same thing hundreds of times myself.

I've skiied all my life and never once wore a helmet. I thought about it, briefly, when Sonny Bono died after skiing into a tree. But I rarely fall. And I highly doubted I'd slam into a tree. I'm almost always in control on the slopes. My kids, however, wear helmets skiing. Every time. And biking. And while ice skating. Their skates can slip out from under them so easily, smashing their skulls on the ice -- which must be as hard as concrete. Do I wear a helmet ice skating? Guiltily, I have to admit no. As I think about this in the wake of Richardson's death, that logic seems as ridiculous as insisting my children buckle up in the car, but neglecting to do so myself. I want my kids to be safe, but don't I want them to grow up with a mother, too?

Earlier this winter, QB outgrew his skating helmet and we went to pick up a new one. The sports store was offering a deal: buy one helmet, get a second for $1. So we took home two, the second of which fit me. The very week Richardson died, I was taking a photo of that second helmet so I could list it on ebay. Now, I've decided hold onto it. And wear it.