When looking stupid is a really good thing

More Christmas Day pics. Aubri is Wii bowling. Not a very good pic of my beautiful daughter and she's probably going to be less than thrilled with seeing it on the world wide web, but she's in motion, driving that bowling ball down the lane, so her head is blurry.
Michelle is boxing, showing the fine form that keeps her husband in line. Do not mess with this woman! If you saw her left jab you'd know she can bring it!

We're sitting here watching the evening news and it comes on again - that commercial for the new prescription drug for people with "chronic constipation." TMI in this one! But at then end they give the usual warnings and "contra-indications". This drug should not be taken by people who have ever had a bowel obstruction or diarrhea. Now can you explain to me why anyone who has diarrhea would take a Rx for constipation?! Pam said that drug companies are so afraid of law suits that they have to cover their backsides.

Maybe you heard about the 7-year old girl in Texas who got a new bike for Christmas. She went out to ride it late afternoon, was struck by a pickup truck and killed. I don't know any more details than that so I don't want to suggest culpability for anyone involved, but the news report said she wasn't wearing a helmet.
Never, ever allow your kids to ride a bike without a helmet on. No part of a skull is designed to take an impact with pavement, and riding a bike at any speed presents a very real risk of a fall.
But a helmet can only do its job if it's worn correctly. I often see kids wearing bicycle helmets cocked back on their heads. The most likely point of impact in a bicycle crash is the face and forehead. The helmet needs to be forward, down over the front of their head. There's a reason they call most bicycle crashes a "face plant", and not a "crown-of-the-head plant."
Now, I climb up on my soapbox...
If your kid's skull and what it holds needs to be protected, doesn't it figure that his/her parents' heads also need protecting?! I can't tell you how often I've seen mom and/or dad out riding with their kids, the latter all wearing helmets and the parent(s) bare-headed.
I started riding a bicycle seriously about 25 years ago as a way of cross-training. A friend who was a very serious and accomplished rider told me to wear a helmet, because, "It's not if, but when you crash." I bought a helmet, and if there was ever anyone who looks stupid wearing a bicycle helmet it's me. But I wore it every time I rode. When it was hot, or when I didn't feel like looking stupid I thought of his admonition and put it on anyway.
My crash came 12 years later. The details don't matter, but I went over the handlebars doing 17 miles an hour and did the perfect face plant. The point of impact was just over my left eyebrow, which meant that the helmet, worn correctly, took the force of the blow. Yes, it got nasty after that. My face skidded across the pavement and I left a lot of skin behind. I looked pretty bad for several weeks. But aside from some road rash, three stitches and a few bad bruises I was fine. I can only imagine what it would have been like without that helmet. I kept it for several years, the crushed shell a reminder of the wisdom my friend passed along.
Mom, dad, please make sure your kids wear a helmet correctly every time they get on their bike. And then put one on yourself. Never mind the mixed message you send to your kid if you don't, they need a healthy parent, not if, but when you crash. Looking stupid is a small price to pay to be there, brain intact, for your kids.
(Descending soapbox)

Lots of stories on re-gifting today. Is it OK, a social faux paux, the new reality? One story said something like 8% of Americans have re-gifted to their spouse. I told Pam I've never re-gifted to her. She pointed out that since we don't give each other Christmas presents she hadn't really figured it was likely to happen.
OK, but if we did give each other presents I wouldn't do it. Probably.