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Steve & Me by Terri Irwin3,202 ratings, 4.36 average rating, 487 reviews
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Steve & Me Quotes Showing 31-60 of 343
"He had told me before, but that night in the truck it hit home: Steve lived for wildlife and he would die for wildlife. He came by his convictions sincerely, from the bottom of his heart.
He was more than just my husband that night. He was my hero."
― Steve & Me
He was more than just my husband that night. He was my hero."
― Steve & Me
"Over the course of two years, from June 2004 to June 2006, two separate deaths did nothing to ease my overall anxiety. Steve's beloved Staffordshire bull terrier Sui died of cancer in June 2004. He had set up his swag and slept beside her all night, talking to her, recalling old times in the bush catching crocodiles, and comforting her.
Losing Sui brought up memories of losing Chilli a decade and a half earlier. "I am not getting another dog," Steve said. "It is just too painful."
Wes, the most loyal friend anyone could have, was there for Steve while Sui passed from this life to the next. Wes shared in Steve's grief. They had known Sui longer than Steve and I had been together.
Two years after Sui's death, in June 2006, we lost Harriet. At 175, Harriet was the oldest living creature on earth. She had met Charles Darwin and sailed on the Beagle. She was our link to the past at the zoo, and beyond that, our link to the great scientist himself. She was a living museum and an icon of our zoo.
The kids and I were headed to Fraser Island, along the southern coast of Queensland, with Joy, Steve's sister, and her husband, Frank, our zoo manager, when I heard the news. An ultrasound had confirmed that Harriet had suffered a massive heart attack.
Steve called me. "I think you'd better come home."
"I should talk to the kids about this," I said.
Bindi was horrified. "How long is Harriet going to live?" she asked.
"Maybe hours, maybe days, but not long."
"I don't want to see Harriet die," she said resolutely. She wanted to remember her as the healthy, happy tortoise with whom she'd grown up.
From the time Bindi was a tiny baby, she would enter Harriet's enclosure, put her arms around the tortoise's massive shell, and rest her face against her carapace, which was always warm from the sun. Harriet's favorite food was hibiscus flowers, and Bindi would collect them by the dozen to feed her dear friend.
I was worried about Steve but told him that Bindi couldn't bear to see Harriet dying. "It's okay," he said. "Wes is here with me." Once again, it fell to Wes to share his best mate's grief."
― Steve & Me
Losing Sui brought up memories of losing Chilli a decade and a half earlier. "I am not getting another dog," Steve said. "It is just too painful."
Wes, the most loyal friend anyone could have, was there for Steve while Sui passed from this life to the next. Wes shared in Steve's grief. They had known Sui longer than Steve and I had been together.
Two years after Sui's death, in June 2006, we lost Harriet. At 175, Harriet was the oldest living creature on earth. She had met Charles Darwin and sailed on the Beagle. She was our link to the past at the zoo, and beyond that, our link to the great scientist himself. She was a living museum and an icon of our zoo.
The kids and I were headed to Fraser Island, along the southern coast of Queensland, with Joy, Steve's sister, and her husband, Frank, our zoo manager, when I heard the news. An ultrasound had confirmed that Harriet had suffered a massive heart attack.
Steve called me. "I think you'd better come home."
"I should talk to the kids about this," I said.
Bindi was horrified. "How long is Harriet going to live?" she asked.
"Maybe hours, maybe days, but not long."
"I don't want to see Harriet die," she said resolutely. She wanted to remember her as the healthy, happy tortoise with whom she'd grown up.
From the time Bindi was a tiny baby, she would enter Harriet's enclosure, put her arms around the tortoise's massive shell, and rest her face against her carapace, which was always warm from the sun. Harriet's favorite food was hibiscus flowers, and Bindi would collect them by the dozen to feed her dear friend.
I was worried about Steve but told him that Bindi couldn't bear to see Harriet dying. "It's okay," he said. "Wes is here with me." Once again, it fell to Wes to share his best mate's grief."
― Steve & Me
"Steve continued our serious discussion, and he spoke of his mortality. He was convinced that he would never reach forty. That's why he was in such a hurry all the time, to get as much done as he could. He didn't feel sad about it. He only felt the motivation to make a difference before he was gone.
"I'm not afraid of death," he said. "I'm only afraid of dying. I don't want to get sick and dwindle. I love working hard and playing hard and living hard, and making every moment count."
― Steve & Me
"I'm not afraid of death," he said. "I'm only afraid of dying. I don't want to get sick and dwindle. I love working hard and playing hard and living hard, and making every moment count."
― Steve & Me
"Bindi and I had been in Oregon for a few days, visiting family, and we planned to catch up with Steve in Las Vegas. But she and I had an ugly incident at the airport when we arrived. A Vegas lowlife approached us, his hat pulled down, big sunglasses on his face, and displaying some of the worst dentistry I've ever seen.
He leered at us, obviously drunk or crazy, and tried to kiss me. I backed off rapidly and looked for Steve. I knew I could rely on him to take care of any creep I encountered.
Then it dawned on me: The creep was Steve. In order to move around the airport without anyone recognizing him, he put on false teeth and changed his usual clothes. I didn't recognize my own husband out of his khakis.
I burst out laughing. Bindi was wide-eyed. "Look, it's your daddy." It took her a while before she was sure."
― Steve & Me
He leered at us, obviously drunk or crazy, and tried to kiss me. I backed off rapidly and looked for Steve. I knew I could rely on him to take care of any creep I encountered.
Then it dawned on me: The creep was Steve. In order to move around the airport without anyone recognizing him, he put on false teeth and changed his usual clothes. I didn't recognize my own husband out of his khakis.
I burst out laughing. Bindi was wide-eyed. "Look, it's your daddy." It took her a while before she was sure."
― Steve & Me
"That night, lying exhausted in my swag, covered with salt water and river mud, I had a single thought running through my mind over and over. Thank God that Steve was there. Wherever I was in the Australian bush, whatever I was doing, I resolved that Steve had to be with me. I felt that as long as he was there, no matter what accident or incident happened, I knew I would be fine.
It wasn't just that I knew Steve would protect me and that his knowledge of the bush was so complete. I was beginning to sense something we would both come to feel and talk about seriously. When we were together, nothing bad would happen. Apart, we might be vulnerable. It was hard to explain, but it was as if the universe had brought us together and now we were as one. Whatever it was, we both felt it."
― Steve & Me
It wasn't just that I knew Steve would protect me and that his knowledge of the bush was so complete. I was beginning to sense something we would both come to feel and talk about seriously. When we were together, nothing bad would happen. Apart, we might be vulnerable. It was hard to explain, but it was as if the universe had brought us together and now we were as one. Whatever it was, we both felt it."
― Steve & Me
"We'd purchased conservation land over a period of many years, and we were attempting to restore the native bush. We began planting eucalypts not long after we bought the property. First we planted dozens, then hundreds, and finally thousands. Steve worked into the night planting trees. If the rain didn't come immediately, he would dutifully water each and every seedling. We had high hopes that one day the land would offer refuge to everything from koalas to phascogales.
"It will take a lifetime to establish these trees," he said. "But one day they will be big, they will have hollows, and there will be a place where animals can live again." Even in its raw, cattle-ravaged state, the land was heaven. The rufous bettongs were out in force every night, and the white-winged choughs flew down to keep an eye on us whenever we worked.
We had pieced together land parcels for a total of six hundred and fifty acres. This was the property Lyn and Bob were taking over in 1999."
― Steve & Me
"It will take a lifetime to establish these trees," he said. "But one day they will be big, they will have hollows, and there will be a place where animals can live again." Even in its raw, cattle-ravaged state, the land was heaven. The rufous bettongs were out in force every night, and the white-winged choughs flew down to keep an eye on us whenever we worked.
We had pieced together land parcels for a total of six hundred and fifty acres. This was the property Lyn and Bob were taking over in 1999."
― Steve & Me
"He was a meteor. Harriet was more of a mountain. In this world, we need both."
― Steve & Me
― Steve & Me
"Forever afterward, Steve and I referred to the Cattle Creek rescue as our honeymoon trip. It also marked the beginning of Steve's filming career. He was gifted with the ability to hunt down wildlife. But he hunted animals to save them, not kill them.
That's how the Crocodile Hunter was born."
― Steve & Me
That's how the Crocodile Hunter was born."
― Steve & Me
"If we killed cows the way we killed whales, people wouldn't stand for it," Steve said. "Imagine if you drove a truck with a torpedo gun off the back. When you saw a cow you fired at it, and then you either electrocuted it over the course of half an hour or the head of the torpedo blew up inside of it, rendering it unable to walk or move until it finally bled to death."
― Steve & Me
― Steve & Me
"Even on the road, we continued our efforts to conceive. Part of our boy-baby effort was the need to try right at the time of ovulation. I packed an ovulation kit with me everywhere. When the strip turned blue, it meant we had a twenty-four- to forty-eight-hour window to get busy.
At first I had Steve convinced that women ovulated twenty or thirty times a month. But I couldn't trick him forever. At some point he realized that that was impossible."
― Steve & Me
At first I had Steve convinced that women ovulated twenty or thirty times a month. But I couldn't trick him forever. At some point he realized that that was impossible."
― Steve & Me
"Every inch of this man, every movement and word exuded his passion for the crocodilians he passed among. I couldn't help but notice that he never tried to big-note himself. He was there to make sure his audience admired the crocs, not himself.
I recognized his passion, because I felt some of it myself. I spoke the same way about cougars as this Australian zookeeper spoke about crocs. When I heard there would be a special guided tour of the Crocodile Environmental Park, I was first in line for a ticket. I had to hear more. This man was on fire with enthusiasm, and I felt I really connected with him, like I was meeting a kindred spirit.
What was the young zookeeper's name? Irwin. Steve Irwin."
― Steve & Me
I recognized his passion, because I felt some of it myself. I spoke the same way about cougars as this Australian zookeeper spoke about crocs. When I heard there would be a special guided tour of the Crocodile Environmental Park, I was first in line for a ticket. I had to hear more. This man was on fire with enthusiasm, and I felt I really connected with him, like I was meeting a kindred spirit.
What was the young zookeeper's name? Irwin. Steve Irwin."
― Steve & Me
"As I write this, I am still waiting for Steve to walk through the door. His sarong still hangs on the bed. His toothbrush is in the bathroom.
Reality is sinking in more and more. Bindi and I have a lot of heart-to-heart talks. These seem to help her, just like when she was younger and lost a special koala named Wilson. Wilson died of renal failure and is buried in our backyard. I felt thankful that over the years, I had set the foundation of faith with Bindi.
"As hard as it is to understand, there was a reason for all of this," I told her. "One day it will be clear."
Robert is like a pitiful puppy, and he still waits patiently for his daddy to come home from heaven. I hadn't been prepared for how devastated Robert would be. Some nights he sits in the bathtub and cries. "I want my daddy," he says, over and over. It absolutely tears my heart out."
― Steve & Me
Reality is sinking in more and more. Bindi and I have a lot of heart-to-heart talks. These seem to help her, just like when she was younger and lost a special koala named Wilson. Wilson died of renal failure and is buried in our backyard. I felt thankful that over the years, I had set the foundation of faith with Bindi.
"As hard as it is to understand, there was a reason for all of this," I told her. "One day it will be clear."
Robert is like a pitiful puppy, and he still waits patiently for his daddy to come home from heaven. I hadn't been prepared for how devastated Robert would be. Some nights he sits in the bathtub and cries. "I want my daddy," he says, over and over. It absolutely tears my heart out."
― Steve & Me
"There was a big wide world out there. We were just a small wildlife park in Australia. It was absurd to think the two of us could change the world. But our love seemed to make the impossible appear not only possible, but inevitable.
I look back on the talk we had during the ride to the zoo from Cattle Creek as helping to create the basis of our marriage. No matter what problems came along, we were determined to stay together, because side by side we could face anything."
― Steve & Me
I look back on the talk we had during the ride to the zoo from Cattle Creek as helping to create the basis of our marriage. No matter what problems came along, we were determined to stay together, because side by side we could face anything."
― Steve & Me
"What'll it be?" Steve asked me, just days after our wedding. "Do we go on the honeymoon we've got planned, or do you want to go catch crocs?"
My head was still spinning from the ceremony, the celebration, and the fact that I could now use the two words "my husband" and have them mean something real. The four months between February 2, 1992--the day Steve asked me to marry him--and our wedding day on June 4 had been a blur.
Steve's mother threw us an engagement party for Queensland friends and family, and I encountered a very common theme: "We never thought Steve would get married." Everyone said it--relatives, old friends, and schoolmates. I'd smile and nod, but my inner response was, Well, we've got that in common. And something else: Wait until I get home and tell everybody I am moving to Australia.
I knew what I'd have to explain. Being with Steve, running the zoo, and helping the crocs was exactly the right thing to do. I knew with all my heart and soul that this was the path I was meant to travel. My American friends--the best, closest ones--understood this perfectly. I trusted Steve with my life and loved him desperately.
One of the first challenges was how to bring as many Australian friends and family as possible over to the United States for the wedding. None of us had a lot of money. Eleven people wound up making the trip from Australia, and we held the ceremony in the big Methodist church my grandmother attended.
It was more than a wedding, it was saying good-bye to everyone I'd ever known. I invited everybody, even people who may not have been intimate friends. I even invited my dentist. The whole network of wildlife rehabilitators came too--four hundred people in all.
The ceremony began at eight p.m., with coffee and cake afterward. I wore the same dress that my older sister Bonnie had worn at her wedding twenty-seven years earlier, and my sister Tricia wore at her wedding six years after that. The wedding cake had white frosting, but it was decorated with real flowers instead of icing ones.
Steve had picked out a simple ring for me, a quarter carat, exactly what I wanted. He didn't have a wedding ring. We were just going to borrow one for the service, but we couldn't find anybody with fingers that were big enough. It turned out that my dad's wedding ring fitted him, and that's the one we used. Steve's mother, Lyn, gave me a silk horseshoe to put around my wrist, a symbol of good luck.
On our wedding day, June 4, 1992, it had been eight months since Steve and I first met. As the minister started reading the vows, I could see that Steve was nervous. His tuxedo looked like it was strangling him. For a man who was used to working in the tropics, he sure looked hot. The church was air-conditioned, but sweat drops formed on the ends of his fingers. Poor Steve, I thought. He'd never been up in front of such a big crowd before.
"The scariest situation I've ever been in," Steve would say later of the ceremony. This from a man who wrangled crocodiles!
When the minister invited the groom to kiss the bride, I could feel all Steve's energy, passion, and love. I realized without a doubt we were doing the right thing."
― Steve & Me
"G'day, mate," said the voice on the other end of the line. "It's Stevo calling from Australia. How you going?"
Well, for starters, I was going without breathing for a few moments."
― Steve & Me
Well, for starters, I was going without breathing for a few moments."
― Steve & Me
"The best times in my life were out in the bush with Steve."
― Steve & Me
― Steve & Me
"Bindi the Jungle Girl aired on July 18, 2007, on ABC (Channel 2) in Australia, and we were so proud. Bindi's determination to carry on her father's legacy was a testament to everything Steve believed in. He had perfectly combined his love for his family with his love for conservation and leaving the world a better place. Now this love was perfectly passed down to his kids.
The official beginning of Bindi's career was a fantastic day. All the time and effort, and joy and sorrow of the past year culminated in this wonderful series. Now everyone was invited to see Bindi's journey, first filming with her dad, and then stepping up and filming with Robert and me. It was also a chance to experience one more time why Steve was so special and unique, to embrace him, to appreciate him, and to celebrate his life.
Bindi, Robert, and I would do our best to make sure that Steve's light wasn't hidden under a bushel. It would continue to sine as we worked together to protect all wildlife and all wild places.
After Bindi's show launched, it seemed so appropriate that another project we had been working on for many months came to fruition. We found an area of 320,000 acres in Cape York Peninsula, bordered on one side by the Dulcie River and on the other side by the Wenlock River--some of the best crocodile country in the world. It was one of the top spots in Australia, and the most critically important habitat in the state of Queensland. Prime Minister John Howard, along with the Queensland government, dedicated $6.3 million to obtaining this land, in memory of Steve.
On July 22, 2007, the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve became official. This piece of land means so much to the Irwin family, and I know what it would have meant to Steve. Ultimately, it meant the protection of his crocodiles, the animals he loved so much.
What does the future hold for the Irwin family? Each and every day is filled with incredible triumphs and moments of terrible grief. And in between, life goes on. We are determined to continue to honor and appreciate Steve's wonderful spirit. It lives on with all of us. Steve lived every day of his life doing what he loved, and he always said he would die defending wildlife. I reckon Bindi, Robert, and I will all do the same.
The official beginning of Bindi's career was a fantastic day. All the time and effort, and joy and sorrow of the past year culminated in this wonderful series. Now everyone was invited to see Bindi's journey, first filming with her dad, and then stepping up and filming with Robert and me. It was also a chance to experience one more time why Steve was so special and unique, to embrace him, to appreciate him, and to celebrate his life.
Bindi, Robert, and I would do our best to make sure that Steve's light wasn't hidden under a bushel. It would continue to sine as we worked together to protect all wildlife and all wild places.
After Bindi's show launched, it seemed so appropriate that another project we had been working on for many months came to fruition. We found an area of 320,000 acres in Cape York Peninsula, bordered on one side by the Dulcie River and on the other side by the Wenlock River--some of the best crocodile country in the world. It was one of the top spots in Australia, and the most critically important habitat in the state of Queensland. Prime Minister John Howard, along with the Queensland government, dedicated $6.3 million to obtaining this land, in memory of Steve.
On July 22, 2007, the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve became official. This piece of land means so much to the Irwin family, and I know what it would have meant to Steve. Ultimately, it meant the protection of his crocodiles, the animals he loved so much.
What does the future hold for the Irwin family? Each and every day is filled with incredible triumphs and moments of terrible grief. And in between, life goes on. We are determined to continue to honor and appreciate Steve's wonderful spirit. It lives on with all of us. Steve lived every day of his life doing what he loved, and he always said he would die defending wildlife. I reckon Bindi, Robert, and I will all do the same.
God bless you, Stevo. I love you, mate."
― Steve & Me
"I know what we have to do!" he said, extremely excited.
He pulled me into the living room, sat me down, and took my hands in his. Looking intensely into my eyes, he said, "Babe, we've got to have children."
Wow, I thought, that must have been some fire.
"Ok-aaay," I said.
"You don't understand, you don't understand!" he said, trying to catch me up to his thoughts. "Everything we've been working for, the zoo that we've been building up, all of our efforts to protect wildlife, it will all stop with us!"
As with every good idea that came into his head, Steve wanted to act on it immediately. Just take it in stride, I said to myself. But he was so sincere. We'd talked about having children before, but for some reason it hit him that the time was now.
"We have got to have children," he said. "I know that if we have kids, they will carry on when we're gone."
"Great," I said. "Let's get right on that."
― Steve & Me
He pulled me into the living room, sat me down, and took my hands in his. Looking intensely into my eyes, he said, "Babe, we've got to have children."
Wow, I thought, that must have been some fire.
"Ok-aaay," I said.
"You don't understand, you don't understand!" he said, trying to catch me up to his thoughts. "Everything we've been working for, the zoo that we've been building up, all of our efforts to protect wildlife, it will all stop with us!"
As with every good idea that came into his head, Steve wanted to act on it immediately. Just take it in stride, I said to myself. But he was so sincere. We'd talked about having children before, but for some reason it hit him that the time was now.
"We have got to have children," he said. "I know that if we have kids, they will carry on when we're gone."
"Great," I said. "Let's get right on that."
― Steve & Me
"We have got to have children," he said. "I know that if we have kids, they will carry on when we're gone."
"Great," I said. "Let's get right on that."
Steve kept pacing around the living room, talking about all the advantages of having kids--how I'd been so passionate about carrying on with the family business back in Oregon, and how he felt the same way about the zoo. He just knew our kids would feel the same too.
I said, "You know, there's no guarantee that we won't have a son who grows up to be a shoe salesman in Malaysia."
"Come off the grass," Steve said. "Any kid of ours is going to be a wildlife warrior."
I thought of the whale calves following their mamas below the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight and prepared myself for a new adventure with Steve, maybe the greatest adventure of all."
― Steve & Me
"Great," I said. "Let's get right on that."
Steve kept pacing around the living room, talking about all the advantages of having kids--how I'd been so passionate about carrying on with the family business back in Oregon, and how he felt the same way about the zoo. He just knew our kids would feel the same too.
I said, "You know, there's no guarantee that we won't have a son who grows up to be a shoe salesman in Malaysia."
"Come off the grass," Steve said. "Any kid of ours is going to be a wildlife warrior."
I thought of the whale calves following their mamas below the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight and prepared myself for a new adventure with Steve, maybe the greatest adventure of all."
― Steve & Me
"While there was still water in the middle of the pools, animals attempted to reach it through the silt but would get bogged. We spent day after day checking dams, finding about eight to ten animals hopelessly mired in the silt at each and every dam, primarily kangaroos and wallabies.
We had to get to the dams early in the morning. Some of the kangaroos had been struggling all night. Steve engineered planks and straps to rescue the animals. The silt would suck us down just as fast, so we had to be careful going out to rescue the roos. Because of the lactic acid buildup in their tissues (a product of their all-night exertions to free themselves), some of the kangaroos were too far gone and couldn't recover. But we saved quite a few.
At one point, Bob came out to lend a hand. I was at the homestead, and the ovulation strip turned bright blue. I hustled over to the creek bed where Steve and his dad were working.
I motioned to Steve. "The strip is blue," I said. He looked around nervously.
"I'm out here working with me dad," he said. "What do you want me to do?"
"Just come on," I whispered impatiently.
"But my dad's right here!"
I smiled and took his hand. We headed up the dry creek bed and spent some quality time with the biting ants and the prickles.
It was after this trip to our conservation property in the Brigalow Belt that I discovered I was pregnant. I tried to let Steve know by sitting down at the table and tucking into a bowl of ice cream and pickles.
"What are you doing?" asked a totally confused Steve. I explained, and we were both totally overjoyed, keeping our fingers crossed for a boy to go along with our darling daughter."
― Steve & Me
We had to get to the dams early in the morning. Some of the kangaroos had been struggling all night. Steve engineered planks and straps to rescue the animals. The silt would suck us down just as fast, so we had to be careful going out to rescue the roos. Because of the lactic acid buildup in their tissues (a product of their all-night exertions to free themselves), some of the kangaroos were too far gone and couldn't recover. But we saved quite a few.
At one point, Bob came out to lend a hand. I was at the homestead, and the ovulation strip turned bright blue. I hustled over to the creek bed where Steve and his dad were working.
I motioned to Steve. "The strip is blue," I said. He looked around nervously.
"I'm out here working with me dad," he said. "What do you want me to do?"
"Just come on," I whispered impatiently.
"But my dad's right here!"
I smiled and took his hand. We headed up the dry creek bed and spent some quality time with the biting ants and the prickles.
It was after this trip to our conservation property in the Brigalow Belt that I discovered I was pregnant. I tried to let Steve know by sitting down at the table and tucking into a bowl of ice cream and pickles.
"What are you doing?" asked a totally confused Steve. I explained, and we were both totally overjoyed, keeping our fingers crossed for a boy to go along with our darling daughter."
― Steve & Me
"It was after this trip to our conservation property in the Brigalow Belt that I discovered I was pregnant. I tried to let Steve know by sitting down at the table and tucking into a bowl of ice cream and pickles.
"What are you doing?" asked a totally confused Steve. I explained, and we were both totally overjoyed, keeping our fingers crossed for a boy to go along with our darling daughter."
― Steve & Me
"What are you doing?" asked a totally confused Steve. I explained, and we were both totally overjoyed, keeping our fingers crossed for a boy to go along with our darling daughter."
― Steve & Me
"With the news that he would soon be a daddy again, Steve seemed inspired to work even harder. Our zoo continued to get busier, and we had trouble coping with the large numbers. The biggest draw was the crocodiles. Crowds poured in for the croc shows, filling up all the grandstands. The place was packed.
Steve came up with a monumental plan. He was a big fan of the Colosseum-type arenas of the Roman gladiator days. He sketched out his idea for me on a piece of paper.
"Have a go at this, it's a coliseum," he declared, his eyes wide with excitement. He drew an oval, then a series of smaller ovals in back of it. "Then we have crocodile ponds where the crocs could live. Every day a different croc could come out for the show and swim through a canal system"--he sketched rapidly--"then come out in the main area."
"Canals," I said. "Could you get them to come in on cue?"
"Piece of cake!" he said. "And get this! We call it…the Crocoseum!"
His enthusiasm was contagious. Never mind that nothing like this had ever been done before. Steve was determined to take the excitement and hype of the ancient Roman gladiators and combine it with the need to show people just how awesome crocs really were.
But it was a huge project. There was nothing to compare it to, because nothing even remotely similar had ever been attempted anywhere in the world. I priced it out: The budget to build the arena would have to be somewhere north of eight million dollars, a huge expense. Wes, John, Frank, and I all knew we'd have to rely on Steve's knowledge of crocodiles to make this work.
Steve's enthusiasm never waned. He was determined. This would become the biggest structure at the zoo. The arena would seat five thousand and have space beneath it for museums, shops, and a food court. The center of the arena would have land areas large enough for people to work around crocodiles safely and water areas large enough for crocs to be able to access them easily.
"How is this going to work, Steve?" I asked, after soberly assessing the cost. What if we laid out more than eight million dollars and the crocodiles decided not to cooperate? "How are you going to convince a crocodile to come out exactly at showtime, try to kill and eat the keeper, and then go back home again?"
I bit my tongue when I realized what was coming out of my mouth: advice on crocodiles directed at the world's expert on croc behavior. Steve was right with his philosophy: Build it, and they will come.
These were heady times. As the Crocoseum rose into the sky, my tummy got bigger and bigger with our new baby. It felt like I was expanding as rapidly as the new project.
The Crocoseum debuted during an Animal Planet live feed, its premiere beamed all over the world. The design was a smashing success. Once again, Steve had confounded the doubters."
― Steve & Me
Steve came up with a monumental plan. He was a big fan of the Colosseum-type arenas of the Roman gladiator days. He sketched out his idea for me on a piece of paper.
"Have a go at this, it's a coliseum," he declared, his eyes wide with excitement. He drew an oval, then a series of smaller ovals in back of it. "Then we have crocodile ponds where the crocs could live. Every day a different croc could come out for the show and swim through a canal system"--he sketched rapidly--"then come out in the main area."
"Canals," I said. "Could you get them to come in on cue?"
"Piece of cake!" he said. "And get this! We call it…the Crocoseum!"
His enthusiasm was contagious. Never mind that nothing like this had ever been done before. Steve was determined to take the excitement and hype of the ancient Roman gladiators and combine it with the need to show people just how awesome crocs really were.
But it was a huge project. There was nothing to compare it to, because nothing even remotely similar had ever been attempted anywhere in the world. I priced it out: The budget to build the arena would have to be somewhere north of eight million dollars, a huge expense. Wes, John, Frank, and I all knew we'd have to rely on Steve's knowledge of crocodiles to make this work.
Steve's enthusiasm never waned. He was determined. This would become the biggest structure at the zoo. The arena would seat five thousand and have space beneath it for museums, shops, and a food court. The center of the arena would have land areas large enough for people to work around crocodiles safely and water areas large enough for crocs to be able to access them easily.
"How is this going to work, Steve?" I asked, after soberly assessing the cost. What if we laid out more than eight million dollars and the crocodiles decided not to cooperate? "How are you going to convince a crocodile to come out exactly at showtime, try to kill and eat the keeper, and then go back home again?"
I bit my tongue when I realized what was coming out of my mouth: advice on crocodiles directed at the world's expert on croc behavior. Steve was right with his philosophy: Build it, and they will come.
These were heady times. As the Crocoseum rose into the sky, my tummy got bigger and bigger with our new baby. It felt like I was expanding as rapidly as the new project.
The Crocoseum debuted during an Animal Planet live feed, its premiere beamed all over the world. The design was a smashing success. Once again, Steve had confounded the doubters."
― Steve & Me
"He came up and, with a broad Australian accent, said, "G'day, mate." Uh-oh, I thought. I'm in trouble."
― Steve & Me
― Steve & Me
"Steve was a warrior in every sense of the word, but battling wildlife perpetrators just wasn't the same as old-fashioned combat. Because Steve's knees continued to deteriorate, his surfing ability was severely compromised. Instead of giving up in despair, Steve sought another outlet for all his pent-up energy.
Through our head of security, Dan Higgins, Steve discovered mixed martial arts (or MMA) fighting. Steve was a natural at sparring. His build was unbelievable, like a gorilla's, with his thick chest, long arms, and outrageous strength for hugging things (like crocs). Once he grabbed hold of something, there was no getting away. He had a punch equivalent to the kick of a Clydesdale, he could just about lift somebody off the ground with an uppercut, and he took to grappling as a wonderful release. Steve never did anything by halves.
I remember one time the guys were telling him that a good body shot could really wind someone. Steve suddenly said, "No one's given me a good body shot. Try to drop me with a good one so I know what it feels like." Steve opened up his arms and Dan just pile drove him. Steve said, in between gasps, "Thanks, mate. That was great, I get your point."
I would join in and spar or work the pads, or roll around until I was absolutely exhausted. Steve would go until he threw up. I've never seen anything like it. Some MMA athletes are able to seek that dark place, that point of total exhaustion--they can see it, stare at it, and sometimes get past it. Steve ran to it every day. He wasn't afraid of it. He tried to get himself to that point of exhaustion so that maybe the next day he could get a little bit further.
Soon we were recruiting the crew, anyone who had any experience grappling. Guys from the tiger department or construction were lining up to have a go, and Steve would go through the blokes one after another, grappling away. And all the while I loved it too.
Here was something else that Steve and I could do together, and he was hilarious. Sometimes he would be cooking dinner, and I'd come into the kitchen and pat him on the bum with a flirtatious look. The next thing I knew he had me in underhooks and I was on the floor. We'd be rolling around, laughing, trying to grapple each other. It's like the old adage when you're watching a wildlife documentary: Are they fighting or mating?
It seems odd that this no-holds-barred fighting really brought us closer, but we had so much fun with it. Steve finally built his own dojo on a raised concrete pad with a cage, shade cloth, fans, mats, bags, and all that great gear. Six days a week, he would start grappling at daylight, as soon as the guys would get into work. He had his own set of techniques and was a great brawler in his own right, having stood up for himself in some of the roughest, toughest, most remote outback areas.
Steve wasn't intimidated by anyone. Dan Higgins brought a bunch of guys over from the States, including Keith Jardine and other pros, and Steve couldn't wait to tear into them. He held his own against some of the best MMA fighters in the world. I always thought that if he'd wanted to be a fighter as a profession, he would have been dangerous. All the guys heartily agreed."
― Steve & Me
Through our head of security, Dan Higgins, Steve discovered mixed martial arts (or MMA) fighting. Steve was a natural at sparring. His build was unbelievable, like a gorilla's, with his thick chest, long arms, and outrageous strength for hugging things (like crocs). Once he grabbed hold of something, there was no getting away. He had a punch equivalent to the kick of a Clydesdale, he could just about lift somebody off the ground with an uppercut, and he took to grappling as a wonderful release. Steve never did anything by halves.
I remember one time the guys were telling him that a good body shot could really wind someone. Steve suddenly said, "No one's given me a good body shot. Try to drop me with a good one so I know what it feels like." Steve opened up his arms and Dan just pile drove him. Steve said, in between gasps, "Thanks, mate. That was great, I get your point."
I would join in and spar or work the pads, or roll around until I was absolutely exhausted. Steve would go until he threw up. I've never seen anything like it. Some MMA athletes are able to seek that dark place, that point of total exhaustion--they can see it, stare at it, and sometimes get past it. Steve ran to it every day. He wasn't afraid of it. He tried to get himself to that point of exhaustion so that maybe the next day he could get a little bit further.
Soon we were recruiting the crew, anyone who had any experience grappling. Guys from the tiger department or construction were lining up to have a go, and Steve would go through the blokes one after another, grappling away. And all the while I loved it too.
Here was something else that Steve and I could do together, and he was hilarious. Sometimes he would be cooking dinner, and I'd come into the kitchen and pat him on the bum with a flirtatious look. The next thing I knew he had me in underhooks and I was on the floor. We'd be rolling around, laughing, trying to grapple each other. It's like the old adage when you're watching a wildlife documentary: Are they fighting or mating?
It seems odd that this no-holds-barred fighting really brought us closer, but we had so much fun with it. Steve finally built his own dojo on a raised concrete pad with a cage, shade cloth, fans, mats, bags, and all that great gear. Six days a week, he would start grappling at daylight, as soon as the guys would get into work. He had his own set of techniques and was a great brawler in his own right, having stood up for himself in some of the roughest, toughest, most remote outback areas.
Steve wasn't intimidated by anyone. Dan Higgins brought a bunch of guys over from the States, including Keith Jardine and other pros, and Steve couldn't wait to tear into them. He held his own against some of the best MMA fighters in the world. I always thought that if he'd wanted to be a fighter as a profession, he would have been dangerous. All the guys heartily agreed."
― Steve & Me
"One day in Sumatra, Steve was climbing into the forest canopy alongside a family of orangutans when he fell. A four-inch spike of bamboo jammed into the back of his leg. As always, he was loath to go to the hospital and successfully cut the spike of bamboo out of his own leg himself.
Ever since I'd met him, Steve had refused to let me dress or have anything to do with any of his wounds. He didn't even like to talk about his injuries. I think this was a legacy from his years alone in the bush. He had his own approach to being injured, and he called it "the goanna theory."
"Sometimes you'll see a goanna that's been hurt," he said. "He may have been hit by a car and had a leg torn off. Maybe he's missing a chunk of his tail. Does he walk around feeling sorry for himself? No. He goes about his business, hunting for food, looking for mates, climbing trees, and doing the best that he can."
That's the goanna theory. Steve would take into consideration how debilitating the specific wound was, but then he would carry on. A bamboo spike in the back of his leg? Well, it hurt. But his leg still worked. He continued filming."
― Steve & Me
Ever since I'd met him, Steve had refused to let me dress or have anything to do with any of his wounds. He didn't even like to talk about his injuries. I think this was a legacy from his years alone in the bush. He had his own approach to being injured, and he called it "the goanna theory."
"Sometimes you'll see a goanna that's been hurt," he said. "He may have been hit by a car and had a leg torn off. Maybe he's missing a chunk of his tail. Does he walk around feeling sorry for himself? No. He goes about his business, hunting for food, looking for mates, climbing trees, and doing the best that he can."
That's the goanna theory. Steve would take into consideration how debilitating the specific wound was, but then he would carry on. A bamboo spike in the back of his leg? Well, it hurt. But his leg still worked. He continued filming."
― Steve & Me
"What do you do if you get nailed by this poison?"
The bushmen smiled broadly. "We die," they said."
― Steve & Me
The bushmen smiled broadly. "We die," they said."
― Steve & Me
"Every once in a while goannas sauntered right through camp. As I chopped vegetables that first night, a big lacey showed up.
"Grab it," Steve said to me. I dropped what I was doing and picked up the lizard. John and his crew went into action. I told the camera everything I knew about lace monitors.
"Lace monitors are excellent tree climbers," I said. "They can grow up to seven feet long, but this guy looks to be between four and five feet." I spoke about the lizard's predatory nature and diet. Meanwhile, the star of the show flicked his forked tongue in and out. After we got some footage, I put the huge lizard down, and Steve leaned his head into the camera frame to have a last word.
"And they've also got teeth like a tiger shark, mate," he said with relish. "They can tear you to ribbons!"
"Thanks a lot," I said, laughing, after John stopped filming. "You should have told me that before I picked the bloody thing up!"
It was a brave new world that I found myself in. At night I would hear the sounds of the fruit bats as they came into the trees. Also in the mix were the strange, far-off grunts of the koalas as they sang out their mating calls. Herds of wild pigs passed right behind the tent. Venturing outside in the middle of the night with my dunny roll to go use a bush was a daunting experience."
― Steve & Me
"Grab it," Steve said to me. I dropped what I was doing and picked up the lizard. John and his crew went into action. I told the camera everything I knew about lace monitors.
"Lace monitors are excellent tree climbers," I said. "They can grow up to seven feet long, but this guy looks to be between four and five feet." I spoke about the lizard's predatory nature and diet. Meanwhile, the star of the show flicked his forked tongue in and out. After we got some footage, I put the huge lizard down, and Steve leaned his head into the camera frame to have a last word.
"And they've also got teeth like a tiger shark, mate," he said with relish. "They can tear you to ribbons!"
"Thanks a lot," I said, laughing, after John stopped filming. "You should have told me that before I picked the bloody thing up!"
It was a brave new world that I found myself in. At night I would hear the sounds of the fruit bats as they came into the trees. Also in the mix were the strange, far-off grunts of the koalas as they sang out their mating calls. Herds of wild pigs passed right behind the tent. Venturing outside in the middle of the night with my dunny roll to go use a bush was a daunting experience."
― Steve & Me
"Before I met Rosie, I'd believed that a snake's personality was rather like that of a goldfish. But Rosie enjoyed exploring. She stretched her head out and flicked her tongue at anything I showed her. Soon she was meeting visitors at the zoo. Children derived the most delight from this. Some adults had their barriers and their suspicions about wildlife, but most children were very receptive. They would laugh as Rosie's forked tongue tickled their cheeks or touched their hair.
Rosie soon became my best friend and my favorite snake. I could always use her as a therapist, to help people with a snake phobia get over their fear. She had excellent camera presence and was a director's dream: She'd park herself on a tree limb and just stay there. Most important for the zoo, Rosie was absolutely bulletproof with children. During the course of a busy day, she often had kids lying in her coils, each one without worry or fear.
Rosie became a great snake ambassador at the zoo, and I became a convert to the wonderful world of snakes. It would not have mattered what herpetological books I read or what lectures I attended. I would never have developed a relationship with Rosie if Steve hadn't encouraged me to sit down and have dinner with her one night.
I grew to love her so much, it was all the more difficult for me when one day I let her down.
I had set her on the floor while I cleaned out her enclosure, but then I got distracted by a phone call. When I turned back around, Rosie had vanished. I looked everywhere. She was not in the living room, not in the kitchen, not down the hall. I felt panic well up within me. There's a boa constrictor on the loose and I can't find her! As I turned the corner and looked in the bathroom, I saw the dark maroon tip of her tail poking out from the vanity unit.
I couldn't believe what she had done. Rosie had managed to weave her body through all the drawers of the bathroom's vanity unit, wedging herself completely tight inside of it. I could not budge her. She had jammed herself in.
I screwed up all my courage, found Steve, and explained what had happened.
"What?" he exclaimed, upset. "You can't take your eyes off a snake for a second!" He examined the situation in the bathroom. His first concern was for the safety of the snake. He tried to work the drawers out of the vanity unit, but to no avail. Finally he simply tore the unit apart bare-handed.
The smaller the pieces of the unit became, the smaller I felt. Snakes have no ears, so they pick up vibrations instead. Tearing apart the vanity must have scared Rosie to death. We finally eased her out of the completely smashed unit, and I got her back in her enclosure. Steve headed back out to work. I sat down with my pile of rubble, where the sink once stood."
― Steve & Me
Rosie soon became my best friend and my favorite snake. I could always use her as a therapist, to help people with a snake phobia get over their fear. She had excellent camera presence and was a director's dream: She'd park herself on a tree limb and just stay there. Most important for the zoo, Rosie was absolutely bulletproof with children. During the course of a busy day, she often had kids lying in her coils, each one without worry or fear.
Rosie became a great snake ambassador at the zoo, and I became a convert to the wonderful world of snakes. It would not have mattered what herpetological books I read or what lectures I attended. I would never have developed a relationship with Rosie if Steve hadn't encouraged me to sit down and have dinner with her one night.
I grew to love her so much, it was all the more difficult for me when one day I let her down.
I had set her on the floor while I cleaned out her enclosure, but then I got distracted by a phone call. When I turned back around, Rosie had vanished. I looked everywhere. She was not in the living room, not in the kitchen, not down the hall. I felt panic well up within me. There's a boa constrictor on the loose and I can't find her! As I turned the corner and looked in the bathroom, I saw the dark maroon tip of her tail poking out from the vanity unit.
I couldn't believe what she had done. Rosie had managed to weave her body through all the drawers of the bathroom's vanity unit, wedging herself completely tight inside of it. I could not budge her. She had jammed herself in.
I screwed up all my courage, found Steve, and explained what had happened.
"What?" he exclaimed, upset. "You can't take your eyes off a snake for a second!" He examined the situation in the bathroom. His first concern was for the safety of the snake. He tried to work the drawers out of the vanity unit, but to no avail. Finally he simply tore the unit apart bare-handed.
The smaller the pieces of the unit became, the smaller I felt. Snakes have no ears, so they pick up vibrations instead. Tearing apart the vanity must have scared Rosie to death. We finally eased her out of the completely smashed unit, and I got her back in her enclosure. Steve headed back out to work. I sat down with my pile of rubble, where the sink once stood."
― Steve & Me
"Steve was right. Bringing people into close proximity to wildlife was all you had to do."
― Steve & Me
― Steve & Me
"I was an avid reader of Surf Life magazine, and I was surprised to discover a write-up of our Tasmanian visit. It made me proud to read how impressed those guys were with Steve's surfing abilities."
― Steve & Me
― Steve & Me
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Source: https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/474832-steve-me?page=2
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