Special Event - All About Apple in San Francisco 2006 2/3

SPECIAL EVENT

2006: All About Apple in S. Francisco

From Quiliano to California, to the heart of the Silicon Valley

In this second page
the report of our Californian adventure continues

For the ones who lost the first part, click here!

Wednesday, january the 11th 2006 (continues)

We exit dazed by emotions the Apple building, and we decide to complete the day (it's about 5 'o clock PM) searching for the famous garage where Steven Paul Jobs e Stephen Wozniak - teenagers - have crated the famous and extraordinary Apple I.

The address of the garage is well known: Los Altos, Crist Drive 2066 (we say thank you to our president William Ghisolfo for his accuracy), so we leave Cupertino and lead to the close town Los Altos, searching for the coveted goal.

Los Altos town is based on flat buildings, large roads (like mainly in USA), and a great number of little houses close together, all the same and all different, in wood, rigorously with a small fence dividing the gardens, like we are used to see in Happy Days.

Slowly, driving those streets, with the sun going down to the horizon, it was like to see familiar places again... and an extraordinarily sense of serenity seized us; the landscape is extremely fine, there are things very accurate and other a bit humble, nearly everyone has his own USA flag, a lot of them have a garage with the basket for playing.

Amazed by the tranquillity of the place, we enter Christ Drive, where at the number 2066 Steve Jobs have lived; we remember you that Steve has been adopted, and he never met his real parents. Some hindrances trying to understand where the garage could be, and... here we are!

It's difficult, nearly impossible, explaining what we felt. Thinking that in that garage the 16 years old Steve started Apple 1 with Wozniak... how many of yours at he same age started to change the world? What have enlightened the spark of innovation, discovery, revolution?

Deep in these thoughts we see an old man from the other side of the road, curious and a bit worried. We explain him who we are, where we came from, why we are in adoration toward that garage.

Gene and his car, neighbor and owner of the garage

And he introduces himself: My name is Gene - he says - and I'm the owner of this house. I met Steve when he arrived here, with his adoptive parents, I saw him play and grow up, and I remember his pal Steven.. I remember that afternoon, these sweltering hot summer days, when he ran to me when I was sprinkling the garden, and in his hand there was a bizarre thing, full of wires.

Look, Gene. Look what we have done!

And I asked a bit annoyed "What is this?"

"This is an electronic device, like the one big machines they use in Nasa, in IBM, but this is tiny, you can use this in your house: a personal computer, in short!"

"and what's the use?" I asked

"well,I don't know... you can plug this to your TV set and you can type!"

"Plug it to the TV? For typing? What the hell should I write?"

"I don't know, your notes, things to buy, your wife could write her recipes"

"But Steve, my wife writes her recipes on a book, I have no use for this.. what's its name? Computer?

"Gene, you don't understand. It doesn't matter, I have to go"

"I saw him turn back, trespassing the space between my house and his parent' one, thinking that the boy must have been a bit strange, with all these obsession in electronics"

Her, as the months sassed by, I saw strange people coming to that garage: at fist young boys, then businessmen in big cars, even limousines; at the end he disappeared and I knew nothing about him for a long time. Only after some time I would discover that what I have seen would have changed the world creating personal computing.

Steve's adoptive parents are dead, now the second wife of his dad lives in that house; Steve comes here visiting her once a year, and he never forget to do this; and I think about my superficiality judging him; I have a daughter of the same age, when I discovered what was happening I dreamt to marry them, but nothing... a lost occasion!"

We hear Gene enchanted, nearly dazed; nobody has the idea to shot a picture or to record that amazing story; Emanuele Donetti has some more questions for him, so we discover he as been in WWII, a veteran. Then slowly he turns back to his house, leave us with a strange feeling, like we have been with him that afternoon long ago with Steve.

We say tank you to him and we ask him a picture. Here it is:

William, Emanuele, Alessio, Gene, Letizia, Roberto

Back in the car, amazed and fulfilled y feelings, a last sight to Steve's house, than back to our journey.

The enthusiasm we felt visiting the Apple building is now fulfilled with a sentimental mood that will remain with us for all the days in California, digging into us endless memories.

Wednesday might ends searching for the famous Computer History Museum, but we don't have the right informations so we get lost in the city, so we give you some pictures, before describing the next day.

Thursday and Friday, the 12th and the 13th January 2006

These two days are devoted to tourism: we decide to leave the last day (Saturday) for a visit to Computer History Museum, and we surrender to the beauty of San Francisco.

Some remarks to these pictures: enjoy them, like we enjoyed the skylines, the technology, the natural landscapes, the peculiarity and the oddness of this city.

The skyscrapers in S.Francisco