RIP Steve
Taken a while to actually accept it, after the kids came in from school and were telling me the news that had shot around the school like wildfire today - Steve Irwin's dead.
I admit when the guy first hit the screen I was turned off big time - thinking he was putting on this OTT 'Aussie bloke' personna to cash in on the US market which seemed to gobble up that sort of thing. But then I saw more of him, off screen, and started to hear about the other stuff he was doing, and saw that his passion and dedication to the environment wasn't just for show, and put on in front of the cameras, it was who he really was. Keep in mind I've had a fair bit of experience with a number of 'sensationalist greenies' and am a little cynical about them.
But he was the real deal.
Yeah, he grated at times, but hell, he was doing what it took to make a positive difference. When I saw him, and Terri and Bindi, you couldn't help but smile, as he was about as genuine as they come. No pretense, no theatrics that was just put on for the cameras, he was just as entertaining and fun when there wasn't a camera in sight. I had the chance to be in the same place as Steve and his family and some friends, in a private area at a venue his mate was playing at, and Bindi was out on stage with his mate Russell Crowe and did a song, and the place was just rocking yet he stayed in the background.
We've just watched the news, all stations broadcasting from outside Australia Zoo, his home, where over 500 staff are reportedly in shock. I guess the one thing that's probably thankful is that he went doing what he loved, in a place he loved, in a way that was about as painless and quick as it could be.
Thoughts going out to Terri and the kids, and his crew, who were, as they all said, like family. Even the prime minister said 'Australia lost a great son today.'
I admit when the guy first hit the screen I was turned off big time - thinking he was putting on this OTT 'Aussie bloke' personna to cash in on the US market which seemed to gobble up that sort of thing. But then I saw more of him, off screen, and started to hear about the other stuff he was doing, and saw that his passion and dedication to the environment wasn't just for show, and put on in front of the cameras, it was who he really was. Keep in mind I've had a fair bit of experience with a number of 'sensationalist greenies' and am a little cynical about them.
But he was the real deal.
Yeah, he grated at times, but hell, he was doing what it took to make a positive difference. When I saw him, and Terri and Bindi, you couldn't help but smile, as he was about as genuine as they come. No pretense, no theatrics that was just put on for the cameras, he was just as entertaining and fun when there wasn't a camera in sight. I had the chance to be in the same place as Steve and his family and some friends, in a private area at a venue his mate was playing at, and Bindi was out on stage with his mate Russell Crowe and did a song, and the place was just rocking yet he stayed in the background.
We've just watched the news, all stations broadcasting from outside Australia Zoo, his home, where over 500 staff are reportedly in shock. I guess the one thing that's probably thankful is that he went doing what he loved, in a place he loved, in a way that was about as painless and quick as it could be.
Thoughts going out to Terri and the kids, and his crew, who were, as they all said, like family. Even the prime minister said 'Australia lost a great son today.'