[OT] Steve Irwin died

Christina Websell wrote:


I can only guess that neither of you have yet to suffer a life-threatening
illness.
I have arthritic knees too. Too much horse riding. They are the least of
my worries.
I have a 6 in 10 chance of living ten years.
It so annoys me when people who have never had to consider the dark side of
health think they know what it might be like and what they will do.
They have NO IDEA.

You're wrong, of course! Just because our views don't agree
with yours does not mean we "have no idea". Death is a
natural part of life, not everyone thinks of it as "the dark
side", but simply as something that comes to us all (ready
or not). A well-known doctor once remarked, "Life is a
fatal disease" - no-one lives forever. (Most of us would
not WANT to!) Whether or not one has a "life-threatening
illness", anyone over sixty has come to terms with the fact
that more than half his/her life is already over.

Actually, if one KNOWS approximately how long one can expect
to live, it can be an advantage: 1) One makes sure one's
nearest and dearest KNOW they are loved and treasured.
2) One makes full use of the time one has left - health
allowing, one does those things one had always intended to
do but kept putting off. 3) One stops procrastinating about
arrangements for disposition of assets - i.e. one makes a
Will. However long or short one's remaining life may be,
the important thing is to savor every minute of it, not
bemoan the fact it may not last as long as one might like.

On Tue 05 Sep 2006 06:23:11p, MaryL wrote in
rec.pets.cats.anecdotes (news:iNmLg.49922$W01.2971@dukeread08):

Either way -- whether Irwin was swimming beside the ray or above
it -- that part is a bit irrelevant. My point was that with a
photographer in the front and Irwin either beside or above the
ray, it may have felt threatened. The video apparently shows
that Irwin did not provoke the ray, but I was trying to say that
he may not have *deliberately* provoked the ray but the ray
could have felt trapped or threatened and reacted accordingly.


First I want to say I was saddened by the loss of Steve Irwin. I've
been a big fan of his, both for his conservation efforts, and his
efforts to increase awareness in the beauty of wildlife, even if he
*seemed* to be overly grandiose in his methods at times. He knew
how to handle snakes in a way that they weren't stressed, or
injured. He protected those he worked with when they had to subdue
a croc to relocate it to a newer, bigger, or separate habitat. His
feelings for trapped crocs that needed to be relocated to the wild
when they found their way into a human environment was very evident
to me as a viewer. I hope his children will be able to come to
grips that he lived his life and died doing what he believed in so
much.

That said, wild animals never react the way anyone expects. I don't
have a lot of experience with them, but am learning a little of how
some act, or react, by watching the hummingbirds. I've noticed in
the last week that they are extremely aggressive now, and today I
went out on the deck to smoke a ciggerette, and one hummer that
will not leave the feeder during daylight hours actually chased a
puff of smoke probably mistaking it for one of the other hummers it
had been chasing. I suppose they are aggressively protecting their
food source right now because they will be migrating soon.

--
Cheryl

On 2006-09-06, EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) penned:

You're wrong, of course! Just because our views don't agree with
yours does not mean we "have no idea". Death is a natural part of
life, not everyone thinks of it as "the dark side", but simply as
something that comes to us all (ready or not). A well-known doctor
once remarked, "Life is a fatal disease" - no-one lives forever.
(Most of us would not WANT to!) Whether or not one has a
"life-threatening illness", anyone over sixty has come to terms with
the fact that more than half his/her life is already over.

I've recently been plowing through a series of books about a place
called the Discworld. A recurring character is Death. People
sometimes notice him hanging around and ask if they're going to die.
Inevitably he says yes. Only a very few realize that of course that's
the answer for every single person, and that it doesn't necessarily
mean they're going to die *right now*.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:
Christina Websell wrote:


I can only guess that neither of you have yet to suffer a life-threatening
illness.
I have arthritic knees too. Too much horse riding. They are the least of
my worries.
I have a 6 in 10 chance of living ten years.
It so annoys me when people who have never had to consider the dark side of
health think they know what it might be like and what they will do.
They have NO IDEA.

You're wrong, of course! Just because our views don't agree
with yours does not mean we "have no idea". Death is a
natural part of life, not everyone thinks of it as "the dark
side", but simply as something that comes to us all (ready
or not). A well-known doctor once remarked, "Life is a
fatal disease" - no-one lives forever. (Most of us would
not WANT to!) Whether or not one has a "life-threatening
illness", anyone over sixty has come to terms with the fact
that more than half his/her life is already over.

Actually, if one KNOWS approximately how long one can expect
to live, it can be an advantage: 1) One makes sure one's
nearest and dearest KNOW they are loved and treasured.
2) One makes full use of the time one has left - health
allowing, one does those things one had always intended to
do but kept putting off. 3) One stops procrastinating about
arrangements for disposition of assets - i.e. one makes a
Will. However long or short one's remaining life may be,
the important thing is to savor every minute of it, not
bemoan the fact it may not last as long as one might like.

I think you're right, Evelyn; but I can sure see where Christina is
coming from. She and I have one thing in common -- were it not for
modern medicine we would not be here today. Once you're smacked in the
face by your own mortality, there's kind of a "why me" thing that sets
in for a while. I would listen to my inlaws moan and groan about their
arthritis, constipation, psoriasis, etc. etc. etc.etc.etc.etc. (and I
do mean etc.)...and I would just want to stand up and scream WHATS
WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE??? DON'T YOU KNOW HOW LUCKY YOU ARE??
I got over it though. It's a process.
Now I think "This is the bonus round!" and realize that this borrowed
time is really a wonderful thing.

Sherry

"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
On Tue 05 Sep 2006 06:23:11p, MaryL wrote in
rec.pets.cats.anecdotes (news:iNmLg.49922$W01.2971@dukeread08):

Either way -- whether Irwin was swimming beside the ray or above
it -- that part is a bit irrelevant. My point was that with a
photographer in the front and Irwin either beside or above the
ray, it may have felt threatened. The video apparently shows
that Irwin did not provoke the ray, but I was trying to say that
he may not have *deliberately* provoked the ray but the ray
could have felt trapped or threatened and reacted accordingly.


First I want to say I was saddened by the loss of Steve Irwin. I've
been a big fan of his, both for his conservation efforts, and his
efforts to increase awareness in the beauty of wildlife, even if he
*seemed* to be overly grandiose in his methods at times. He knew
how to handle snakes in a way that they weren't stressed, or
injured. He protected those he worked with when they had to subdue
a croc to relocate it to a newer, bigger, or separate habitat. His
feelings for trapped crocs that needed to be relocated to the wild
when they found their way into a human environment was very evident
to me as a viewer. I hope his children will be able to come to
grips that he lived his life and died doing what he believed in so
much.

That said, wild animals never react the way anyone expects. I don't
have a lot of experience with them, but am learning a little of how
some act, or react, by watching the hummingbirds. I've noticed in
the last week that they are extremely aggressive now, and today I
went out on the deck to smoke a ciggerette, and one hummer that
will not leave the feeder during daylight hours actually chased a
puff of smoke probably mistaking it for one of the other hummers it
had been chasing. I suppose they are aggressively protecting their
food source right now because they will be migrating soon.

--
I love watching our hummingbirds. But they are vicious little monsters.
Nothing like the pretty bejeweled darling I used to think. Cats wanting to
be fed have nothing on these dive bombing little terrors.

Jo

A man I regret I had never met. He will be very sorely missed.

Blessed be,
Baha

Yowie wrote:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...9/s1732439.htm
Steve Irwin dead
The naturalist and television star Steve Irwin has died in a diving accident
in far north Queensland. He was 44.

Police say he was stung through the heart by a stingray while diving off
Port Douglas.

He was filming a documentary when the accident occurred around midday AEST
near the Low Isles.

A helicopter arrived with paramedics on board to try to resuscitate him, but
it was too late.

Irwin's body is being taken to the morgue in Cairns.

His family are believed to be flying from Brisbane to Cairns this afternoon.

Irwin, who was was born in Victoria in 1962, inherited his love of reptiles
from his father.

His father Bob was a keen reptile enthusiast and moved the family to
Queensland in 1970 to open a small reptile park on the Sunshine Coast.

Irwin took over the family business in 1991 and grew it into Australia Zoo.

In 1992 he ventured into television, making the first series of the
Crocodile Hunter.

When the program aired in the United States, he shot to international fame.

Irwin is survived by his wife Terri and two children.

Nature lover

In 2003, he spoke to the ABC's Australian Story about how he was perceived
in his country.

"When I see what's happened all over the world, they're looking at me as
this very popular, wildlife warrior Australian bloke," he said.

"And yet back here in my own country, some people find me a little bit
embarrassing.

"You know, there's this... they kind of cringe, you know, 'cause I'm coming
out with 'Crikey' and 'Look at this beauty'.

"Just say what you're gonna say, mate. You know, is it a cultural cringe? Is
it, they actually see a little bit of themselves when they see me, and they
find that a little embarrassing?

"I'm fair dinkum, like kangaroos and Land Cruisers, winged keels and bloody
flies! I think we've lost all that. I think we've all become very, sort of,
money people."

He also spoke of his love for surfing.

"You get out there, it's just you against the waves.

"There's no paparazzi, there's no fan base, and it gives me a chance to
recuperate and regenerate.

"I think I've actually got animals so genetically inside me that there's no
way I could actually be anything else.

"I think my path would have always gone back to or delivered me to wildlife.
I think wildlife is just like a magnet, and it's something that I can't
help."