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Follow Friday: More Courage

What a week this is turning out to be!

It started on Monday with Vance and Mark in surgery.  Both are doing well. At last report, Vance (the donor) had been released from the hospital.  Mark's body has taken the new kidney very well and he is on the road to recovery.  Thank you to everyone for the kind words and support for our family over the last few days.

Of course, Tuesday saw a whole lot of shakin' going on.  The 5.9 earthquake that rocked Virginia (and much of the East Coast) seemed to cause some structural damage around the area but not a lot of injuries. As far as I know, there have been no reported deaths. All is well...for now.  While the quake was quite the jolt for all of us, I am reminded of how blessed we are when I think of those effected by the Japanese quake back in March. This was a minor inconvenience by comparison.

There is no rest for the weary, though, because Irene is on her way.  There seemed to be much debate regarding the exact path of this storm over the last few days but as we close in on the 48 hour window of impact, it appears that we will definitely feel some significant effects from this huge storm even in Central Virginia.  Having been through my share of tropical storms and hurricanes (in Florida and here in Virginia), I'm not worried. I'm just prepared.  Odds are good that we will experience some power outages and maybe a little structural damage if some trees fall.  Now that we have Fat Tire in Virginia, all is right with the world. 

Of course, none of these stories seem to carry the same impact as the news that rocked the world Wednesday night. If you've been too consumed by natural disaster news, maybe you missed the major business update that Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO of Apple. While he will stay on as chairman of the board, this is a major transition for a company that has changed the way we live our lives in just a few short decades. Steve Jobs is more than a savvy businessman. He is a visionary.

As the news leaked out last night, the offhand comments that people made about Jobs' departure, using words like "quitter" and "jobless", left me dismayed and disgusted. This man dedicated his life to his company and his passion. Rumors of his departure have been floating since his health first began to falter and while Jobs could have easily afforded to resign at any point and live the rest of his days in luxury on a private island, he chose a commitment to his work at Apple.  

It doesn't matter if you use a Mac or a PC. It doesn't even matter if you have an ipad, an ipod, or an iphone. The way you use technology today is largely because of Steve Jobs.  You enjoy movies such as Toy Story and Up and Wall*E because of Steve Jobs.  The world has become smaller because of Steve Jobs.  

So for this week's Follow Friday, I invite you to view Steve's commencement speech at Stanford University to the class of 2005.  It's a simple but powerful message about following your dreams and staying true to yourself, even when you're not quite sure how everything is going to turn out. 
That's a message I can completely understand. 




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