Bindi Irwin
I know that prognosticating about the plight of little Bindi Irwin is almost a national pastime at the moment. You've probably heard way too much on the subject already. But I can't help putting in my two cents:
One thing I'm appreciating more and more as I hurtle towards codgerdom is that Freud was right. Your first few years are the most crucial in your development. Things that happen then (even the good stuff) shapes your character and stays with you for a lifetime.
Coupla things loom large in Bindi's case: Her Dad was an intense and powerful influence on her and would have appeared larger than life even if he were not a global mega-celeb. His death was sudden and violent. Rather than grieving fully (a process which would take months if not years anyway) she was out there in the spotty eulogising before squillions. And now she's keeping the whole bloody show on the road!
Steve Irwin's manager is convinced she's not being pushed. Maybe that's true; maybe this is all her idea. Still, she's just a sprog!
It'll take a while before the trauma really catches up with her -- perhaps even decades. But I'm sure that eventually she's gonna be wrestling with some demons way bigger and more ferocious than any croc her old man took down.
I hope she survives them.
