What a Touching Tribute
Steve Irwin 1962-2006
Sep 05, 2006 11:56 AM
Filed under:CollegeFootball MLB NASCAR NBA NFL NHL
18935 views
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Anything I've ever done that ultimately was worthwhile initially scared me to death.
- Betty Bender
Yeah, I'm a thrill seeker, but crikey, education's the most important thing.
-Steve Irwin
True to his words, Steve Irwin sought thrills and in the process educated many.
By now, most have heard of the passing of Steve Irwin at the age of 44. Best known by the moniker 'The Crocodile Hunter'; Irwin was not just a lover of snakes and reptiles. He was a lover of nature and all of wildlife's inhabitants. From the jungle birds to the desert snakes and, alas, into the seas; Irwin got up close and personal with all that he saw and took all willing pasengers on the ride known, simply, as his life.
It may be fair to ask why I would post an homage to, the late , Mr. Irwin here. This is my response. This site, and the men and women that involve themselves with it, have taught me in the short time I have been posting; that the love of sport holds a special place in the hearts and minds of many. This site is the water cooler for many of us. It is the round table of discussion where all voices can be heard. With that in mind; I see no difference between the love of sport and the love of the outdoors. The smell of the grass at a ballgame, the cold chill of an outdoor football game, the soggy soccer fields, the sun-soaked blacktop, and the dewy fairways of our favorite courses; there's a bond between the great outdoors and sports that no dome, no arena can contain. We are all children waiting for someone to knock on the door and ask us to come out and play. Steve Irwin knocked on doors.
What Irwin did was bring the animal world to us all in vivid detail. Not content on bringing the outdoors to the masses in the same sterile way we were accustomed to seeing it; Irwin gave us the outdoors in all of its glory, in all of its beauty, and all of its danger. He lived his work. He was a walking testimony to the idea that one could love their job, and more than that, get others excited about it as well. He was more than a lover of his craft; he was a missionary of it. He taught, he learned, and he breathed, until his last breath, the natural world around him. All, who were willing to watch, stood witness to a man in love with his calling. A man living his 'dream'.
In this era of diva-esque sports stars and an ever-growing feeling in society that our jobs are merely a way to make ends meet; a person in love with his job is rare and inspiring. A person willing to share his love is even more rare. Irwin was a teacher. The kind of teacher that commanded attention. A kind of teacher that showed us that outward passion for what one loves is the way to get others involved in an idea, a project, or a movement. If only more teachers were like him. If only more dreamers were willing to share their dreams. If only the term "role-model" was saved for those with his passion and not thrown about onto everyone that earned a large paycheck or played a game well; but thought themselves above practice.
In the end, Steve Irwin was more than just a guy wrestling crocodiles and snakes for television audiences. He was a zoologist, conservationist, husband, and father. He bought tracks of land in several countries in order to help preserve wildlife habitats from destruction by man. His Australian Zoo was an oasis for endangered crocodiles, reptiles, and other non-endangerd animals. The money from his popular show served to aid him in his quest to bring more funds to his conservation and educational efforts, not just for animals and their habitats; but for aboriginal peoples and their historic lands as well. In all, Steve Irwin was a man that lived his life to the fullest and his honest and uncompromising spirit will be missed.
With the eternal question in mind, "do dogs go to heaven?", I find myself hoping that they do. But if there is a separate heaven for man and animal-kind; I hope Steve Irwin gets a pass between the two. There he can discover and learn about more than he ever could in this place. As his wife and children remain with us, continuing his legacy, I will remember him as a man of life. A liver of moments and pioneer in a field that, until his arrival, was suffering from the lack of someone with his passion. And I hope there will come a day when his children will carry the torch. Until then, I will show my children the Crocodile Hunter and let them know........ as sure as the leaves will fall in autumn, death will come. But it is not our deaths that define us; it is how we live our lives. Don't waste your leaves.
I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.
-Gilda Radner
Sep 05, 2006 11:56 AM
Filed under:CollegeFootball MLB NASCAR NBA NFL NHL
18935 views
report abuse
Anything I've ever done that ultimately was worthwhile initially scared me to death.
- Betty Bender
Yeah, I'm a thrill seeker, but crikey, education's the most important thing.
-Steve Irwin
True to his words, Steve Irwin sought thrills and in the process educated many.
By now, most have heard of the passing of Steve Irwin at the age of 44. Best known by the moniker 'The Crocodile Hunter'; Irwin was not just a lover of snakes and reptiles. He was a lover of nature and all of wildlife's inhabitants. From the jungle birds to the desert snakes and, alas, into the seas; Irwin got up close and personal with all that he saw and took all willing pasengers on the ride known, simply, as his life.
It may be fair to ask why I would post an homage to, the late , Mr. Irwin here. This is my response. This site, and the men and women that involve themselves with it, have taught me in the short time I have been posting; that the love of sport holds a special place in the hearts and minds of many. This site is the water cooler for many of us. It is the round table of discussion where all voices can be heard. With that in mind; I see no difference between the love of sport and the love of the outdoors. The smell of the grass at a ballgame, the cold chill of an outdoor football game, the soggy soccer fields, the sun-soaked blacktop, and the dewy fairways of our favorite courses; there's a bond between the great outdoors and sports that no dome, no arena can contain. We are all children waiting for someone to knock on the door and ask us to come out and play. Steve Irwin knocked on doors.
What Irwin did was bring the animal world to us all in vivid detail. Not content on bringing the outdoors to the masses in the same sterile way we were accustomed to seeing it; Irwin gave us the outdoors in all of its glory, in all of its beauty, and all of its danger. He lived his work. He was a walking testimony to the idea that one could love their job, and more than that, get others excited about it as well. He was more than a lover of his craft; he was a missionary of it. He taught, he learned, and he breathed, until his last breath, the natural world around him. All, who were willing to watch, stood witness to a man in love with his calling. A man living his 'dream'.
In this era of diva-esque sports stars and an ever-growing feeling in society that our jobs are merely a way to make ends meet; a person in love with his job is rare and inspiring. A person willing to share his love is even more rare. Irwin was a teacher. The kind of teacher that commanded attention. A kind of teacher that showed us that outward passion for what one loves is the way to get others involved in an idea, a project, or a movement. If only more teachers were like him. If only more dreamers were willing to share their dreams. If only the term "role-model" was saved for those with his passion and not thrown about onto everyone that earned a large paycheck or played a game well; but thought themselves above practice.
In the end, Steve Irwin was more than just a guy wrestling crocodiles and snakes for television audiences. He was a zoologist, conservationist, husband, and father. He bought tracks of land in several countries in order to help preserve wildlife habitats from destruction by man. His Australian Zoo was an oasis for endangered crocodiles, reptiles, and other non-endangerd animals. The money from his popular show served to aid him in his quest to bring more funds to his conservation and educational efforts, not just for animals and their habitats; but for aboriginal peoples and their historic lands as well. In all, Steve Irwin was a man that lived his life to the fullest and his honest and uncompromising spirit will be missed.
With the eternal question in mind, "do dogs go to heaven?", I find myself hoping that they do. But if there is a separate heaven for man and animal-kind; I hope Steve Irwin gets a pass between the two. There he can discover and learn about more than he ever could in this place. As his wife and children remain with us, continuing his legacy, I will remember him as a man of life. A liver of moments and pioneer in a field that, until his arrival, was suffering from the lack of someone with his passion. And I hope there will come a day when his children will carry the torch. Until then, I will show my children the Crocodile Hunter and let them know........ as sure as the leaves will fall in autumn, death will come. But it is not our deaths that define us; it is how we live our lives. Don't waste your leaves.
I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.
-Gilda Radner