Top 25: The Macintosh

Last Saturday, January 24th, was my father's 84th birthday. 25 years ago, on my dad's 59th birthday, Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh to the world. And I've worked on one or had one at home ever since. Here's a tribute to the moment.

Top Five: Most important classes in Junior High

I went to Oak Junior High School in Los Alamitos, CA, grades 7-9, and had a great time. Here's a list of the most important classes I took. They weren't always my favorites, just the ones that have made the most difference in my life.

5. German. Started German in 9th grade and did well with Mr. Hale. My acquaintance with a foreign language, and specifically German, helped me out four years later when I went to Germany on a two-year mission. I remember enjoying some creativity in the class, which was discouraged later in high school. For example, we had a stock question to answer, "Was ist dein Lieblingslied?" (What is your favorite song?) The standard answer was some lame German song like "Mein Lieblingslied ist 'Du Bist Wie Eine Blume'." (My favorite song is 'You Are Like a Flower'.)

One day in class I was asked that question and had a brainstorm: I answered "Mein Lieblingslied is 'Montag, Montag'." Pandemonium raged for a bit until everyone realized I'd answered with a real, modern song--Monday Monday (by the Mamas and Papas). After a moment of consternation from the instructor, he smiled broadly and approvingly at my answer, and an idea was born: I could think outside the box and still get points!

4. English. I had some great, creative teachers in English, like cute young Miss Hoff from Aberdeen, Idaho. I loved the sound of words, the interplay of meaning, learning different ideas. I even like diagramming sentences, ripping apart the structure of English to see how it worked. This has stood me in good stead over the years, being able to communicate clearly about interesting ideas.

3. Choir. The premier voice group at Oak was the Troettes (based on our Trojan mascot), a super qualified girls' chorus, because of course more girls went out for choirs than boys so they could pick the best and put them in an advanced gropu. I was in lowly Mixed Chorus with Mr. Walker, and we developed a quality in our performances that grew us into a real competitor for best choir in the school. I enjoyed learning and performing music, and gained in exchange a reduced performance anxiety and a lifelong love of music and singing. I got a lead in the school musical (HRH Miss Jones), parts in stake musicals, and I've been in many, mostly church choirs in the 40+ years since junior high, largely as a result of the joy I learned in Mixed Chorus.

2. Social Studies and Lunch. This pairing isn't as odd as it seems. In ninth grade Social Studies with Miss Ramsburg I learned about interactions among nations and people, and grew fascinated with how governments and countries worked.

An important counterpoint to this were the lunch discussions I had with friends. The northern part of Rossmoor, the development where I lived, had a large concentration of Jewish families, and a group of youth from that demographic would gather at a bench by the cafeteria and discuss politics and current events. I'd grab a chocolate milk and bag of popcorn (quicker and less expensive than the school lunch) and join in their conversations. I was one of the few fledgling conservative voices in the group, and enjoyed the battle of ideas, the practical application of the theories we were learning in Social Studies. Athletes of the mind--cool! The term nerds hadn't been invented yet, so we were unconstrained. I lifelong love of ideas and politics was born there.

Oh, one other thing for Social Studies. Miss Ramsburg drove us, but was a flexible teacher, so I didn't have to check my personality at the door. I developed a reputation for a dry wit, and have spent a lifetime burnishing that reputation.

1. Typing. This was also taught by Mr. Hale, on manual typewriters. It would be another 15 years or so before personal computers would gain a place in our homes, so who knew in 1966 that typing would be the pre-eminent skill required for effectively using a core business technology. Decent typing abilities have freed me to use computers to their fullest as business and personal tools. Thanks again, Mr. Hale!

Top Five: 25 Lessons I Have Learned

I just ran across this book, 25 Lessons I Have Learned (about photography), by the NY photographer Lorenzo. Great for photographers, but the lessons apply equally well to life in general. After you've looked at the first five here (all of them in his own words), go to Lorenzo's web site to read them all. He's done a good job of briefly stating each lesson and offering a photograph that illustrates the lesson. From there, you could read the book...

5 Just do it.

Do not hesitate, do not procrastinate, the time is now.

For it is easiest not to try, to allow all the wonderful moments that distinguish one's own life to go by, if only because—we let them.

4. Take the long way home.

See the world with a child’s eyes. To do so, you must let go of all the things you must do, and simply explore without an agenda, without a watch, without a care to divert you away from appreciating all the glorious details of the environment that glimmers around you.

3. Use your imagination.

Perhaps the greatest lesson my father ever impressed upon me was “Use Your Imagination.” He had those very same words posted in his factory for thirty years, and it was the first thing that his employees saw every morning when they sauntered in each morning.

Thus, that is why I believe that whether you’re making furniture or taking pictures, using your imagination is critical to success, crucial to making the most of what you’ve already got, and key to making what is good into something great.

2. Everywhere you go...that camera needs to be there with you.

Andy Warhol said it first, and I’m saying it again—carry Her with you everywhere you go, for you’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

I know this to be all too true, because there have been far too many great shots that I’ve missed simply because I decided to “leave it behind.” Most of the time it was an excuse to concentrate on other menial things. But then, regrettably, I find myself lamenting those sweet opportunities missed, because I was truly amiss with the decision to “let it rest.”

1. Everything is beautiful.

My first love, writing, was the first to teach me this critical lesson—everything is beautiful. Photography wholly reinforces this truism.

Everything is beautiful, you just have to see it from a different point of view sometimes, in order to appreciate its true aesthetic worth.