You have to excuse me. But I really am not sure what exactly Apple shareholders wanted in their bid to find out more about a succession plan for Steve Jobs.

I didn’t read the shareholder proposal, and media coverage was inconsistent, with some outlets saying the proposal was only meant to have Apple insure it had a plan and others insisting that the proposal meant for Apple to identify its plan.

Either way, seems silly to me and I’m glad it was voted down. First, most big companies do have succession plans. They just do. Apple says it does, and I believe it. Period. There’s no need for a shareholder proposal.

And if the proposal’s intent was to have Apple identify its exact succession plan, well, that’s preposterous. What exactly would shareholders do with that info? How would they evaluate it? How are they even qualified to evaluate a succession plan for a company whose inner workings they know little about?

Back in 1976, would anyone have bet that a 21-year-old college dropout and his geeky buddy would build one of the most influential companies in the world? And that this impatient kid would become one of Silicon Valley’s biggest visionaries?

Right. Like I said. It was preposterous.

And while I’m on the subject of Steve Jobs, a man I admire greatly (despite his well-publicized personality flaws), I was very distressed to see video this morning of Steve getting into his car at a local cafe. Apparently, a tabloid photog followed him after his treatment at Stanford and caught him looking frail and unsteady on his feet.

The fact that these ghouls follow a sick man getting treatment for what is clearly a life-threatening condition makes ME sick.

Of course, shareholders have already counted him out and are looking to identify his successor, so why am I surprised? And what about his kids? Do they need to read all this speculation about their father’s death?

Here’s hoping Steve has many more years. And praying.