No worries, Rob, I was thinking to put the pfd on when I started paddling yesterday. For some reason, I didn't and I completely understand the example that kids see any time I am on the water and they do not see a pfd. It isn't that the kids think I should wear one, it's that they do not see one so they have no idea that I should be wearing one. I suppose by being so used to the river here in Edmonton and knowing what I know about it, I am probably guilty of being complacent, the very concept I rant against each January when I post my safety message. I'll wear it next time I get out there just because you nagged me. If I was a regular big lake or ocean paddler, you can bet I'd wear one all the time. Although the North Saskatchewan River has a rep for drowning idiots (read: drunk boaters), it does not drown the knowledgeable who use it, it's just to shallow and not wide enough to make self-rescue difficult. Last time I fell in, I simply stood up, held the VJ steady between my legs and sat right back in. Can't do that everywhere on the river but the shore is an easy float to get to and the current always sweeps to one shore or another because of all the curves in it. That said, mom nags me more for smoking than for taking kayak risks. Keep nagging, since I post these pics online globally, I should keep setting the example, as we all should.

Robert N Pruden