CRIKEY CROCKS RULE.......
I have 2 men that I think are LARGER then LIFE. what they did while they were alive Transcended what they believed in.
1: Dale Earnhardt, Died while racing for the 3rd Position ( while at the same time protecting the Lead held by Michael Waltrip and second place Dale Earnhardt Jr.) on the LAST TURN of THE LAST LAP of the DAYTONA 500 on February 18 2001.
Dale Sr. was a man that transcended NASCAR. no MATER WHO you WERE you KNEW his NAME you KNEW that he was one of the GREATEST men to EVER drive on the NASCAR Circuit..
people either LOVED HIM or they HATED HIM there was NO GRAY Area.
2: Steve Irwin, Died while filming a Documentary on Stingrays. September 4, 2006
Again.. a man that TRNCENDED all he believed in. He knew what he did was dangerous. he did it with dignity and honor and a TRUE LOVE for the animals he worked with.
and again people either LOVED HIM or they HATED HIM there was NO GRAY Area.
I just BET the last thing he was thinking of was " Ohh YOUR a NAUGHTY BOY ! ! !
or maybe.. MY your a bit GRUMPY today..
Australia's 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin died doing what he loved best
The Associated Press
Published: September 4, 2006
CAIRNS, Australia He stalked lions. He faced off with poisonous snakes. He wrestled with crocodiles. When the end came for television's beloved "Crocodile Hunter," it was in an encounter with a stingray and its venomous tail barb.
Perhaps it wasn't surprising. Steve Irwin died doing what he loved best, getting too close to one of the dangerous animals he dedicated his life to protecting with an irrepressible, effervescent personality that propelled him to global fame.
The 44-year-old Irwin's heart was pierced by the serrated, poisonous spine of a stingray as he swam with the creature Monday while shooting a new TV show on the Great Barrier Reef, his manager and producer John Stainton said.
Marine experts called the death a freak accident. They said rays reflexively deploy a sharp spine in their tails when frightened, but the venom coating the barb usually just causes a very painful sting for humans.
News of Irwin's death reverberated around the world, where he won popularity with millions as the man who regularly leaped on the back of huge crocodiles and grabbed deadly snakes by the tail.
"Crikey!" was his catch phrase, repeated whenever there was a close call _ or just about any other event _ during his TV programs, delivered with a broad Australian twang, mile-a-minute delivery and big arm gestures.
"I am shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin's sudden, untimely and freakish death," Australian Prime Minister John Howard said. "It's a huge loss to Australia."
Conservationists said all the world would feel the loss of Irwin, who turned a childhood love of snakes and lizards and knowledge learned at his parents' side into a message of wildlife preservation that reached a television audience that reportedly exceeded 200 million.
In high-energy programs from Africa, the Americas and Asia, but especially his beloved Australia, Irwin _ dressed always in khaki shorts, shirt and heavy boots _ crept up on lions, chased and was chased by komodo dragons, and went eye-to-eye with poisonous snakes.
Often, his trademark big finish was to hunt down one of the huge saltwater crocodiles that inhabit the rivers and beaches of the Outback in Australia's tropical north, leap onto its back, grabbing its jaws with his bare hands, then tying the animal's mouth with rope.
He was a committed conservationist, running a wildlife park for crocodiles and other Australian fauna, including kangaroos, koalas and possums, and using some of his TV wealth to buy tracts of land for use as natural habitat.
Irwin was shooting a series called "Ocean's Deadliest" in the water at Batt Reef, off the Australian resort town of Port Douglas about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Cairns, when he was stung.
"The stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat, Croc One, at the time.
He died within an hour.
"He died doing what he loved best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind," Stainton said, his voice wavering. "He would have said, 'Crocs Rule!'"
Irwin's image was dented in 2004 when he held his month-old son, Bob, in one arm while feeding large crocodiles inside a zoo pen, touching off a public outcry. He argued there was no danger to his son. He also has a daughter, Bindi Sue.
Later that year, he was accused of getting too close to penguins and humpback whales in Antarctica while making a documentary. An official investigation recommended no action be taken against him.
Irwin was born Feb. 22, 1962, in the southern city of Melbourne to a plumber father and a nurse mother, who decided a few years later to chase a shared dream of becoming involved in animal preservation.
They moved to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and opened a reptile and wildlife preserve at Beerwah in 1970. Irwin was in his element.
He was given a 3.5-meter (12-foot) scrub python for his sixth birthday and regularly went on capturing excursions with his father in the bushland around the park. He became obsessed with crocodiles, and in his 20s worked for the Queensland government as a trapper.
Irwin's father, Bob, said his son had an innate affinity with animals from an early age, a sense Irwin later described as "a gift." Irwin said he learned about wildlife working with his parents rather than in school.
In 1991, Irwin took over the park, Australia Zoo, when his parents retired and began building a reputation as a showman during daily crocodile feeding shows.
He met and married Terri Raines, of Eugene, Oregon, who came to the park as a tourist, that year. They invited a television crew to join them on their camping honeymoon on Australia's far northern tip.
The resulting show became the first "Crocodile Hunter," was picked up by the Discovery Channel, and became an international hit.
Irwin was more famous in the United States than at home, where he typified a knockabout, rascally character Australians call a "larrikin."
He starred in his own movie, "The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course" in 2002 and appeared in the Eddie Murphy movie "Dr. Dolittle 2."
My Thoughts go out to the Irwin Family, and his "EXTENDED FAMILY at Australia ZOO
Love and Hugs to you all.
PS.
a MONSTER Thank you to heavenandhell for the gift. I REALLY appreciate it ! ! !
I have 2 men that I think are LARGER then LIFE. what they did while they were alive Transcended what they believed in.
1: Dale Earnhardt, Died while racing for the 3rd Position ( while at the same time protecting the Lead held by Michael Waltrip and second place Dale Earnhardt Jr.) on the LAST TURN of THE LAST LAP of the DAYTONA 500 on February 18 2001.
Dale Sr. was a man that transcended NASCAR. no MATER WHO you WERE you KNEW his NAME you KNEW that he was one of the GREATEST men to EVER drive on the NASCAR Circuit..
people either LOVED HIM or they HATED HIM there was NO GRAY Area.
2: Steve Irwin, Died while filming a Documentary on Stingrays. September 4, 2006
Again.. a man that TRNCENDED all he believed in. He knew what he did was dangerous. he did it with dignity and honor and a TRUE LOVE for the animals he worked with.
and again people either LOVED HIM or they HATED HIM there was NO GRAY Area.
I just BET the last thing he was thinking of was " Ohh YOUR a NAUGHTY BOY ! ! !
or maybe.. MY your a bit GRUMPY today..
Australia's 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin died doing what he loved best
The Associated Press
Published: September 4, 2006
CAIRNS, Australia He stalked lions. He faced off with poisonous snakes. He wrestled with crocodiles. When the end came for television's beloved "Crocodile Hunter," it was in an encounter with a stingray and its venomous tail barb.
Perhaps it wasn't surprising. Steve Irwin died doing what he loved best, getting too close to one of the dangerous animals he dedicated his life to protecting with an irrepressible, effervescent personality that propelled him to global fame.
The 44-year-old Irwin's heart was pierced by the serrated, poisonous spine of a stingray as he swam with the creature Monday while shooting a new TV show on the Great Barrier Reef, his manager and producer John Stainton said.
Marine experts called the death a freak accident. They said rays reflexively deploy a sharp spine in their tails when frightened, but the venom coating the barb usually just causes a very painful sting for humans.
News of Irwin's death reverberated around the world, where he won popularity with millions as the man who regularly leaped on the back of huge crocodiles and grabbed deadly snakes by the tail.
"Crikey!" was his catch phrase, repeated whenever there was a close call _ or just about any other event _ during his TV programs, delivered with a broad Australian twang, mile-a-minute delivery and big arm gestures.
"I am shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin's sudden, untimely and freakish death," Australian Prime Minister John Howard said. "It's a huge loss to Australia."
Conservationists said all the world would feel the loss of Irwin, who turned a childhood love of snakes and lizards and knowledge learned at his parents' side into a message of wildlife preservation that reached a television audience that reportedly exceeded 200 million.
In high-energy programs from Africa, the Americas and Asia, but especially his beloved Australia, Irwin _ dressed always in khaki shorts, shirt and heavy boots _ crept up on lions, chased and was chased by komodo dragons, and went eye-to-eye with poisonous snakes.
Often, his trademark big finish was to hunt down one of the huge saltwater crocodiles that inhabit the rivers and beaches of the Outback in Australia's tropical north, leap onto its back, grabbing its jaws with his bare hands, then tying the animal's mouth with rope.
He was a committed conservationist, running a wildlife park for crocodiles and other Australian fauna, including kangaroos, koalas and possums, and using some of his TV wealth to buy tracts of land for use as natural habitat.
Irwin was shooting a series called "Ocean's Deadliest" in the water at Batt Reef, off the Australian resort town of Port Douglas about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Cairns, when he was stung.
"The stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat, Croc One, at the time.
He died within an hour.
"He died doing what he loved best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind," Stainton said, his voice wavering. "He would have said, 'Crocs Rule!'"
Irwin's image was dented in 2004 when he held his month-old son, Bob, in one arm while feeding large crocodiles inside a zoo pen, touching off a public outcry. He argued there was no danger to his son. He also has a daughter, Bindi Sue.
Later that year, he was accused of getting too close to penguins and humpback whales in Antarctica while making a documentary. An official investigation recommended no action be taken against him.
Irwin was born Feb. 22, 1962, in the southern city of Melbourne to a plumber father and a nurse mother, who decided a few years later to chase a shared dream of becoming involved in animal preservation.
They moved to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and opened a reptile and wildlife preserve at Beerwah in 1970. Irwin was in his element.
He was given a 3.5-meter (12-foot) scrub python for his sixth birthday and regularly went on capturing excursions with his father in the bushland around the park. He became obsessed with crocodiles, and in his 20s worked for the Queensland government as a trapper.
Irwin's father, Bob, said his son had an innate affinity with animals from an early age, a sense Irwin later described as "a gift." Irwin said he learned about wildlife working with his parents rather than in school.
In 1991, Irwin took over the park, Australia Zoo, when his parents retired and began building a reputation as a showman during daily crocodile feeding shows.
He met and married Terri Raines, of Eugene, Oregon, who came to the park as a tourist, that year. They invited a television crew to join them on their camping honeymoon on Australia's far northern tip.
The resulting show became the first "Crocodile Hunter," was picked up by the Discovery Channel, and became an international hit.
Irwin was more famous in the United States than at home, where he typified a knockabout, rascally character Australians call a "larrikin."
He starred in his own movie, "The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course" in 2002 and appeared in the Eddie Murphy movie "Dr. Dolittle 2."
My Thoughts go out to the Irwin Family, and his "EXTENDED FAMILY at Australia ZOO
Love and Hugs to you all.
PS.
a MONSTER Thank you to heavenandhell for the gift. I REALLY appreciate it ! ! !
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
anyway... hope all is well. the new pics of the kids are great!!!