Trish on HGTV: a raging success

Crafty Planet recieved this email within an hour of the show. And I thought I was a safety Nazi.

Trish Hoskins,

Your segment on Stuffed Animal Food Critters just
showed on HGTV. The stuffed toys are cute, but were
overshadowed by the fact that you were not wearing a
helmet riding your “scooter”.

It is hard enough to get kids today to wear helmets
while riding bicycles! “My head sweats and it makes
my hair flat.” “I have to carry the helmet with me
and everyone knows I rode a bicycle to the mall!”

As a former Motorcycle Safety Instructor I say “Shame
on You!” Not only were you riding a moped, one of the
most dangerous vehicles ever to be allowed on the
road, but you probably don’t have a motorcycle license
to operate it because your state doesn’t require one.

Insurance companies place accidents from “2-wheeled
motorized vehicles” in one class, and the rates are
high because of people like you who ride something
that doesn’t have enough braking power to stop your
momentum in time to prevent an accident. And if it
did, you would be thrown over the handlebars. You
weren’t even wearing gloves!

Do you realize that your “scooter” is only a motorized
bicycle. Motorcross bikers won’t even ride those
things, and they wear boots, helmets, gloves and fully
padded leathers when they ride off-road.

Other women watching the show may not notice, but I
guarantee their kids will pick up on the fact that you
are not being a responsible rider. You were even
carrying a shopping bag on your left arm instead of
securing it to the “bike” so you could properly
operate your “scooter”.

You keep riding like that and there won’t be enough of
you to “stuff” after an accident, they’ll have to have
a “closed casket funeral”.

Sandy Swartz
311 SE 34th Street
Topeka, KS 66605-2909

Lady, I’ve known Trish for six years. She invariably wears a helmet when she’s NOT BEING PROFILED ON NATIONAL TV AND THEY WANT TO SHOW HER FACE. And it’s NOT A MOPED! She has a license, as well as several other scooter and motorcycles. I applaud your promotion of safety, but calling her stupid and insulting her cherished, valuable, lovingly-maintained vintage motorscooter isn’t the way to go about it.