You could say you saw this coming, but you'd be wrong. What you saw coming was Steve being mauled by a crocodile, or poisoned by a snake, or disemboweled by a velociraptor. But stabbed in the heart by a stingray? You didn't see that coming. Stingrays are harmless. I've swam with stingrays. Hundreds of people swim with them every day, and none have been killed since 1945 (in Australia at least, according to this). If you saw this coming, go out and buy a lottery ticket, because hey, maybe you can see the winning numbers coming too.
Another sad thing about this, which says something about the culture I've grown up in, is that one of the first thoughts that went through my head after hearing he had died while filming a documentary was "I wonder if it was caught on film?"
Also somewhat strange is that fact that Animal Planet is already planning to name a garden after Steve, and also start a charity in his name. You can find this at his Wikipedia entry, which is fully updated regarding his death and the reaction to it. And he died this morning. I'm not saying it's bad, but it just seems weird to me that information can travel so quickly, and decisions can be made so fast, about an event that happened in an Australian ocean less than 24 hours ago.
Incidentally, yes, it was caught on tape. Not that it should matter.
15 comments:
This is surreal.
I feel like I've been living under a rock (or just a victim of no tv) that I admit I've never seen the show. However, I've heard about him incessantly and now that he's died, seen a few clips. From what I gather he DID seem like a decent chap who loved animals. He will certainly be missed by many (including his family) for his enthusiasm and goofy personality.
very sad, indeed.
He was great.
Jason.
Crikey, this totally sucks.
They are holding a candlelight vigil downtown tonight. They hold one of those damn things every chance they get.
I feel bad too because I actually never watched him. My regrets to those he leaves behind and the TV viewers whose homes he filled happily.
"I wonder if it was caught on film?"
Ya, I'm guilty.
PM Howard has offered the family a state funeral.
Tragic, I know. Who could see it coming?
Very sad, and bizarre circumstances indeed, particularly with his seemingly invincible persona. I can't believe the response of his fellow Aussie Germaine Greer, to his death, almost suggesting the poor fellow had it coming:-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/australia/story/0,,1865124,00.html
I got no interest in seein' the tape...
...matterafact, I got some serious doubts 'bout the people that do..
Um...hellooooo? Of course we all saw it coming dummy! It's sad, we'll miss him. At least he died doing what he loved.
I got a little weepy reading about this. His poor wife was in Tasmania.
Can a cross-eyed teacher control his pupils?
Actually, whether or not it was filmed was not my first, or even my tenth thought. So I was rather taken aback when the bubblehead on CNN mentioned that they did indeed have footage but (in a let's-pat-ourselves-on-the-back sort of way) would not show it.
Because, you know, CNN is such a paragon of good taste.
Post a Comment