I watched the special edition of 20/20 tonight. It was about Steve Irwin – not just his death but his life as well. Barbara Walters interviewed Terri and it was unbelievably sad because at just three weeks since his death, she is far from cool and collected and I pretty much sobbed from 10 pm straight through until 11 pm, pausing long enough to catch my breath and blow my nose during commercial breaks. Seriously, I went into the bathroom after it was over and my eyes were all red and puffy.

I’m glad I watched it though. Seeing how they got together, the way that they lived their lives, and the incredible love and passion Steve had for his family and his wildlife conservation was wonderful. Also, although there will never be another Steve Irwin, I can really see his daughter Bindi following in his footsteps. They showed her performing and singing at the zoo, a little clip of her upcoming Animal Planet show (titled Bindi, the Jungle Girl) and it’s uncanny to see how comfortable and in tune with that way of life she is at only eight years of age. Her speech at his memorial nearly destroyed me.

Terri said that she believes that Steve isn’t really gone that some spirit of him is still here and that now it’s our turn, now it’s time for us all to take our turn as “wildlife warriors”. Her words and his life make me want to take my turn too, even if it’s not in such a dramatic way as he did. For years I put something on my Christmas list and no one ever did it for me, I guess because it’s not a tangible gift to me, but year after year I wanted someone to make a donation in my name to the World Wildlife Fund or one of the Save the Whales organizations. Maybe I should put it back on my list again.

I’d love to visit the Australia Zoo some day too, especially after seeing how incredibly open it is and how healthy and happy the animals seem. If I win the lottery, I’ll book my trip!

I’m still so sad about his death. The world – and the animals – lost a great champion this year.