R.I.P. Steve Irwin

04/30/2006 @ 09:58:35 AM MDT
I was into snakes long before the day I first watched the Crocodile Hunter, but I was enchanted and encouraged by Steve Irwin's seemingly crazy antics with reptiles. I learned to tail venomous snakes watching Steve on TV, and my enthusiasm for herpetology was reawakened after watching his show.

I went to work as Steve for Halloween in 1997, wearing the same khaki shorts and shirt with "Irwin" printed across top of one pocket, my African egg-eating snake in the other pocket and my 4-foot Columbian red-tail boa looped around my neck. (The egg-eating snake crapped while it was in that pocket. It ran all the way down the front of the shirt.)

Steve engaged in very risky behavior, and even though he probably knew what he was doing more than just about anyone else in the world, it's not surprising that he died doing what he loved. Today is very sad one in the herpetological world. May Steve find even bigger and more poisonous snakes to play with where he is now.