I'm generally not very keen on pointing out the work of T6yr4 (god) in the world, mainly because I think we create our own destinies, but occasionally something happens that is so strange and so unlikely that mathematitions would fight to work out the odds of it ever happening again.
Steve Irwin; Australian superstar, environmentalist and family man, Steve was the Crocodile Hunter and spent many years teasing dangerous animals in front of the camera to the delight of many adouring fans (including me) around the world. It really looks like some devine governor exercised their will on the occasion of his death.
While filming one of his documentories off the great barrier reef, he is killed by a stingray. Now that doesn't sound particularly interesting. Tragic and sad, but not unexpected to the fans of Steve's work and given that we know nothing about stingrays save they have a dangerous sting, it is certainly a death that sounds plausible.
However when you hear from the BBC that no-one has died from a stingray related injury in 61 years, and that the poison in the sting of a sting ray is not alone capable of killing a man, you start to wonder as to the chances of this event happening to anyone let alone a superstar. When further details are released as to the exact cause of Steve's death we hear that it was not the fact that he was stung that killed him, but that the barb, that the stingray lodges in its victim, went into steves heart and it was effectively this stabbing in the chest that killed him. You've got to be looking at the odds now!
Had it stuck him anywhere else other than this 10 cm by 10cm area of his cheast he'd still be jumping on crocs to hold there mouths shut. If it had hit a rib or passed near the heart he'd still be with us, this is phenomenally unlucky! So unlucky in fact that it looks like an anti-miracle, surely one particular person cannot be singled out by a devine will and have a fitting end forced upon them?
It is however a fitting end to Steve's life, it was going to happen to him this way, he couldn't have died any other way than jumping in with nature to grab it by the balls and hold it up in front of the camera. It's just so random that maybe it was destiny, that's what I can't get over! Apparently in a TV interview he said that he wanted his death filmed, so he got his wish. I'm sure some conspiracies will arise out of this; involving scuba assasins with gas powered blow pipes or something.
However, my thoughts; like most of the world's go out to Terri, Bindi Sue, Bob, and Suei at this terrible time, the world has lost someone so enthusiasticly caught up in the curiosity and majesty of the natural world that he'd dive right in to find out how it worked.
Farewell Steve.
