« A Little Taste of Liberal | Main | Canning Season »


04 September 2006 — RIP Crocodile Hunter (4)

It's always startling to discover which celebrity deaths affect me. Ronald Reagan? "He was so old, man." River Phoenix? Meh. But Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter? My heart aches.

But why? I never watched anything the guy ever did. I always thought he was kind of goofy. But somewhere deep inside, I admired Irwin's spirit, his enthusiasm, his vocation. He was a man living his dream.

And so when I read the news of Irwin's death last night, I went to bed in a funk. I dreamt of wild animals. I woke still sad.

.

On this day at foldedspace.org

2002 — adhesive capsulitis   In which my shoulder pain is diagnosed as adhesive capsulitis.


Comments
On 04 September 2006 (03:46 PM), Tiffany said:

In memory, you should have a link to 'Rock Lobster' by The B-52s.

Did anyone think this guy would die any other way? I am sorry he died because I know he has a couple of young kids, but can you imagine a person with his job living to be 60? I read these trashy vampire books and one line is “There are good vampire hunters and dead ones.” I think you can say the same for crocodile hunters.


On 04 September 2006 (04:51 PM), Mom said:

I feel very sad about Steve Irwin's death, too, but I feel he was the ultimate risk-taker and they don't usually die of old age.

One Australian online friend I heard from about this said that to her and her husband, it's like when Princess Diana died. Another Australian friend, a man who is nearly 70, said it was too bad but that he regarded Irwin as somewhat of an eccentric.

I just heard on the news that Aussies are surging to the zoo where Steve Irwin worked. This is truly a loss for their country as well as his family.

BTW, I almost titled my blog entry today close to the same way you have here. That was certainly my sentiment.


On 05 September 2006 (10:29 AM), Lynn said:

I was so sad to hear this. I loved to watch his shows and laugh at his sayings, specifically, "She's a beaut!" Plus, with his wife being from Corvallis, I feel we have a special bond with Australia and their loss. So sad.


On 05 September 2006 (05:13 PM), Mom said:

The news coverage is making me ache for his family but it also is helping a lot of people become more aware of what Steve Irwin did for Australia. My friend, Les, in Brisbane, who in yesterday's e-mail spelled Steve's last name "Erwin" and called him "eccentric", in today's e-mail said: "He had put his money where his mouth was as he had bought about 40,000 acres of bushland to help ensure that the native animals would not lose their bushland homes." He was a remarkable man.