Saturday, September 09, 2006
He was 6'4" and Full of Muscles
Maybe he was only six feet, but to me, he was a giant above all others.Steve Irwin's death has hit me hard. And it's a depressive funk that grows worse with every poassing day. It's funny how one can come to see a television personailty as someone you know, and intimately. I feel like he and Terry and Bindi and Bob are close personal friends. And that was his charm - his ability to make anyone feel as if they were his best friend.
Steve came at just the right moment to capture an entire generation's attention. Arriving at the cusp of reality television, he took his life and placed it on film to the world to see. And, once they were mesmerized by his bravado and exuberance, we quietly snuck the message of conservation on us. And we listened, in a way few of us had listened before.
It's rare for a movement to have dynamic figure to coalesce upon. Steve was that for wildlife conservation. No other wildlife commentator has ever made people feel so intimately involved and engaged. As this week has progressed, the ever-increasing tributes and donations to his causes has made it apparent just how many lives he touched, and how many people heard his message.
Lawrence Downes captured perfectly the measure of the man; the Sydney Morning Herald gave us insight into his life; and Dr. Jamie Seymour shares some of his final private moments with Steve, affirming he was the just the same off-camera as on. But I think Shaun Sullivan has said it best:
"The stingray had an easy target, the man had a big heart."He truly was one of a kind, and he will be greatly missed.
------------------------------------------------