Impact - just a few thoughts

[The Straight Story]

I have lost, at last count, over 45 people near to me over the years.

Best friends. Grand parents. Class mates. Mom.

I cried only once I can recall when a celebrity died - Lucille Ball, because she always reminded me of my mom.

Never met John Lennon (Though I did meet Alan Hale from Gilligan's Island and Paul Lynde), nor have I met many others of fame and fortune.

But I grew up 'with them'.

Their music, comedy, movies, tv shows, books (Isaac Asimov, Tolkein, et al), inventions all impacted my life.

Sometimes they brought me more comfort and joy then my own family. On some sad and lonely nights when I was sad I was uplifted by their words, music, etc.

Not a fan of Apple, never met Steve Jobs - but I was influenced by his work since I was a young teen.

I had a TRS-80 as my first computer, and I remember looking at pics of those cool new color Apple computers. One of my first jobs, where I met my first X, was at a software re-seller that only sold apple products (and who can forget Sticky Bears from back then...God I hated that program).

I didn't personally lose something, he was a guy who didn't know my name, could probably care less I existed, but like so many others that touched my life and those of others we did lose someone we all knew collectively.

And to me, it is always sad when we lose someone that in some way positively touched our lives. Whether or not we liked them personally, their politics, their business decisions or how they handled their business.

Impact. He and his company had one on my life that brought many smiles to my face. As did so many others I never knew.