Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Steve Irwin farewell
Okay, call me soppy, misguided, what you will, but I just cried all the way through Steve's memorial service.
When he died, I thought it was sad that a man so successful, so able to make a name for himself doing what he loved should be cut off in his prime. I felt sorry for his family, who seemed to share such devotion to each other. But to tell the truth, I wondered why there was such a fuss. Why politicians from our Prime Minister down were vying to express their condolences - why he'd been offered a State funeral - after all, wasn't he just another celebrity? How serious were his environmental credentials? Didn't he, to a great extent, just use them to bolster his own image and make lots of money?
Perhaps it's simply the ability of great theatre linked with patriotism to touch the heart-strings that made his memorial so moving; or perhaps the re-telling of his life in pictures and personal tributes gave me a more realistic perspective on what he'd done for wildlife conservation but in the end, I mourned Steve as I never thought I would.
The decision to have not a stuffy, State funeral, but a celebration at the "Crocoseum" at Australia Zoo - the 5,000 seat theatre Steve built to provide a window on wildlife to the world - was a brilliant piece of marketing of the Steve Irwin brand that will undoubtedly live on. But more than that, it was a window on the emotions and love inspired by this rambunctious ratbag.
Watching him live on the big screen, it wasn't difficult to see that he was never going to make old bones. He lived life on the edge and courted danger at every turn. But it wasn't just his mad escapades that made Steve Irwin unique, it was his childlike enthusiasm, his very "Australianism", the fact that he really didn't care whether we thought he was a lunatic or a showoff, he was happy to put himself out there with all his faults on the world stage. He was a man, confident in himself and prepared to share that self with us all. Most of all he was a family man - Steve did nothing without the family around him and his love for them and for his extended family of Australia Zoo staff and colleagues shone through everything.
Goodbye Steve. You projected the image of the quintessential Australian to the world - a mad bugger, out in the wilds playing with dangerous animals - not what we really are, but what we wish we were. My heart breaks for your wife - for who could ever follow in the wake of Steve - and for your children, who have lost a great mate, the most fun dad and a wonderful role-model, and for your father because what parent should ever have to outlive the son.
Steve Irwin, you did indeed make the world a better place. You shone a spotlight on family values and lived every day to the fullest, you were a fair dinkum bloke and a good friend to people and animals.
I reckon Steve's memorial was a fitting tribute to a good bloke and he would have wanted to share it with the fans all around the world who had grown to love him. Whatever it was about him, he was able to capture the hearts of millions and that in itself is probably the best memorial to the Croc hunter.
Steve Irwin's death proved the old adage - "It's not the years in your life that count, but the life in your years."
When he died, I thought it was sad that a man so successful, so able to make a name for himself doing what he loved should be cut off in his prime. I felt sorry for his family, who seemed to share such devotion to each other. But to tell the truth, I wondered why there was such a fuss. Why politicians from our Prime Minister down were vying to express their condolences - why he'd been offered a State funeral - after all, wasn't he just another celebrity? How serious were his environmental credentials? Didn't he, to a great extent, just use them to bolster his own image and make lots of money?
Perhaps it's simply the ability of great theatre linked with patriotism to touch the heart-strings that made his memorial so moving; or perhaps the re-telling of his life in pictures and personal tributes gave me a more realistic perspective on what he'd done for wildlife conservation but in the end, I mourned Steve as I never thought I would.
The decision to have not a stuffy, State funeral, but a celebration at the "Crocoseum" at Australia Zoo - the 5,000 seat theatre Steve built to provide a window on wildlife to the world - was a brilliant piece of marketing of the Steve Irwin brand that will undoubtedly live on. But more than that, it was a window on the emotions and love inspired by this rambunctious ratbag.
Watching him live on the big screen, it wasn't difficult to see that he was never going to make old bones. He lived life on the edge and courted danger at every turn. But it wasn't just his mad escapades that made Steve Irwin unique, it was his childlike enthusiasm, his very "Australianism", the fact that he really didn't care whether we thought he was a lunatic or a showoff, he was happy to put himself out there with all his faults on the world stage. He was a man, confident in himself and prepared to share that self with us all. Most of all he was a family man - Steve did nothing without the family around him and his love for them and for his extended family of Australia Zoo staff and colleagues shone through everything.
Goodbye Steve. You projected the image of the quintessential Australian to the world - a mad bugger, out in the wilds playing with dangerous animals - not what we really are, but what we wish we were. My heart breaks for your wife - for who could ever follow in the wake of Steve - and for your children, who have lost a great mate, the most fun dad and a wonderful role-model, and for your father because what parent should ever have to outlive the son.
Steve Irwin, you did indeed make the world a better place. You shone a spotlight on family values and lived every day to the fullest, you were a fair dinkum bloke and a good friend to people and animals.
I reckon Steve's memorial was a fitting tribute to a good bloke and he would have wanted to share it with the fans all around the world who had grown to love him. Whatever it was about him, he was able to capture the hearts of millions and that in itself is probably the best memorial to the Croc hunter.
Steve Irwin's death proved the old adage - "It's not the years in your life that count, but the life in your years."
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