Learn to Duck

I grew up here. Went to school at Monta Loma Elementary in Mountain View while living at 532 Thompson Avenue.

A friend of mine, Chris’ dad was amazing. He raced motorcycles. He introduced us to Thomas Dolby. And he loved Apple.

When I was in the fifth grade, I opted out of normal school and went to a magnet school (which before charter schools were all the rage), and while there tested highly in my potential as a business leader, and was given access to a new computer lab full of Apple IIe’s. I played lots of Oregon Trail and was dominate at Lemonade Stand. I loved those Apples.

In the seventh grade, I played on a AYSO soccer team called the Mean Green Machine that my dad and Chris’s dad coached. We shared the field with the Pumas (but we pronounced them the Peeee-uuuuu-mas) and I played with my friend Tommy, who years later, because of Facebook reconnected with me. I still remember the day that it looked like Apple was going to go out of business because Chris’ dad was so sad.

Steve Jobs wasnt an icon. Steve Jobs wasnt a god.

Steve Jobs was Silicon Valley.

People can extol his undeniable focus, and his unique ability to embrace technological beauty, but for me, those were just things that Steve Jobs did. It wasnt what he was. He was me. He embodied everything that everybody tries to describe Silicon Valley as.

When I was in high school, I was invited to this three day conference that was for students that were considered to be the most likely to become business leaders (seriously, you think I would have gotten the hint). The conference took place in Monterrey, and we had a small team that developed a product, the marketing strategy, the pitch, the whole shebang. We created the Peanut Gallery, which was a set of peanut butter and jelly mixes that were in character shaped bottled. We had a jingle. We even had one more thing.

Steve Jobs wasnt an inspiration. Steve Jobs wasnt the second coming.

Steve Jobs was Silicon Valley.

My mom worked at startups for years. In a constant state of getting hired and then getting laid off, failure was something that we understand was part of the fabric of the community in which we lived. In fact, most people who grew up here have faced and survived failure. It is what we do.

Steve Jobs was Silicon Valley.

Bill Gates was always an outsider here. He was the enemy. A symbol of The Man. He did things that we of the Valley would never do. Or, at least, would never admit to doing.

In places like PARC, we sat on bean bags and invented new ways to interact with technology.

We look at straight lines and envision curves. We believe that the only impossible thing is impossibility.

That was Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs is Silicon Valley and Silicon Valley can never die.