Thank you: Steve Irwin
I have been on vacation for the past few days, but have been inundated with information about Steve Irwin’s death. For my family, this was very sad news as we have watched many of his shows and appearances since the late 90’s.
Many of the comments from people have been comical from “you knew it would happen someday” to criticism about him dangling his son Bob as he feed a crocodile a few years ago. And, I know that many native Aussie’s don’t enjoy the perception he has given the world that Australia is full of crocodiles and crazy safari-shirt wearing men.
If you really watch his shows, you see a man that fights for and loves the natural world. He had intense passion around sharing it with others. From what I understand, Steve and his family live a very modest lifestyle on premises at Australia’s Zoo. The money that he makes off the shows is spent improving his Zoo, education programs, and setting aside 1000’s of acres of Australian outback for animal rehabilitation and natural preserve.
Update: I thought I would share something funny that in retrospect probably occurred several hours before Steve Irwin's death. My wife Deanna and I decided to take my son Mason and daughter Kendall down to Garden of the Gods this last Sunday to walk around the rocks and generally be outside on a beautiful day. While walking on the path, my wife was on “snake alert” because rattlesnakes have been known to occasionally bite tourists that wander off the paths. While watching the sides of the path, Mason spotted some deer or rabbit dung (a six year old is a fart and poop expert). He quickly started to try an Australian accent and act like Steve Irwin examining the poop to determine what the animal might be. For the next fifteen minutes our entire family had Australian accents talking about poop.
Steve Irwin has taught us to respect and appreciate our environment, and do what we can to preserve it. My family will truly miss seeing this amazing man and his family on TV. Our deepest sympathies to his friends and his family: Terri, Bindi and Bob.
