G'day mate, and rest in peace
Category: News Commentary...
Posted Monday, September 04, 2006 at 08:27 AM [GMT-6]

"Shocked" is the only description of our reaction to the news this morning that Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin was killed in a diving accident off the coast of Australia.

When I first saw the new snippet on TV, I missed the details of the accident; I assumed that he'd experienced an equipment malfunction or perhaps was hit by a boat. Never in a million years would have I guessed the true cause of his demise: a stingray barb through the heart.

My wife and I have dived with many stingrays throughout the Caribbean; we've been around folks who have been stung by them (usually after stepping on one buried in shallow sand while wading along the shoreline). We've never felt the slightest bit of fear or trepidation, and have never heard of anything more serious than a painful sting. We always assumed that the worse case scenario would be an allergic reaction, like some people have to bee stings.

Now, granted, this probably was not one of your run-of-the-mill small Caribbean rays. I haven't seen details on the size of the ray, but anything strong enough to pierce a man's sternum like that must be huge and strong...as you would expect from an Australian variant of just about any fearsome creature. Still, this is the stuff of sci-fi/horror movies.

Irwin was only 44, and leaves behind a family. I'm sure that neither he nor they could have imagined such a parting.