Thanks Steve
By Adam Ferguson
My father worked at a computer software company that specialized in educational software for Apple computers. It was his realization that the computer was the future early on, as well as his desire for the non-sports loving one of his sons to find a diversion that he brought home an Apple IIe for the family. And this one moment established us as an Apple family from the start, through the dark days of Apple in the 90s and finally into the Apple resurgence at the turn of the century and beyond. It was never a question of what make of computer we’d get next, it was a question of which Apple computer we’d get next.
I’ve spent the last day wondering why I’ve been so upset by the passing of Steve Jobs. I don’t recall every feeling such sadness at the loss of another human being I’ve never met. And really, the last time I felt this way about the loss of something was at the end of Back to the Future III when then Delorean gets destroyed by an on-coming train. But upon further inspection, I think I’ve figured it out.
Steve and his wonderful machines have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. (Yes, even the days when he wasn’t part of the company, his mark was still on those devices.) Outside of my friends, family, and schooling, no other entity has had such a significant impact on my life as Apple, and by-proxy Steve Jobs, has.
His computers gave me direction as a pre-teen and somehow made it cool for a nerdy kid in suburbia to spend hours create digital drawings or exploring the worlds of Myst. His gadgets made my life infinitely easy. (I can’t remember the last time I had to stop and ask for directions, though it must have been pre-2007 and pre-iPhone.) And it was his drive to perfection and finding the beauty in design and function that gave me something to strive for in my professional life.
But really, it was because he pushed the envelope. He created items with a vision and without the tarnish of having too many cooks in the kitchen. He didn’t put up with the bullshit. But he did invent the 21st century.
That kid back in the early 80s who waited patiently for the green screen on his Apple IIe to light up and bonded with his father by receiving basic instructions on how to operate the new computer, now routinely gets calls from that same parent asking him how to get his MacBook to print wirelessly to the family’s printer. That’s really what Steve Jobs was about. Bringing people together. Connecting. Making it easier to communicate with one another. Making life easier. And at the very least, it allowed a father to connect with his son.
Thanks Steve.
