The death of Natasha Richardson was extremely tragic news. Not only was she a gifted and provocative actress, she was also (personal sources confirm) simply a lovely and gracious person, an adoring wife and a loving and devoted mother. Our hearts go out to her family and friends as they try to cope with what must seem like a senseless and cruel loss.
Every report since her accident mentions the fact that she was not wearing a helmet at the time of her spill on the bunny hill. While it remains to be seen whether wearing a helmet could have saved her or not, it certainly couldn't have hurt. This has prompted several conversations among my friends about the necessity of wearing helmets. All of us are at an age where we did not wear helmets growing up, so it's understandable that wearing a helmet while skiing, snowboarding or riding a bike might not feel altogether "cool." How cool or not cool helmets look really isn't the point though. Being smart is cool. Being safe is cool. Staying alive is really friggin' cool, especially when it's your friends or family in question. That said, I'm going to argue that helmets nowadays really CAN look cool. Check out the below examples of various people rockin' helmets with style:
My sister Lisa in Utah yesterday (my sister with the stuff...):