In Memoriam - Steve Irwin

I had much respect for the Crocodile Hunter, all jokes aside. He was the real thing. In a world of 'Survivor'-reality shows, where very little has to do with reality, he was out there day in and day out, harassing and fondling all sorts of deadly creatures. This was his passion. As someone who has wrestled several crocodiles, been bitten by the poisonous taipan, and been assaulted by numerous guard dogs, I always felt like Irwin and I were sort of kindred spirits. Except for the fact that all of my encounters with deadly creatures ended with me killing them.
Steve Irwin, though, was, as we say in France, the 'vrai chose', the 'real thing'. You won't be seeing anyone on Fear Factor getting stabbed in the heart by a stingray. And unlike the unnecessarily dangerous antics of, say, a 'Jack-Ass' type show, Irwin's escapades taught us something about our natural world and about how to better survive in it. So as shocked and disappointed as I was to learn of his death today, I also felt a serenity in my heart knowing that he died doing what he loved. It's how I would have wanted him to go. Either that or eaten alive by crocodiles.