Because It's an Ode to a Nano

Dear Nigel,

 

I remember fondly the day I went to the Apple Store and picked you out. I had just gotten my first real adult job (though temporary) at the Historical Society and I was ready to celebrate with my first major electronics purchase. We were installing artifacts and labels into the cases in preparation for the opening of the new History Center, and I thought it would be a good sanity-booster to have some tunage while I installed. An iPod nano seemed the perfect fit for me. Of course, my coworker Mary and I brought some computer speakers out, put them on the installation cart, and then alternated whose iPod we listened to for the duration of installation. It was a glorious time. You saw me through car trips, successful and failed attempts at exercising, and MANY days sitting at my desk writing exhibit text or trying desperately to manipulate PhotoShop into doing my bidding. For that, I shall be eternally grateful. I bought you precious little socks to keep you clean and dry. Then I wised up and bought you a heavy-duty silicon cover to keep you from getting scratched, scuffed, and generally beaten to a pulp.

 

After six years, the time has come for you to move to that big Genius Bar in the sky. Apple informs me that there's a distinct possibility you might get mad at me after all these years and suddenly decide to retaliate for all those times I ignored you at the bottom of my purse by sparking up in a flaming rage from your very core. We can't have that. So, it is better that you go and spend your golden years with your brethren, sitting around swapping stories of the glory days. Perhaps even playing Glory Days. The possibilities are endless.

 

While I wait for the new addition to my small but loyal family of electronics, I think fondly of you, Nigel. Thank you for the hours of entertainment, the times of frustration as I figured out how to utilize you to your fullest potential, and the boredom you allayed. The newbie has some ironically big shoes to fill.

 

Sincerely,

A grateful listener