It is not a 19-gun salute, (A 21-gun salute is front page, above the fold, like the recent one for Frank Gehry.) because although his obit is featured on the front page below the fold, the text of the obit does not start there. The full text jumps to B11. The caption under a sizable color photo of Mr. Douglas-Hamilton and a very friendly elephant, tells us to go to page B11 for the obituary. No problem.
Once at B11, 6 columns with three photos and the full obit by Jeffrey Gettleman is available. Live to be 83 and there is no doubt you've had some close calls. In Mr. Gettleman's third paragraph we learn what events Mr. Douglas-Hamilton escaped from.
He was..."charged at by elephants, shot at by poachers, and nearly killed by a swarm of bees. Throughout, he retained a twinkle of amusement in his eyes and an awareness that he was leading a charmed life and accomplishing work he deeply believed in."
That's as close to my reference to Scaramouche by Rossini on my blog's profile page that "he was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad" that I've ever read.
Being attacked by a swarm of bees had a lasting effect. Mr. Douglas-Hamilton and his wife, Oria Rocco, were strolling on their property one evening in Naivasha, Kenya when a swarm of bees attacked them. Mr. Douglas-Hamilton shielded his wife with his body, but was stung many times and went into anaphylactic shock and nearly died. He was forever weak after that.
Imagine hanging out and petting huge elephants, the largest land mammal on the planet, and nearly getting done in by a tiny bee. (Although it seems a lot of them.)
A charmed life indeed.
http://www.onofframp.blogspot.com
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