The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

I didn’t even take it. And yet, when I was sent it, I immediately felt nostalgic and sentimental.

Not because of the car – even though it’s a very nice car – but because of the person who owned it.

You see this was Steve Jobs car.

A Merc.

Sure, an AMG Merc … but still a Merc.

And the reason it has no number plate is because he apparently changed it for another AMG Merc every 3-6 months.

Whether he did that for security or not wanting to commit, I don’t know … but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t because he was financially flexing.

What’s interesting to me is that the extremely wealthy people I’ve met, don’t do that.

Sure they have nice things.
Sure they have things we could never get.
But it’s rarely for show … which is why I’ve found it so amusing to hear people – especially ‘trend spotters’ – go on about ‘quiet luxury’ as if it was a new thing.

Better yet, they only ‘discovered’ it because of Succession, so it’s not even something they had considered before then.

But seeing Jobs car just parked in a carpark ignited a feeling of conflict within me.

Given his influence and impact on the world, it seems banal to witness his car parked in an everyday carpark.

An outdoor carpark.

Parked perfectly within the lines!

A reminder he was human.

An incredibly brilliant and rich human … but a human all the same.

Where for all his achievements, there were moments his day was like so many of us.

Traffic.
Petrol.
Jams.
Parking.
Commute.

It’s also a reminder that for all his tempestuous, demanding, stubborn characteristics … Jobs was always about the work, not the ego.

Because that carpark is the old Apple carpark.

As the co-founder of the most influential technology company in the World, he could have demanded anything.

Helicopters.

Police escorts.

A chauffeur.

Or at least a car park space under some shade.

But no. Or at least I have been told he didn’t.

That he has been gone 12 years is incredible.

I suppose that’s the mark of someone that made a mark.

You don’t just miss them, you don’t recognise time.

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Update: This post has kind of lost its energy given someone has sent me this.