Terry suggested I go to the Millenia Mall to see if there was a line of people waiting for the latest iPhone release. I don’t go to the mall very often so this was an adventure. I had been to the store before and I swore it was on the second floor. I walked the full length of the mall and had to double back. It was actually on the first floor and I had walked over it in the first five minutes of my quest. I decided to stay on the second floor and look down at the long steady line of people waiting. A brick of a security guard stood by, should any riots break out.
It was less than a week since Steve Jobs died. A storefront window was turned into a shrine. There were flowers and a small box of candy at the store’s display window. Colorful stickie notes covered the glass with short notes like: “Keep thinking different.” “RIP Steve, the world loves apples.” “iCame, iSaw, iMiss you.” As I sketched, two former students stopped to say hello. I asked Phil if he was here to get an iPhone. “Are you kidding? Those things cost like $400. I have a student loan to pay off!”, he said. My old iPhone is working just fine. I will not upgrade unless the glass breaks or I drown it. The new iPhone apparently has loads of new features but I just need a phone that works, and sometimes I feel a little too connected. Most people I draw have their eyes plastered to that tiny screen. I want my eyes to keep taking in the bigger picture.
In 1984 Steve introduced the world to a new form of computer. I desperately wanted one of these early Macintosh’s. Terry had a contest going at her new job at Shearson Lehman Hutton. If she brought in enough clients through cold calls, she could win a Macintosh. She worked incredibly hard in part because she knew I lusted for that machine. She got it. I used that tiny Mac to design a whole book, which I self published. I knew this new digital age would change everything. I still have that old tiny Mac. I brought it to Full Sail in Steve Jobs honor the day after he died. I plugged it in and the machine hummed to life sounding like a 747 after 20 years of hot storage in our garage. Terry and I have worked together to bring our dreams to life. Today is our 20th wedding anniversary. It was my dreams that brought us to Central Florida. Dreams change, but my hope for an ever brighter future never dies. “Maybe all the plans we made would not work out, but I have no doubt, even though it’s hard to see. I’ve got faith in us and I believe in you and me.“