steve irwin's dead

when i first hear the news, i nearly laughed. like others, i had to check twice to see it wasn't the 1st april. then i felt guilty and read an obituary and found out was a good bloke he was (except for the baby incident). then i started thinking about the immortal irwin.

a barb in the heart will never kill him. he will remain alive for the next 2 generations at least. they will name streets and zoos after him. they may even have an anniversary day. his home and zoo will become a site for pilgrims and idle onlookers. his funeral will be a show and people will participate even if they haven't been invited to. he was a showman. it's what he would have wanted. the image of irwin will linger in our collective memories, like a curious smudge against a multicoloured collage.

I hope his legacy survives along with his image. he wouldn't let his crocs sink into a slow heat death. he would have done something. action over apathy. energy over inertia. who wouldn't like a man like irwin by your side when you're underfire; when there is no escape. would he have just buggered off when his mexican friend was being dragged around in the dirt? hell no! he would have got his gun and blasted everyone in sight. and when his bullets ran out he would have used his shoe to batter the general to death. he had faith. a kind of lunatic belief. (not that i ever met him, it's just the image i have. the image is all we've got.)

so, this is not bye bye steve irwin, but hello hello steve irwin. welcome to the land of the immortals. let's hope we use your memory for collective good. and sorry for almost laughing.