RIP

[fuyu]

You know, it's still not setting in for me that Steve Irwin is dead.

I mean, I've been reading people's posts and comments about it, and the most common reaction I think I've seen is frank disbelief that it happened. "What?" people say. "Steve Irwin? But I thought he was invincible. I thought he would live forever."

A part of me finds this reaction fascinating - we know full well nothing is eternal, and that what Steve did was very often dangerous, but... at the age of 44 that man had vim and vigor enough for ten men his age, he loved his family dearly and fervently loved the animals of the world... he made a legend in his own time. And we came to think of him as something eternal. He was so much larger than life, we thought he was larger than death.

I wasn't exactly an avid fan, largely because I don't watch TV, but when I saw him, I liked him. And he was so alive. I think back at interviews I've seen and I can't believe they're in the past. I look at the man's pictures and I can't imagine there'll never be another one. No matter how I look at the news, it just doesn't make sense. Steve Irwin is not dead to me yet.

My best wishes and compassion go out to his wife and kids, and I do hope that his conservational efforts will endure after his death, that the positive mark he was making on the world will stay there. But those wishes are still made in a quiet, stunned sort of way.

I thought he would live forever.

Comments

[area-woman.livejournal.com]

...god damn. Well said.

[fuyu]

Thank you.

[bean-bunny.livejournal.com]

He's the kind of dude who was supposed to go quietly in his 80s, after we all forgot about him, to cancer or something.

But, you gotta admit, he went out doing what he loved, and that probably made him pretty happy all in all. I mean, providing God looked at him and said, "Dude, if you got to pick how you died..."

[xcerebraledemax.livejournal.com]

Ha ha!

[white-manjushri.livejournal.com]

Well in some way he will live forever. His conservational efforts are recognized around the world and at the very least his legacy will live on with those that know him, his family, friends, and even people that saw him on tv. In that way he'll never die.

I was kind of in shock though. He's one of my heroes. It's so sad that his little kids won't really get to know him except through reruns of Crocodile Hunter.

[zax-dude.livejournal.com]

You and me seem to have the exaaact same opinion on it. Part of me still doesn't really believe it either. And I'm Aussie, they're like plastering memorial documentaries all over TV for him. Still. Can't believe it. :(

[trenchkamen.livejournal.com]

Amen and well-spoken.

[ladygoddess.livejournal.com]

I went around my university today expecting it to be all anyone could talk about since we had no classes yesterday for Labor Day. However there wasn't a peep all day. I still feel nauseus over it. When I saw the pictures of him and his family on animalplanet.com, I started crying. He just looks so much like a hero with his two children sitting on his biceps like that.

This morning I heard that he had not died immediately as previously stated which bothers me. Around two and a half months ago, my friend was killed when he slipped and fell 50-100 feet at a waterfall, but they're pretty certain it was instant death. The friend who spoke to Diana Swayer this morning said it was the worst thing and he'd never want to see it again of those last five seconds or so where Steve pulled the barb out of his chest (is it detachable?).

Just....God. There was a video of his little blonde boy toddling onto the plane coming from Tasmina which just gets to me. I mean, right now and maybe for a couple months he'll miss daddy and remember him, but his age prevents him from remembering his father in life for too much longer.

You have said it well.