The most I knew of The Crocodile Hunter were the dead-on impressions of his many admirers. His happy charisma seeped through the television screen, the unmistakable Australian accent commanding laughter and light-heartedness. Steven Irwin’s death seemed to pierce all of our lives, inexplicably, even those like me who never watched his show. As the media re-played hours of footage garnishing a soundtrack of “Crikey!”, Irwin’s energetic smile dazzled it’s teary-eyed audience. I’ve never been particularly sad about a celebrity or public figure’s death, in that I didn’t feel personally connected. However, something about the fire of life radiating from Steven Irwin in his every palpitated, abundant movement and cheerful voice instantly connected with me on a human level.

Happy people are the most attractive of all and the more I watch, I see that’s why the world loved Steve Irwin. Those with passion ignite our own and I thrive from the bubbling candor of other’s lives. It doesn’t matter if that passion is for something completely unrelated to your own life. I, for one, don’t even really like animals other than horses or an occasional dog. Certainly I have no interest in being near a crocodile or lurking through swampy waters in the Australian wilderness. But it doesn’t matter because people like Steve Irwin make you wonder what you have to love that much. They make you excited about things in a way that the drone of ordinary life can wash away if your not paying attention. They remind you not to fall away from freshness and spontaneity, fun and vigor.

I keep hearing the question, why did the world love Steve Irwin so much? And I had to answer that question. It was easy to piece it together after watching the 20/20 interview with his wife, Terri. There’s was a beautiful love story that seemed to carry its 14 years all the way through. Terri’s description of their meeting, romance, and marriage restored my hope in the possibility of such things still to come. It was clear he was a wonderful husband, father, son, and friend. Clips showed him speaking, almost in tears, about his own father as a personal hero. He respected wildlife and humanity to the upmost degree and lived his life with an urgency that required the energy only authentic passion can provide.

I believe strong people are drawn to one another and such was the case with Terri and Steve. She was flourishing in her career when they met, packed up and moved to Australia from Oregon and made her home with the crocodiles. The interview with Barbara Walters was touching and raw, sincerely honest as she spoke of taking it now one breath at a time. But this was quite obviously a strong lady, dedicated to the wildlife and preservation over which she and her husband first bonded. As they walked through Steve’s zoo and began speaking of a different way to hold animals captive in these kinds of places, her zeal for the topic emerged. She didn’t forget about Steve, but her speech was punctuated by his dream for this place now.

So the physical world has lost a breath of life in Steve Irwin. It is a rarity for the loss of one person to resonate so deeply in the hearts of strangers. Perhaps because he represented something without controversy that sparked our senses, made our hearts beat faster, and made us laugh. In an age teeming with turmoil, this was surely a welcomed escape. If nothing else, I’ve seen something of the human spirit that I admire, adore, and aspire to imitate. Thank you, Steve Irwin, for showing us what life should and can be.