Today is Memorial Day in the U.S. and the May Bank Holiday in Britain. So it seems particularly fitting to digress a little bit in this blog from Another Fine Mess at work to Another Fine Mess at play.
On my morning cycle ride today, I was reminded that some people are more concerned about whether they look cool or fashionable than they do about being safe. I passed two blonde roller-bladers wearing protective knee and elbow pads, and gloves, but no helmet. I also saw numerous other cyclists in their fancy jerseys and other expensive kit, but no helmet.
Maybe you fail to see the Fine Mess, too, so I’ll explain it as clearly as I know how: If you fall hard enough to need gloves, knee pads, or elbow pads and hit your head while not wearing a helmet, the only thing that you can be reasonably guaranteed is a pretty corpse. If you are too proud, too arrogant, or just too stupid to wear a helmet, then at least carry a photo ID. That way your relatives won’t have to look at your face when they claim your body. The moral is that you can insist on being pretty, but end up pretty dead.
