I was driving the freeway from Yakima to Granger when I heard Steve Jobs had passed on. I knew he'd been ill for some time. So I wasn't surprised.

Still I felt saddened, like when someone close dies. I didn't know Jobs, but I'd heard of him many times from my son Teddy, who works in the oil industry in Alaska. I called Teddy immediately, cell-to-iPhone.

"No. It can't be," he said somewhat broken-hearted.

I was surprised somewhat when I walked in the kitchen door 15 minutes later. I learned my wife, too, was aware of Jobs even though we'd never discussed him.

The first thing Pat said, from the living room as I opened the door, was: "Steve Jobs died." She sounded sad.

The first time I really became aware of Jobs was just before the iPhone came out. Teddy made every effort to be first in line. I thought he was acting crazy during the time leading up to the release.

I was afraid to know, but I finally asked the cost.

"$300," Teddy said.

$300 for a phone? Are you nuts?

"You don't understand dad. This phone will do everything."

Teddy was good at understanding "everything." To me "everything" on a phone meant being able to talk to someone.

I continued to caution Teddy that $300 was a lot of money for a stupid phone, but it was his money, and I couldn't really stop him.

I'm sure Teddy wasn't the first to buy an iPhone, but he was one of the first. That day was as exciting as his first Christmas. I thought he was going to cry.

Now he has i-This and i-That.

I still don't have the first i-Anything. It's not that I wouldn't want one or can't afford one. I feel as if my fat hands and fat fingers would fail to use it properly.

I don't remember where I was headed on one particular day, but I was far from home when I suddenly remembered I hadn't Mapquested the route. I was going to call home for help from Pat when I remembered Teddy's iPhone, the one that could do "everything."

Can your phone tell me how to get to...?

"Yeah."

"Should I hang up and wait for you to call back?"

"No."

I couldn't believe it. We carried on a conversation while he found my route. Indeed the iPhone could do everything.

My son and I had come to an understanding.

But this story doesn't end there. It ended recently when Teddy told me I needed to get a new Mac computer, another Jobs contribution to the world.

You see, back in 2000, when I bought the family's first computer, I wanted a Mac. Led by Teddy, the kids all said I was wrong. A PC was better, they said.

I had worked with a Mac at the Toppenish-Wapato newspaper. I believe it was the original Apple II, but I didn't know enough details to argue for it. I finally gave in and got a PC.

Somewhere, between then and now, Teddy wised up. I think it was after the iPhone convinced him Jobs was a genius.

"Macs are the best computers," he said just a couple of weeks ago.

Vindication. I'm not completely i-Challenged.