GOODNIGHT SWEET PRINCE

I miss Steve Irwin. I have to admit that in recent years I have looked to other wildlife daredevil types rather than the old staple Crocodile Hunter. My favorite is the guy who yells the name of whatever animal he encounters "Octopus, octopus, octopus" and is in general a total spaz. However, you can never discount the original. He truly was an entertaining guy.

Ok, so I had just written this very sweet post about Steve Irwin and it got deleted somehow when I tabbed away from the page. I only hope this recreation of the post is as endearing and wonderful as the original had been. I’m sorry if it isn’t.

There was a time when shows about some guy running through the wild were rare and, if they existed, were very dull. Not anymore. Who do we have to thank for that? Steve Irwin. He brought an excitement and enthusiasm to nature shows that had been sorely lacking. He allowed us to look at our primal instincts. He let us all revert to a conquer or be conquered relationship with the natural world around us. He fulfilled something that most of us are lacking in the concrete jungle, a true relationship with Mother Earth.

I would be lying if I said I never wanted to see him get his face bit off. I think that is part of his charm. Because he was playing with the unpredictable, there was a sense of urgency and danger in everything he did. Every episode triggered my “fight or flight” response. It also triggered my long suppressed bloodlust. You would think that he was mauled by a croc or something but I knew that couldn’t have been it. I mean he had those crocs in check. It was apparently a freak stingray accident. See a stingray can hurt a human but generally won’t kill. This particular sting just happened to pierce his heart. Part of me really wants to see the footage of this accident. Don’t lie, part of you does too. Or maybe you don’t and I have just been revealed as a sick and twisted individual. Oops. I also wonder if his wife was shooting this footage, I heard she did a lot of the camera work on his shows. That is so tragic to think about that I don’t want to and will now stop.

Instead of continuing with the unidentified songs I will instead select a few to go down in history as Odes To Steve Irwin. Wanna hear it, here it goes.

Little Wing, Jimi Hendrix- Not only is this one of the greatest songs ever; it had a line that just fit. “Butterflies and zebras and moonbeams and a fairy tale. That’s all she ever thinks about, riding with the wind.” See change she to he and you got a Croc Hunter theme song. Just nature at its best.

Let’s Do Everything For The Fist Time Forever, Of Montreal- Ok so I happen to be in the midst of a sick Of Montreal obsession but this song is just sweet and youthful and magical, like Steve Irwin. I want to watch TV like I was watching Croc Hunter for the first time and have that same excited exhilarated feeling forever.
Don’t You Forget About Me, Simple Minds- I won’t forget about you Steve, you will always be in my heart. Let’s give it one big “Crikey!” for old time’s sake.