I got my laptop, a MacBook Pro, about four years ago, I wrote three, perhaps four, books on it, processed 60,000 photographs, wrote six or seven thousand blog posts, countless e-mails, in the last few months, my creative companion struggled and began to fray. I invited an Apple Tech to come inside and she took a look and said it was time for a new computer. My MacBook Pro was wearing out under the crush of the graphic tsunami, it needs some work. She can last awhile but not carry the load of my media empire now.

Every penny I earn, every creative thing I do flows through my computer, I cannot afford to mess around with it.

I have never used anything but an Apple computer, and I hope I never will. My computers have been my partners in creativity for decades now, Apple and it’s tech support have always been there when I needed them. I am fond of saying Steve Jobs had a greater impact on my life than my own father, and it is still true, even though he is no longer here. Apple is bigger, more complex, busier,  less focused on me and my computer, but still wonderful and reliable,  the best thing out there that I know of for quality and support. I shudder to think of the volume of work that laptop carried for me.

I got a desktop, the new 27 inch Imac and got as much memory and power as I can afford. My friend Rachel Barlow is coming over in the morning to help me migrate the contents of this computer over to the new one. I hope to be cranking out the first story on the new computer tomorrow in the late morning or early afternoon. Hard to say what a computer means to an author and blogger, my whole lied, my words and pictures, flow through this machine.

I am grateful to my laptop, I hope I can spruce it up and keep it around for awhile, I am very excited to start writing on my new machine. I’m going to spend a few hours cleaning off my desk and getting all of my cables sorted out for Rachel in the morning. A new computer is like a rebirth for me, a renewal. I will think of some good ceremony for it. I may read aloud from William Saroyan’s advice to writers:
“Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep, really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive, with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell, and when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive.  You will be dead soon enough.”

I thank you computer, and and welcome the new one. Big shoes for the Imac to walk in.