At an Apple store, one man’s tribute to Steve Jobs

WASHINGTON — Outside the Apple Store in Georgetown this morning, there were several bouquets of flowers, candles, some notes — and a vintage Macintosh Plus computer with a green apple on it — placed as a memorial to Steve Jobs.

Standing back from the memorial, Clarence Labor Jr. was taking photos.

It was about 9 a.m. and the Apple Store had yet to open, though it was filled with employees. A few pedestrians stopped to look at the items left in memory of Steve Jobs.

But Labor wanted to do more. He wanted to pay tribute somehow and to show how important Apple has been to him.

Labor, a former Intel network engineer who is now a consultant, went into his closet and pulled out a Macintosh Plus, one of seven Apple computers he owns, took it to the Apple Store and placed it on the stoop with the apple on it.

The act was “a tribute to a pioneer,” said Labor, 47, “a tribute to someone who made a mark on our society and changed our lives forever.”

For Labor, Apple produced more than products. It delivered a “way of life.”

The company — and Jobs — changed everything, from music, to science, to technology, to how we keep in touch with people, he said.

“This product and Apple and Steve represent what we know and the way we live today — it drastically changed what we do,” said Labor.

Jobs also offered a reminder of how to live a life, said Labor.

“He almost had this premonition,” said Labor, to “do what we can today because tomorrow is not promised.”

Labor believes that Apple will continue to be a great company.

“I think there are enough of us, and I say us, the generation that knows and wants the technology and uses the technology has blossomed,” said Labor.

“It’s like planting a flower, a few leaves drop, a few branches drop off the tree, but I think what’s planted today is going to be lasting,” Labor said of Apple.

There were about 20 people inside the Apple store, most of them standing around in a large circle and talking behind locked doors. The store would open at 10 a.m. for another day.

Labor plans to give to take his mid-1980s Macintosh Plus to his daughter’s school so a new generation could see and touch what a legend had accomplished.

Patrick Thibodeau covers SaaS and enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @DCgov, or subscribe to Patrick’s RSS feed . His e-mail address is pthibodeau@computerworld.com.