everyone is posting about Steve Irwin. I guess I will, too.
Yes, his death is a tragedy. An expected one, true, but still sad. However, a bit anger for the family he left behind…
it is all well and good to be a reckless male in your youth. Running around jumping on wild animals, or doing death-defying stunts on motorcycles, or what have you.
But when you get married, and ESPECIALLY when you breed and produce offspring (hehehe), your priority is now your family. If there is a way for you to earn money that does not involve taunting death every moment of the day, then it is your responsibility to do that instead.
Yes yes, I’m sure the Irwin estate will not collapse. I’m sure there is enough money in the bank for the wife and kid to live a comfortable if not luxurious existance for the rest of their lives.
But she goes to bed alone tonight.
His daughter’s memory of him will slowly fade, until she only remember bits and pieces. A word, a fun moment, a wiped away tear.
And was that worth it? You may say he was a great conservationalist, but so are many people. You don’t see Jane Goodall wrestling with chimps, do you? Steve could have left the croc wrangling to someone else.
Of course, it wasn’t a croc. It was a sting ray. Really? I pet a few of those at the GA aquarium. I didn’t know they could back up and run you through.
I suppose you could say “he died doing what he loved to do,” but is that better? Would you rather die young doing your favorite thing (I don’t know…a freak knitting needle accident?) or die old and frail, in your bed, surrounded by your family, who you’ve had many happy years with? Is there more honor in one than in the other?
Steve Irwin tempted fate every day. Statistically, his untimely death was almost a certainty. It does not make it less sad, but it does make it depressingly senseless.
And for what it’s worth, I had “bitten in the jugular by an angry koala” in the pool.
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