Yo Steve

If there were no Steve, as a wise man once sort of said, we would have had to invent him. Open letters, addressed only to ‘Steve’, punctuate the Web. Sometimes laudatory. Sometimes derogatory. Sometimes desperate. But always, just ‘Steve’.

“Steve,” we say.
“Steve!” We shout
“Steve…” we plead on bended knee.

No wonder he has an ego the size of Alaska! But does he listen? Does he know? Does he even care? He certainly doesn’t answer. And when he does, beware. Beware the charm. Beware the wrath. Beware the reality distortion field.

The ancient Greeks and Romans would have understood. Fits of hubris, rage and jealousy? All just a part of the heavenly circus. And what of the charm, the wit, the charisma? The ability to change our world with a word or a whim? Pure Pantheon theatrics.

Zeus on a shoestring. How badly we need him. In our troubled drama, with both comedy and tragedy awaiting us in the wings, we need more than a faceless company, certainly more than a headless committee.We need a lead, larger than life, prancing wildly center stage. In short, we need a Hero. An anti-hero will do. Or, if all else fails, a whipping boy.

But we need something, someone, somewhere to focus our fears. To hear our prayers. Maybe, even, to answer them. And, as Steve himself once sort of said, he’s the only shot we’ve got.

So, as the Mac world stands transfixed, a giant meteor on the horizon hurtling headlong on a collision course with the rest of us, we scan the skies and cry:

“It’s Apollo!”
“It’s Athena!”
“It’s SuperSteve!!!”

Steve: Deus Ex Machina
Zeus in our machine

Yo Mercury! Yo Hermes! Take a message…

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Susan Howerter (susan@mymac.com)