::: Steve's Apple Store

The news came via NYTimes.  "Oh, noooo..." I said audibly as my heart sank.  Steve Jobs, Apple's iconic leader, had died, at his Palo Alto home, a few miles away from my Menlo Park office.  Within minutes, twitter was processing over 10,000 tweets per second.  

iSad, read facebook posts.  Jobs' famous 2005 commencement address was pinned to many walls.  

I went home that night and cried.

I grew up watching Pixar films and coveting one of those candy-colored iMac computers.  In 2004, I got my first iPod, which was followed by a yellow iPod nano in 2008.  My first foray into Apple computing was in 2009 when I forked out $1200 for a MacBook Pro, a purchase I've never once regretted.  In 2010, I bought my parents an iPad, enabling them to get news, weather, e-mail and most importantly, Fruit Ninja, all at the tap of a finger.  Most recently I made the brave transition from BlackBerry to iPhone.

For three days, I woke up in the middle of the night, my mind racing.  I struggled to break the sadness, turning to the media blitz and many eloquent obituaries.  I marveled the most at the images of tributes left at Apple Stores around the world.  

By the time I made it to the University Avenue Apple Store in Palo Alto, there were thousands of neon PostIt notes covering the glass windows.  People passing by stopped to photograph the makeshift memorial at the same Apple Store Steve Jobs would often walk to with his family.  The messages left with marker were deeply deferential.  

There were bags of apples, bitten apples, and even apples carved into pumpkins...

People stood quietly outside of the store, reading messages, and writing their own on the notepads left on top of newspaper boxes.

I think Steve would be pleased with the colorful displays left in his honor.

Thanks, Steve, for everything.  I didn't know you personally, but your products have changed my life and the lives of so many others around the world.