Thank you, Steve Jobs

Last night just before 7 pm CST I learned of the death of Steve Jobs, entrepreneur, visionary and former CEO of Apple. A man who was in the prime of his life at 56 years old whom I'd never met changed the life of just about everyone I know.

My first exposure to computers was in eighth grade (1981) in Mrs. Strain's math class on an Apple II. We did a little bit of programming and from what I can best recall we created mosaics. Big stuff for a girl from a tiny Texas town (West Columbia). In fact that computer may have been the ONLY computer in our junior high school at that time.

Thank you, Mr. Jobs for being a part of that first exposure.

So as I was driving home tonight after speaking at Social Media Club Texas State, I thought about what I'd done in my life that wouldn't have been possible without Job's innovations. Yes, I know he was the end all be all to Apple and there were many hundreds of people who helped their products, but he was the face of Apple to me. And while I have a strong sense of who my savior is and who my God is, I'd have to think that if I leaned toward believing in demi-gods then Jobs would be right up there in my top 10 list.

Twitter connects to my ancestory

What? You're thinking that sounds crazy. So, let me tell you a little story that happened to me over the last few days and see if it sounds crazy afterwards.

Right now on Twitter I "follow" over 350 people and I have over 250 people "following" me from all around the world. The idea that I would run across anyone that I knew or knew me or knew my family, etc. is pretty far fetched as estimates show less than 6% of internet users are currently on Twitter.

For those of you not hip to Twitter lingo, "follow" and "following" simply means that you've subscribed to what they are posting on the site. You watch what they write. They watch what you write. You probably interact from time to time online.

On Sunday either I added a new "follower" or this person "princess_belle" added me. I honestly can't remember. Anyway, I posted about a grass fire happening near my neighborood and Princess commented on it that my neighborhood looked very much like the one that her father lived in and that he lived in a town not too far from me.

Not a big deal. I live in a development by a pretty large home builder and even within my own city limits there are probably 4 -5 developments that look very similiar to mine.

I noticed on her site that she lived in Pennsylvania. I told her that I my best friend lived outside of Philly. Princess asked where and when I replied she told me that she had once lived a few miles away from that town. Okay, we were starting to get into that six degrees of separation thing.

Today, I commented on Twitter that the commentators at the Rose Bowl Parade had mispronounced a town here in Texas. Princess posted back that she went to college in that town. The same town that a friend of mine went to college. I asked about what years Princess attended and then asked about where she grew up. It was a bit confusing to me as her father lives near me and she went to school in Texas, but lived in Pennsylvania. I figured it would make for a bit more conversation, but probably nothing more.

And then HUGE surprise. Princess posted "My home town is WC." What?! Oh, my! I'm from WC. A tiny Texas town with a population just around 4,000. What's the likeihood? Seriously!

I asked her if she graduated from WC High and she indicated that she hadn't. So I asked, why did she consider WC as her "hometown." Princess replied, that's where her father grew up.

Not only I grew up in WC, but my mom and her family lived there since the 1940s.

Getting wierder yet?

Soon enough we were both online with each other and Princess was on the phone with her dad and I was on the phone with my mom. Yes, they knew each other. Her father was my one of my uncle's best friends growing up and apparently they were inseparable. They graduated from WC High back in 1957!

I've found what I would consider a long lost cousin of sorts all because of silly conversations and observations on a social website where we are goofy and caring and obviously very talktive.

Not only does it make me think, geesh, this is bizarre, but it also makes me think the world can sometimes be smaller than six degrees of separation. It can actually be a Twitter away.

Who Said Austin Doesn't Have Culture?

So, we may not have the Metropolitan museum, unless we still have one of those wannabe Metropolitan Museum stores in one our malls, Austin still has a great theater community.

Tonight Charles and I had the opportunity to attend Tuna Does Vegas - Jaston Williams and Joe Sears latest addition to the Tuna creations.

I've wanted to see any of the Tuna shows for years and just never got around to making plans to actually go see one. So, when my dear friend Sue sent out a note that she had extra tickets earlier this week, I jumped at the chance and knew Charles would enjoy it too.

Going to the Paramount in Downtown Austin is always a treat. The first time I went to see a performance there it was several well respected guitarists. The second time was to see one of my all time favorite shows - A Chorus Line. I knew it was a special place and thrilled that I was introducing the venue to Charles. It's a beautiful theater and as you enter you can feel its history. It turns 100 in 2015.

We weren't disappointed by Tuna Does Vegas - not a big surprise. Jason and Joe perform as all of the characters throughout this 2+ hour production often cross dressed as women. Tuna is a fictious small Texas town, which Charles and I relate to all too well. In the characters portrayed I could put names of people I knew as I was growing up in West Columbia and I'm certain Charles could do the same from Brazoria. Somehow the small town never really leaves you no matter how many years you've been away.

We laughed and laughed and laughed and gasped at the off colored remarks. If you're in Austin or you have the opportunity to be in a town where a Tuna show is produced, I'd highly recommend that you go see it.