A week of mourning

This past week has been big in terms of the sad demise of a couple of Australian icons.



Last Monday, the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin was struck by a sting ray through the heart while he was scuba diving. Footage apparently shows Steve pulling the barb off his chest and then he fell unconscious. He was 44.



Today, at exactly 3:06 pm the Age (a Melbourne-based newspaper) posted a news feed that sports racing legend Peter Brock was killed when he lost control of Daytona Coupe during the Targa West race which started today because of wet conditions. The car hit a tree side-on, with no chance of survival. Peter died on impact. He was 61.

I respected bothof them. Steve contributed a huge chunk of his earnings to wildlife conservation and educating people of how important it is to nurture nature. Peter was a road-safety advocate and started a foundation to help disadvantaged kids. It also helps that I am a big car-nut and I follow most of the races - V8, Bathurst, etc.

I guess the only consolation is that they died doing what they love the most.

Rest in peace, Steve "Crickey" Irwin and Peter "King of the Mountain" Brock. You will be missed.