While My iMac Gently Weeps

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

My first Mac was an LCII, purchased in 1992, right after securing my first post-doctoral teaching job as Visiting Professor of Counselor Education at The College of Idaho. I still remember taking the machine from its box, plugging in the peripherals, and carefully reading the operating instructions.


Although this wasn't my first computer--that one was a Commodore 128, now laughably antiquated--how timid I was, how hesitant to begin, how fearful of hitting the wrong key, as if I imagined I might accidentally launch a nuclear attack from the remoteness of my tiny Idaho apartment.


I shouldn't have worried; I was in the best hands possible. Little did I suspect how much my Mac experience would grow, how much of my life was about to be spent in front of this altar.


Today, I write this from my third beloved Mac. When I look at the above photo of Steve Jobs, when I read the tributes to his legacy, I'm overwhelmed to think how our lives have been revolutionized by his genius and the genius of other tech gurus. My life has been enriched beyond measure by this invention. It may sound overwrought, but I love my Mac, and I thank Steve Jobs for it.