Remembering 2 Letters from Steve

David Gelphman, an Apple employee for 12+ years, shares a story of his first direct contact with Steve Jobs.

In March of 2010, Gelphmen decided to contact Steve. He had a friend who was dying of liver disease and was about to travel to San Francisco to visit her in the hospital. She had worked at Adobe and Gelphmen though that it would be a treat to show her an iPad; however, the product was not officially released and couldn't be shown to anyone without permission from management.

Knowing that anyone in his direct management would turn down the request, Gelphman emailed Steve Jobs:


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Hi,

Today (Tuesday) I’m visiting a terminally ill friend in the hospital in San Francisco. I’ve been told that she will likely not survive until this Friday. She had a liver transplant in late February and we all had high hopes but unfortunately she has not recovered.

Apple has given me carry permission for the [REDACTED] software for the iPad and I take Apple’s security very seriously. I was hoping to get permission from you to show her photos on the iPad even though it is not due to be released until April 3rd. Under normal circumstances I would not make such a request, nor would I expect that such a request might possibly be granted.

Thank you for considering this request.


David Gelphman
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Just three minutes later, Steve Jobs replied:

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OK

Sent from my iPhone
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Gelphman was ecstatic. "Just two letters meant so much. At many keynotes Steve said: “This is why we do what we do”. And that day he was willing to let my friend be touched by what we do, even though it didn’t follow the rules. At that time in my career at Apple I was wondering about the heart of the company. This little interaction lifted my spirits greatly."

Sadly, his friend was not conscious when he arrived and so was unable to see the iPad. However, Gelphman was greatly moved by her passing and Steve's 2 letters.

You can read the full account at the link below...

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