So I know he's not royalty or anything, and in the past, I've been embarrassed to think of Steve Irwin as any kind of ambassador of Australia - as if everyone else in the world thinks of us Aussies as people who like to wrestle crocodiles and say 'crikey' a lot. But it's going to be one of *those* moments now that he's dead. As in, where were you when you heard? Me, I was watching re runs of an old favourite TV show, Blue Heelers, on daytime tv when the news interrupted the story. I was shocked. I felt so sad. I mean, yeah, he was odd, and a little too overenthusiastic about...oh... everything for my liking, but he was harmless, and more importantly did a lot for animals and wildlife conservation in this country and worldwide. You can't argue that he wasn't a decent human being. I guess it just confirms in the worlds' collective eyes that Australia really is a dangerous country full of creatures ready to jump out and kill you at a moments glance. You can't even go snorkelling in shallow waters for fear of sting rays piercing you through the heart. I commented to someone "I didn't think they were agressive. I thought they only had the sting thing as a defense mechanism if they were provoked." "Steve Irwin" was the succinct response. Touche`.
