Rest In Peace, Mr. Jobs

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I teared up while driving after dinner today. I was on my way back to the office after dinner, hoping to finish a couple of things up, and suddenly I found I was wiping my eyes repeatedly as I pulled up to a traffic light. Back at my desk, I tried to watch some of the YouTube clips of his speeches and the "Think Different" ad that people had shared online, and found that I simply couldn't watch them for more than a few seconds.

While there was obvious sadness at the passing of a genius who has deeply affected so many aspects of our lives with his work, my reaction (and frankly the haze I've been in since) surprised me.

Some sadness and regret was completely understandable, but I couldn't immediately understand why I felt this sense of loss.

The tragic circumstances of his passing was perhaps one.

The second and more likely reason was that I just realized that I'd come to feel like I knew him.

His numerous keynotes (which I'd watched more a few times sometimes simply because I wanted to hear "One more thing"), hundreds of YouTube clips of his speeches and interviews, as well as reading his biography and so, so many press interviews by, and about him, over the years had made me feel like I'd known this icon - personally.

Not just for his immense contributions to the world, but him personally - his personality and impact was such that I'd come to feel like I knew the man.

I didn't of course, but still thats why the loss hurts like a truly personal one would.

All I can do is have those with deeper personal connections to him, particularly his family, in my thoughts tonight.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Jobs

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