* * *
Free As A Bird
--Part 1 of 2--
(1984-1992)
1984 - "You'll be back!" was the last thing Wayne's dad told him as he left home that late autumn day heading to Houston, TX. Wayne did come back many times in the years that followed but it can be noted that after moving to Denver, Colorado in April of 1982 he has now lived in that state longer than he ever did in Michigan. I think it's safe for him to be considered a Westerner.
This was the first return to Michigan to see his family and it set the precedent: He wouldn't be staying in Detroit.
In this photo, for example, we see Wayne, his dad's dog Tuffy and Wayne's dad up at a cottage off of Negaunee Lake owned by Wayne's sister Patti way north of Detroit close to the Upper Peninsula.
This was the first return to Michigan to see his family and it set the precedent: He wouldn't be staying in Detroit.
In this photo, for example, we see Wayne, his dad's dog Tuffy and Wayne's dad up at a cottage off of Negaunee Lake owned by Wayne's sister Patti way north of Detroit close to the Upper Peninsula.
1984 - It was a great reunion and I think Bruce Springsteen had something to do with it.
It had been almost four years since we last saw Bruce live on stage. In that time he released another album, but without his famed E Street Band. Now he had a new record out and the band was back with a few changes but otherwise essentially intact.
This reunion of ours marked the beginning of quite a few cross-country visits that would go on for the next several years starting in Michigan with Bruce. He was not playing huge statiums quite yet, but it was the beginning of what would become an epic tour for his "Born in the U.S.A." album.
Shown here is Wayne's dad heading back to the cottage from the lake with his dog Tuffy. Tuffy was a stray that his dad had found hanging outside his home and since he'd survived the streets of Detroit on his own for goodness knows how long, was named "Tuffy". (Or was it "Toughy"?!)
It had been almost four years since we last saw Bruce live on stage. In that time he released another album, but without his famed E Street Band. Now he had a new record out and the band was back with a few changes but otherwise essentially intact.
This reunion of ours marked the beginning of quite a few cross-country visits that would go on for the next several years starting in Michigan with Bruce. He was not playing huge statiums quite yet, but it was the beginning of what would become an epic tour for his "Born in the U.S.A." album.
Shown here is Wayne's dad heading back to the cottage from the lake with his dog Tuffy. Tuffy was a stray that his dad had found hanging outside his home and since he'd survived the streets of Detroit on his own for goodness knows how long, was named "Tuffy". (Or was it "Toughy"?!)
1984 - Off the lake fishing I found this nice sillouette of Wayne's dad holding up a catch with his dog by his side.
1984 - Things were starting to move fast again for me in 1984. My next job (after returning to Michigan) started out a little strange as I had to interview for it in a hotel room at Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, MI. It was for work at a Robotics firm that was just starting up in Michigan and I think they hadn't moved into their new building yet, thus the strange location for interviews.
Nonetheless, the whole thing did have me a little nervous but I was hired and the first thing they did was send me to Denver, Colorado (and several times thereafter) to take classes to learn the CAD system they were using called Auto-Trol.
I'll tell a little more about that later but it gave me the opportunity to return to Denver and see Wayne ....and Bruce Springsteen again, as it just so happened he was playing out that way when I arrived.
Nonetheless, the whole thing did have me a little nervous but I was hired and the first thing they did was send me to Denver, Colorado (and several times thereafter) to take classes to learn the CAD system they were using called Auto-Trol.
I'll tell a little more about that later but it gave me the opportunity to return to Denver and see Wayne ....and Bruce Springsteen again, as it just so happened he was playing out that way when I arrived.
1984 - Some Colorado scenes I photographed upon my return 'home' there.
1984 - Wayne and Linda in Central City, Colorado
You might recall that Wayne had moved to Denver with our bowling league friend Linda. This is a rare photo I have of Linda. Wayne and I always have a laugh about this photo because it inadvertently illustrates the real distance that was beginning to form between them.
You might recall that Wayne had moved to Denver with our bowling league friend Linda. This is a rare photo I have of Linda. Wayne and I always have a laugh about this photo because it inadvertently illustrates the real distance that was beginning to form between them.
1984 - Denver, CO
Somewhere in between my classes I was attending in Denver, I was struck with this view of the city from the north of it looking south. So I just stopped the car in the center lane, jumped out quickly and recorded it.
Somewhere in between my classes I was attending in Denver, I was struck with this view of the city from the north of it looking south. So I just stopped the car in the center lane, jumped out quickly and recorded it.
1984 - Houston, TX
I still had things in storage in Houston and at my first opportunity I flew down there to collect them.
While back 'home' in Houston, I began to be creative with my photography. This was just something that I saw in the geometric shapes and lighting of the office buildings downtown.
I still had things in storage in Houston and at my first opportunity I flew down there to collect them.
While back 'home' in Houston, I began to be creative with my photography. This was just something that I saw in the geometric shapes and lighting of the office buildings downtown.
1984 - Houston, TX
This is something I saw more interesting than office buildings.
This is something I saw more interesting than office buildings.
1984 - Houston, TX
I was still in touch with Mike LaDeau and we still enjoyed taking pictures together.
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The hysterical thing about this trip was the minute I got into my rental vehicle, I switched on the radio and guess what? Bruce Springsteen was in town!
1984 - Houston, TX
I tried seeing what kind of effect I could create inside the camera and snapped this one of Mike LaDeau through some foliage.
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When I told Mike about Bruce Springsteen being in town he was sceptical that we'd be able to see him given the popularity of his shows especially with this tour. I assured him that Wayne and I had learned there were always available seats at the last minute and they were always pretty decently located. I was right and Mike and I did very well by simply hanging out at the box office until almost showtime, watched the booth open up, paid our money and we were in and seated! It was another great show.
1984 - Houston, TX
Since I was into running at the time I thought it was nice to catch this unsuspecting person jogging along the path.
1984 - Houston, TX
There was something futuristic about this building and otherworldly so I did my best to capture what I saw as the sun was going down.
1984 - Houston, TX
Looking up and in a split second I managed to catch this helicopter as a flock of birds on some other level flew by.
1984 - Houston, TX
A reflective moment to think about the city and what I'd accomplished here in good ol' Houston.
1984 - Good night and goodbye to Houston, Texas. It was a lot of fun!
1985 - Back in Michigan as mentioned earlier I'd moved to a new career in the robotics industry. I worked for a company called GCA which actually stood for Geophysical Corporation of America. It apparently was a land surveying company that had created this robotics division.
It was quite interesting and my work was to create customer proposal drawings of factory installations on the Auto-Trol CAD system.
Looking back I enjoy realizing I worked for a company which used the slogan "Yes We Can!" 23 years before the Barack Obama Campaign. (2011 note: I'm afraid we've been 'had' by the Obama Campaign. His presidency is the last of which I will ever believe anything coming from a 21st Century Republican or Democrat. Both parties have got to go. Both are bought and sold by the Corporate Elitists. Neither of these parties cares anything about the people of America.)
1985 - This was the company display at a Robotics Show in downtown Detroit.
1985 - Another photo of the Robotics Show in Detroit.
1985 - A close up of a robot. It seems the growth of the robotics industry was part of a craze in technical advances back in the mid-80s.
1985 - As usual I can't remember their names but I sure recall the faces.
1986 - Carol & Wayne in Colorado
As Bruce Springsteen's tour continued through 1985 and his shows now grew to fill huge stadiums it became a running joke in our families that Wayne and I would be reuniting to see the concert be it in Colorado or Michigan. He did come to Detroit more than once and I went back to Denver several more times as well. Just when you'd think we would begin to quiet ourselves down Bob Seger released an album and went on tour.
Here is my first picture of Carol Miller with Wayne as we visited Royal Gorge together.
1986 - Colorado
1986 - Colorado
Concerning Bob Seger, we might have missed the 1982 tour together because of the distance between us. There were rumors in 1984 that he'd been working on an album but all we got was a single and definitely no tour.
1986 - Colorado
By the time "Like a Rock" was released in 1986 we'd been on such a concert roll together that it seemed hard to stop at that point.
Things would begin to finally slow down after this. When Seger returned to Detroit in 1987 for his last concert of the tour, for once Wayne couldn't make it and I went with someone else I knew from work. Times were changing!
1986 - Royal Gorge, Colorado
A cable car we'd eventually ride on.
1986 - A nice view from below the Royal Gorge Bridge
1986 - Royal Gorge, CO
An interesting angle (I thought) of the train cable.
1986 - Royal Gorge, CO
A view of the Gorge from inside the cable car.
1986 - Wayne Welkenback in Colorado.
Looking up I saw another sillouette to capture. I think it's cool I found a 'son' companion to the photo sillouette of Wayne's dad.
1986 - Royal Gorge, CO
Probably taken from the bridge.
1986 - Royal Gorge, CO
A nice photo of the entrance to the bridge.
Note: I like the fact that I have these pictures to compliment the trip my parents made to Royal Gorge back in 1954. I only know of one photo they took while they were here at that time.
1986 - Leaving the park at Royal Gorge, Colorado.
1987 - A scene from Boston, MA (Prime Computer Headquarters)
About Prime Computer:
While still working at GCA in 1986 Ron Rydzewski told me that his brother Darryl had a neighbor (as I recall it) that could forward a resume of mine to a CAD/CAM teaching company located in Dearborn, MI.
That company turned out to be Prime Computer and my experience with them would begin a 20 year relationship with Ford Motor Company.
1987 - Boston, Massachusetts
I started working at Prime Computer on March 31st, 1986. It was the beginning of a whole new life for me.
The work was training designers, mainly from Ford, to use Ford's own internally developed CAD/CAM/CAE system called PDGS (Product Design Graphic System).
You might recall when I worked at Livernois Engineering they too had PDGS but only a certain few were allowed to use those terminals. It was so noticeably exclusive one could feel the snobbery. (It would be with hidden delight that I'd see one such Livernois administrator come to Prime Computer for a class and find me teaching PDGS courses.)
1987 - Prime Computer World Headquarters in Boston, MA
I remember interviewing for the position at Prime and was so overwhelmed and excited at the possibility of becoming an instructor. I was scared to death, which only made it mandatory I make the effort. After all, it truly was an opportunity handed over to me on a silver platter.
It didn't quite happen overnight, though. I don't recall ever waiting so long and with so much anticipation as I did for this opportunity.
While it was very true that not only had I never taught a classroom before, I also barely knew what PDGS was. Yet as mentioned previously there still were no college courses in CAD design at that time and anyone that knew anything about it was valuable. Make no mistake about it, they got their money's worth out of me.
1987 - Boston, MA
Prime Computer was the company which created the operating system named PRIMOS which supported Ford's CAD System PDGS.
When it came time to learn more about PRIMOS, the company sent us to Prime Computer's World Headquarters in Boston for training on that subject.
1987 - As with all my work places, I got to know and enjoy relationships with fellow employees.
This was at the home of one fellow employee, Ann Williams, in Ypsilanti, MI. She had been my travel partner to Boston for our PRIMOS education. She is shown here enjoying a little game of volleyball.
1987 - Kendra was just the most wonderful person to know at Prime Computer and really brightened up our days there.
1983 - My Career as Best Man
Throughout the 1980s I'd find myself honored several times as a 'best man'. Here it was for my brother David in 1983.
1985 - Two years later I would find myself again best man for Mike LaDeau's wedding to Helen
1985 - I knew Helen (because of Mike) from back in Texas, so Mike and Helen had been together for a long time.
When Mike was living with me sometimes he go to see Helen and I'd ask if he needed a ride. He'd reply, "No I'll run there and she can drive me back here later." I'd be astonished because she lived 20 miles away! Mike was a long distance runner though and could handle it. I once tried to run 10 miles and felt it in my knees for the next two years.
Mike was from New York and Helen from, I think, Ohio? Anyway, this time I didn't have to drive all the way to Houston to be with them on their special day as it was held in her home town.
1987 - Then two more years later I would become best man for the best man I've ever known, Wayne.
1987 - When Wayne met Carol Miller that was the end of it, Wayne had found his true love. They wed in September of 1987 and I was so proud to be there.
Today I can say if it wasn't for Carol & Wayne I don't think I'd be a whole person. They helped put me back together.
1988 - I taught a lot of CAD classes while at Prime Computer and will forever be indebted to them for giving me that opportunity. Still the time would come when I needed to move on and continue my growth. While at Prime Computer I was constantly put 'on loan' to the CAD/CAM Department at Ford Motor Company and began a long term relationship with the folks there.
Through a friend, Anna Tomiak at Prime Computer, I got an interview with a person at a contract firm to teach a system named CATIA. This was the system used at (the then) Chrysler Corporation. I accepted and not only found myself teaching CATIA at Chrysler, but also found myself traveling to places as familiar as Toronto, Canada and St. Paul, MN and others like Greenville, TN and Meridian, MS to teach CATIA to company employees based in these areas. It was wonderful but I soon realized I wasn't the traveling type and began to think I might want to find a way out of that grueling schedule.
For example, sometimes I'd arrive home late on Friday exhausted from the week of training in facilities where I had no control over the classroom environment. Equipment failure was a nightmare.
Then after a trying 'recovery' day at home on Saturday it would be necessary to be packed and ready for a flight out Sunday for the next teaching assignment in another place of unfamiliar territory.
So looking for other opportunities I put in a call to Gary Whitaker at Ford. Gary was a person whom I'd worked for when at Ford on loan from Prime Computer. This was a blatant attempt to see what training I could take on for Ford independent from Prime Computer.
Well I got the surprise of my life. Gary cooincidently was wanting to contact me to see if I'd be interested in working at Ford. It was quite an honor and it didn't take long for me to act on it. I was brought in under contract by a George Davidson (who had retired from Ford but returned to work under his own contract) to support PDGS at Ford.
In the January 31st, 1989 Issue of The CAD/CAM News I got this write-up welcoming me to Ford Motor Company.
Added February 2017
How I looked in 1989.
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It was another wonderful opportunity and one major function I had at Ford was working with the CAD users who were dealing with CAD data translation issues.
I had taught a specially tailored CAD data translation class while at Prime Computer. Working directly with Ford in the development of the class helped me grow in my relationship with folks at Ford and did get me noticed for this new position.
The translation of data from one CAD system to another is facinating to me. As much as PDGS was so widely used and internally specific to Ford, it still was not the only CAD System in house.
My past experiences with the various CAD systems helped me deal with these problems and this work allowed me to remain in touch with the more than one system.
Eventually we had to branch out to the supplier base that was supporting Ford and the many different systems they were using. My past experience was vital to my interaction with the Ford supplier community.
circa 1989 - Emil Luetzel
Emil is an important figure in my life. I'd met him while I was on a camping trip in Northwestern Michigan. He was in Michigan from (then) West Germany visiting friends in Grand Rapids, MI and we ran into each other at some event.
We remained in touch on-and-off over the next few years writing to each other and he even sent me some video tapes of Germany and a beautiful book on it, all which I still have.
I think I sort of regretted that I never took him up on his offer to come and visit him in his home land.
May 23rd, 1989 - Perhaps it was Emil who got me thinking again about my German heritage.
I'd mentioned before in other photo albums that when I saw my family's original surname STOSKOPF on the grave marker of my grandfather's brother, I never forgot it. It had been my grandfather, a Canadian, who when he became an American citizen decided to simplify the spelling of the name to STOSCUP. I can understand why and with World War 2 still raging at the time he did it, there may have been some other motivation.
I remember my dad saying that it was simply because no one could pronounce it. I found no one could pronouce it either way and finally the day came when I got the courage to go to the county office to at least learn what it would take to change STOSCUP back to it's original spelling. When they told me, "About 70 bucks," I was surprised at how quickly it could take place... and did it right on the spot!
So, once and for all, to prove I've legally changed my name to STOSKOPF and end any speculation about it here is a copy of the paperwork making it official as of May 30, 1989.
My friend, Anna Tomiak, summed it up perfectly concerning STOSCUP. "It had served its purpose," she said.
UPDATE: On this day, 2 April 2018, I have now lived longer as a STOSKOPF.
1989-Archie Lynch with (I think) Astro of Bertha & Astro.
I met Archie when he started at Prime Computer in 1987. Through him I would make a whole new set of friends and experience a whole new set of adventures! He was a true gentleman.
It was Archie who really explained to me the mechanics of how IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) works. IGES is a specification recognized as to how data is to be translated from one CAD system to the next. Archie's knowledge was invaluable for teaching my students how to understand CAD Data translation.
I think this is one of his dogs Astro. Astro came after Bertha and was a half-brother to her. Both were the coolest dogs I'd seen and helped whet my appetite for one of my own. At this point I wanted one of these English Springer Spaniels. My dog Pal isn't the same type of dog but every so often he 'springs!' just like I recall Astro and Bertha did and I think it's so great.
1989 - Ron Gauthier originally worked at the Prime Computer building in Troy but moved to our office in Dearborn.
Although he knew Archie a little better than myself he was a great friend and someone you could confide in, especially when the days got a little rough.
1989 - John Adler & Ron Gautier
Ron knew John (a supervisor at Prime Computer) better than any of us but John was a great guy who one day took us out for a cruise down Lake Erie in his boat.
1989 - John Adler
1989 - A nice view from the restaurant we ate at.
1989 - Archie Lynch
On the way back from our lunch. This was always a favorite photo for me of Archie.
1990 - Mauricio, Carlos & Murilo Moretti
One day I learned that we had three guests from Sao Paulo, Brazil visiting Ford Motor Company. They were from a company called Autolatina, which was owned jointly by Ford and Volkswagon. (I think it was something like 49% & 51% with Volkswagon owning the controlling half.)
1990 - Murilo Moretti, Mauricio, Carlos
They were visiting Michigan to take some classes and Murilo was their data collector person who could benefit with assistance from me to understand some CAD translation issues.
1990 - Murilo Moretti inside the Henry Ford Museum
Carlos and Mauricio would be staying for a couple of weeks before they would return to Brazil. Murilo was in the U.S. for two weeks more and he would be taking another class in Texas.
1990 - Mauricio, Murilo & Carlos outside of Henry Ford Museum - Dearborn, MI
Their first weekend here in the USA they travelled to Niagra Falls. When they got back on Monday I found out about the tiny vehicle they'd gone all the way there and back in. It was no car for three grown men to be shoved into, that's for sure!
1990 - Murilo outside Building 3 at Ford Motor Company where I worked.
I was soon to realize that there were other things they had need for assistance with besides getting them a bigger car. Going with them to their hotel to help with questions about their accomodations, for example, I witnessed that because of their broken English many people just didn't have the patience or want to deal with them.
1990 - The Last Good Time in Town
Not one to be a fan of Detroit, I took Murilo downtown so he could at least have a look at the city he was staying in.
I'm also not one for the Reniassance Building either (shown here) but I couldn't help but like the birds.
1990 - Murilo on the Detroit River
1990 - Murilo outside his room in Dearborn, MI
I could tell that people just didn't want to deal with the Brazilians. It kind of made me ashamed of my fellow country men as these wonderful people were not that difficult to understand, it's just that no one wanted to take the time to understand them.
1990 - Murilo and I hit it off right from the beginning. For some reason we understood each other absolutely perfectly.
I soon realized the reality of the situation was that it was possible he might not return to the U.S.A. again. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to share for the both of us and it would have been a crime to waste it.
1990 - Murilo in Austin, Texas
Murilo needed help booking his next hotel reservation in Austin, TX. It's not that he couldn't give it a try on his own, but that he had felt the impatience Americans had for him. If face-to-face communication was so difficult he loathed the idea of attempting it over the phone, so I made the call for him. Wow, what trust he had in me!
I really liked Murilo as well. After Carlos & Mauricio had returned to Brazil, I continued to spend time with him. My parents even had him over for dinner!
I realized that he was being sent all alone to a place he'd never been in; a foreign country he'd probably never see again and he was without any guide. Since I knew a few things about Texas I booked a flight to visit him that weekend and show him around. It was a good thing too because when I arrived I learned no one even had a car for him! I guess his room was in walking distance from his class he was taking, but beyond that he was stranded.
1990 - Myself returning to Texas soil in Austin, TX!
After showing Murilo around Austin we took a trip to San Antonio.
1990 - Murilo & John
1990 - John & Murilo
Yeah, we were like two peas in a pod. He was just like me especially when it came to doing things together. I know some people, when they say they don't really care what the plan is don't really mean it, but when Murilo or I say it we do mean it! So we'd pick anything to do and just be happy spending the time together.
1990 - We even were able to get a little creative with the camera.
1990 - The Alamo
1990 - We communicated on a different level, it was pretty deep. Murilo kept mentioning that I should visit Brazil where I could stay with him and his wife and child and be welcomed by his family.
That idea started to grow on me. I'd passed on the opportunity offered by Emil Lutzel to visit Germany, but this time when Murilo had been in the States (about 5 weeks) I'd been with him almost constantly and really felt we had quite a comfortable relationship.
Eventually I realized if I didn't make the effort now it wasn't going to happen so I booked a trip to Brazil for the time period during our Christmas break from Ford at the end of 1990. It proved to be a decision that probably saved my sanity.
Murilo and I are in touch with each other to this day.
1990 - Mom at home
While Mom and Dad had long since stopped taking pictures on a regular basis, the photo bug wasn't completely out of them.
Over the years, in particular after I left home in 1980, Dad would try out the lastest instant picture technology and they'd take a few snap shots now and then.
(Photo by Robert Stoscup)
1990 - Looking through their collection I found a few that seemed to fit in here.
It was in September when Dad came home from work one day and he was tired. One could tell he was winding down. He even said himself, "Isn't it funny when your body starts giving out on you?"
Well it was obvious he couldn't go back to work the next day and so he called in to Detroit Edison to let them know and we took him to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Dad having been connected with that hospital since becoming a kidney patient.
He was just beginning to fade on us and I had a bad feeling this was the end.
(Photo by Margie Stoscup)
1990 - Yet when Dad was looked at by the medical staff they couldn't really find anything wrong with him except, they said, it was detected he had a slight case of pneumonia.
With them unable to do anything for him specifically it was decided that after a week he would come home on Friday. Thursday night I began to think to myself that maybe I was wrong and everything will be okay.
Friday morning Mom telephoned Dad to see how he was doing. She remembers him sounding very good, even joking with the nurses while they were on the phone together. She light-heartedly told me later that she even felt a little slighted trying to get a conversation in.
Then I got the call at work. I was at my desk and let my message machine take it as I was in the middle of something. When I realized it was my mother I picked up immediately and got the news Dad had just passed away.
Robert C. Stoscup (1927-1990)
(Photo courtesy of Mom & Dad)
1951 - As I will remember my parents together. This is from a rare photo Mom always carried in her handbag.
Dad really was a Good Guy. He fought for us. He kept us balanced. Mom always said he was her 'rock'.
I remember the day I was leaving for Texas I had to ask Dad what he felt about me going. His reply was that the only reason he wasn't saying anything specificly about it to me was because, personally, he knew that whatever I did he had trust in me and knew I would always do the right thing. I suppose I never had such trust from anyone else in my life.
He died September 28, 1990 and we proceeded in shock for some time afterward. The people at Ford Motor Company were so very kind to me, and with the looming Christmas holidays that were upon us it was decided the best thing for me to do was honor the trip I'd booked for Brazil.
I knew in my heart it was a God-send. I wouldn't have made it through the holidays that year at home. And I'm sure even though I was away, given how my mom would worry about things, it was better for her to have me to worry about than to just sit and think about our loss.
Another photo just uncovered from Mom's wallet of Mom & Dad and you can just barely see my Aunt Betty in the background.
"It's been there for 60 years," Mom says. "I could never let him go."
Added January 15, 2013
This was an effort to try and make boring and difficult training videos for the Ford Motor Company easier to absorb. The system in question (PDGS - Product Design Graphics System) was developed in-house at Ford and this was for its Revision #18 released in the autumn of 1991.
Added March 12, 2013
There wasn't a Revision 19 video made as we instead opted to put more planning and effort into the next release set for March of 1992, Revision 20. This time we had a lot more people on-board and were allowed to take candid shots around Ford Motor Company to fill into the introduction portion of the training video. I wrote the intro (as before) and recorded the CAD demos which were inserted later but our lovely friends in Technical Services (Frank & Tom) set up my 'desk studio', recorded that for me along with providing the cues that I could read (as they also had done for Revision 18). It was a help that we could also showcase some of the new workstations that were now becoming available to support the software.
1992 - Las Vegas, NV
After Carol & Wayne were married in 1987 we'd continued our Concert Tour Visits seeing Bruce Springsteen on stage again together in 1988.
Wayne so kindly flew into town to be by my side when Dad passed away. (If it hadn't been for him doing that I would have been a very hurting person. I knew a lot of people those days but was convinced they didn't really know me. Wayne did, though. When he showed up, I wasn't alone.)
Wayne and I saw each other again in 1991 when Bob Seger released his album "The Fire Inside" even though he didn't go on tour. I think we both visited each other in Michigan and Colorado that year.
1992 - Las Vegas
1992 was no exception. When Bruce went back out on the road I flew into Denver to see Carol & Wayne and we all went on a trip to the Grand Canyon via Las Vegas. For a little while our concert visits were once more flourishing!
1992 - This was the view from our hotel room in Vegas.
1992 - A view around Boulder Dam
1992 - Wayne & Carol
1992 - The Grandest Canyon of them all.
1992 - Another nice photo of Carol & Wayne near the 'inverted mountains' as Wayne would call the canyon.
1992 - The Grand Canyon
We took a little hike down the side of the canyon soon learning that people on donkeys have the right-of-way. Those babies do not move for anyone! We got closer to the edge than we could tolerate a couple of times.
(Photo by Carol & Wayne)
(Photo by Carol & Wayne)
1992 - Driving down the road perhaps away from the canyon we passed a helicopter ride. All of us were thinking the same thing.
"Let's do it!" I said.
1992 - Absolutely fantastic experience. Our first ride in a helicopter!
1992 - The pilot was in front of me and Wayne was to his left. Carol was in back to my left.
1992 - Hey, is that Wayne driving?
(I guess helicopter pilots sit on the right side.)
1992 - A few shots of the Canyon from our flight.
1992
1992
1992 - Coming down to earth and up close to take a photo of the Painted Desert.
1992 - Wondering just how long ago this inscription was done.
I was still in touch with Mike LaDeau and we still enjoyed taking pictures together.
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The hysterical thing about this trip was the minute I got into my rental vehicle, I switched on the radio and guess what? Bruce Springsteen was in town!
I tried seeing what kind of effect I could create inside the camera and snapped this one of Mike LaDeau through some foliage.
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When I told Mike about Bruce Springsteen being in town he was sceptical that we'd be able to see him given the popularity of his shows especially with this tour. I assured him that Wayne and I had learned there were always available seats at the last minute and they were always pretty decently located. I was right and Mike and I did very well by simply hanging out at the box office until almost showtime, watched the booth open up, paid our money and we were in and seated! It was another great show.
Since I was into running at the time I thought it was nice to catch this unsuspecting person jogging along the path.
There was something futuristic about this building and otherworldly so I did my best to capture what I saw as the sun was going down.
Looking up and in a split second I managed to catch this helicopter as a flock of birds on some other level flew by.
A reflective moment to think about the city and what I'd accomplished here in good ol' Houston.
It was quite interesting and my work was to create customer proposal drawings of factory installations on the Auto-Trol CAD system.
Looking back I enjoy realizing I worked for a company which used the slogan "Yes We Can!" 23 years before the Barack Obama Campaign. (2011 note: I'm afraid we've been 'had' by the Obama Campaign. His presidency is the last of which I will ever believe anything coming from a 21st Century Republican or Democrat. Both parties have got to go. Both are bought and sold by the Corporate Elitists. Neither of these parties cares anything about the people of America.)
1985 - Still I couldn't pass up a few pictures of the ladies (and human element) which worked in our office.
As Bruce Springsteen's tour continued through 1985 and his shows now grew to fill huge stadiums it became a running joke in our families that Wayne and I would be reuniting to see the concert be it in Colorado or Michigan. He did come to Detroit more than once and I went back to Denver several more times as well. Just when you'd think we would begin to quiet ourselves down Bob Seger released an album and went on tour.
Here is my first picture of Carol Miller with Wayne as we visited Royal Gorge together.
Concerning Bob Seger, we might have missed the 1982 tour together because of the distance between us. There were rumors in 1984 that he'd been working on an album but all we got was a single and definitely no tour.
By the time "Like a Rock" was released in 1986 we'd been on such a concert roll together that it seemed hard to stop at that point.
1986 - Colorado
Things would begin to finally slow down after this. When Seger returned to Detroit in 1987 for his last concert of the tour, for once Wayne couldn't make it and I went with someone else I knew from work. Times were changing!
A cable car we'd eventually ride on.
An interesting angle (I thought) of the train cable.
A view of the Gorge from inside the cable car.
Looking up I saw another sillouette to capture. I think it's cool I found a 'son' companion to the photo sillouette of Wayne's dad.
Probably taken from the bridge.
A nice photo of the entrance to the bridge.
Note: I like the fact that I have these pictures to compliment the trip my parents made to Royal Gorge back in 1954. I only know of one photo they took while they were here at that time.
About Prime Computer:
While still working at GCA in 1986 Ron Rydzewski told me that his brother Darryl had a neighbor (as I recall it) that could forward a resume of mine to a CAD/CAM teaching company located in Dearborn, MI.
That company turned out to be Prime Computer and my experience with them would begin a 20 year relationship with Ford Motor Company.
I started working at Prime Computer on March 31st, 1986. It was the beginning of a whole new life for me.
The work was training designers, mainly from Ford, to use Ford's own internally developed CAD/CAM/CAE system called PDGS (Product Design Graphic System).
You might recall when I worked at Livernois Engineering they too had PDGS but only a certain few were allowed to use those terminals. It was so noticeably exclusive one could feel the snobbery. (It would be with hidden delight that I'd see one such Livernois administrator come to Prime Computer for a class and find me teaching PDGS courses.)
I remember interviewing for the position at Prime and was so overwhelmed and excited at the possibility of becoming an instructor. I was scared to death, which only made it mandatory I make the effort. After all, it truly was an opportunity handed over to me on a silver platter.
It didn't quite happen overnight, though. I don't recall ever waiting so long and with so much anticipation as I did for this opportunity.
While it was very true that not only had I never taught a classroom before, I also barely knew what PDGS was. Yet as mentioned previously there still were no college courses in CAD design at that time and anyone that knew anything about it was valuable. Make no mistake about it, they got their money's worth out of me.
Prime Computer was the company which created the operating system named PRIMOS which supported Ford's CAD System PDGS.
When it came time to learn more about PRIMOS, the company sent us to Prime Computer's World Headquarters in Boston for training on that subject.
This was at the home of one fellow employee, Ann Williams, in Ypsilanti, MI. She had been my travel partner to Boston for our PRIMOS education. She is shown here enjoying a little game of volleyball.
Throughout the 1980s I'd find myself honored several times as a 'best man'. Here it was for my brother David in 1983.
When Mike was living with me sometimes he go to see Helen and I'd ask if he needed a ride. He'd reply, "No I'll run there and she can drive me back here later." I'd be astonished because she lived 20 miles away! Mike was a long distance runner though and could handle it. I once tried to run 10 miles and felt it in my knees for the next two years.
Mike was from New York and Helen from, I think, Ohio? Anyway, this time I didn't have to drive all the way to Houston to be with them on their special day as it was held in her home town.
Today I can say if it wasn't for Carol & Wayne I don't think I'd be a whole person. They helped put me back together.
Through a friend, Anna Tomiak at Prime Computer, I got an interview with a person at a contract firm to teach a system named CATIA. This was the system used at (the then) Chrysler Corporation. I accepted and not only found myself teaching CATIA at Chrysler, but also found myself traveling to places as familiar as Toronto, Canada and St. Paul, MN and others like Greenville, TN and Meridian, MS to teach CATIA to company employees based in these areas. It was wonderful but I soon realized I wasn't the traveling type and began to think I might want to find a way out of that grueling schedule.
For example, sometimes I'd arrive home late on Friday exhausted from the week of training in facilities where I had no control over the classroom environment. Equipment failure was a nightmare.
Then after a trying 'recovery' day at home on Saturday it would be necessary to be packed and ready for a flight out Sunday for the next teaching assignment in another place of unfamiliar territory.
So looking for other opportunities I put in a call to Gary Whitaker at Ford. Gary was a person whom I'd worked for when at Ford on loan from Prime Computer. This was a blatant attempt to see what training I could take on for Ford independent from Prime Computer.
Well I got the surprise of my life. Gary cooincidently was wanting to contact me to see if I'd be interested in working at Ford. It was quite an honor and it didn't take long for me to act on it. I was brought in under contract by a George Davidson (who had retired from Ford but returned to work under his own contract) to support PDGS at Ford.
In the January 31st, 1989 Issue of The CAD/CAM News I got this write-up welcoming me to Ford Motor Company.
Added February 2017
It took quite some time to locate this video tape and get it copied because I had it 'hidden' away on one of my Betamax tapes, and for an even longer time my Beta machine was out of commission. I finally got a replacement machine and transferred this 'historic' first demonstration presentation I did for Ford Motor Company on video for the upcoming Summer software release of 1989.
The main reason I had to talk about the new computer function "Surface Automatic Fit" on a white-board, was because I couldn't do otherwise. The software wasn't working yet, but we needed to get the demo done in any case.
**********
It was another wonderful opportunity and one major function I had at Ford was working with the CAD users who were dealing with CAD data translation issues.
I had taught a specially tailored CAD data translation class while at Prime Computer. Working directly with Ford in the development of the class helped me grow in my relationship with folks at Ford and did get me noticed for this new position.
The translation of data from one CAD system to another is facinating to me. As much as PDGS was so widely used and internally specific to Ford, it still was not the only CAD System in house.
My past experiences with the various CAD systems helped me deal with these problems and this work allowed me to remain in touch with the more than one system.
Eventually we had to branch out to the supplier base that was supporting Ford and the many different systems they were using. My past experience was vital to my interaction with the Ford supplier community.
Emil is an important figure in my life. I'd met him while I was on a camping trip in Northwestern Michigan. He was in Michigan from (then) West Germany visiting friends in Grand Rapids, MI and we ran into each other at some event.
We remained in touch on-and-off over the next few years writing to each other and he even sent me some video tapes of Germany and a beautiful book on it, all which I still have.
I think I sort of regretted that I never took him up on his offer to come and visit him in his home land.
I'd mentioned before in other photo albums that when I saw my family's original surname STOSKOPF on the grave marker of my grandfather's brother, I never forgot it. It had been my grandfather, a Canadian, who when he became an American citizen decided to simplify the spelling of the name to STOSCUP. I can understand why and with World War 2 still raging at the time he did it, there may have been some other motivation.
I remember my dad saying that it was simply because no one could pronounce it. I found no one could pronouce it either way and finally the day came when I got the courage to go to the county office to at least learn what it would take to change STOSCUP back to it's original spelling. When they told me, "About 70 bucks," I was surprised at how quickly it could take place... and did it right on the spot!
So, once and for all, to prove I've legally changed my name to STOSKOPF and end any speculation about it here is a copy of the paperwork making it official as of May 30, 1989.
My friend, Anna Tomiak, summed it up perfectly concerning STOSCUP. "It had served its purpose," she said.
UPDATE: On this day, 2 April 2018, I have now lived longer as a STOSKOPF.
I met Archie when he started at Prime Computer in 1987. Through him I would make a whole new set of friends and experience a whole new set of adventures! He was a true gentleman.
It was Archie who really explained to me the mechanics of how IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) works. IGES is a specification recognized as to how data is to be translated from one CAD system to the next. Archie's knowledge was invaluable for teaching my students how to understand CAD Data translation.
I think this is one of his dogs Astro. Astro came after Bertha and was a half-brother to her. Both were the coolest dogs I'd seen and helped whet my appetite for one of my own. At this point I wanted one of these English Springer Spaniels. My dog Pal isn't the same type of dog but every so often he 'springs!' just like I recall Astro and Bertha did and I think it's so great.
Although he knew Archie a little better than myself he was a great friend and someone you could confide in, especially when the days got a little rough.
Ron knew John (a supervisor at Prime Computer) better than any of us but John was a great guy who one day took us out for a cruise down Lake Erie in his boat.
On the way back from our lunch. This was always a favorite photo for me of Archie.
One day I learned that we had three guests from Sao Paulo, Brazil visiting Ford Motor Company. They were from a company called Autolatina, which was owned jointly by Ford and Volkswagon. (I think it was something like 49% & 51% with Volkswagon owning the controlling half.)
They were visiting Michigan to take some classes and Murilo was their data collector person who could benefit with assistance from me to understand some CAD translation issues.
Carlos and Mauricio would be staying for a couple of weeks before they would return to Brazil. Murilo was in the U.S. for two weeks more and he would be taking another class in Texas.
Their first weekend here in the USA they travelled to Niagra Falls. When they got back on Monday I found out about the tiny vehicle they'd gone all the way there and back in. It was no car for three grown men to be shoved into, that's for sure!
I was soon to realize that there were other things they had need for assistance with besides getting them a bigger car. Going with them to their hotel to help with questions about their accomodations, for example, I witnessed that because of their broken English many people just didn't have the patience or want to deal with them.
Not one to be a fan of Detroit, I took Murilo downtown so he could at least have a look at the city he was staying in.
I'm also not one for the Reniassance Building either (shown here) but I couldn't help but like the birds.
I could tell that people just didn't want to deal with the Brazilians. It kind of made me ashamed of my fellow country men as these wonderful people were not that difficult to understand, it's just that no one wanted to take the time to understand them.
I soon realized the reality of the situation was that it was possible he might not return to the U.S.A. again. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to share for the both of us and it would have been a crime to waste it.
Murilo needed help booking his next hotel reservation in Austin, TX. It's not that he couldn't give it a try on his own, but that he had felt the impatience Americans had for him. If face-to-face communication was so difficult he loathed the idea of attempting it over the phone, so I made the call for him. Wow, what trust he had in me!
I really liked Murilo as well. After Carlos & Mauricio had returned to Brazil, I continued to spend time with him. My parents even had him over for dinner!
I realized that he was being sent all alone to a place he'd never been in; a foreign country he'd probably never see again and he was without any guide. Since I knew a few things about Texas I booked a flight to visit him that weekend and show him around. It was a good thing too because when I arrived I learned no one even had a car for him! I guess his room was in walking distance from his class he was taking, but beyond that he was stranded.
After showing Murilo around Austin we took a trip to San Antonio.
Yeah, we were like two peas in a pod. He was just like me especially when it came to doing things together. I know some people, when they say they don't really care what the plan is don't really mean it, but when Murilo or I say it we do mean it! So we'd pick anything to do and just be happy spending the time together.
1990 - Murilo enjoying his visit to the EUA.
That idea started to grow on me. I'd passed on the opportunity offered by Emil Lutzel to visit Germany, but this time when Murilo had been in the States (about 5 weeks) I'd been with him almost constantly and really felt we had quite a comfortable relationship.
Eventually I realized if I didn't make the effort now it wasn't going to happen so I booked a trip to Brazil for the time period during our Christmas break from Ford at the end of 1990. It proved to be a decision that probably saved my sanity.
Murilo and I are in touch with each other to this day.
While Mom and Dad had long since stopped taking pictures on a regular basis, the photo bug wasn't completely out of them.
Over the years, in particular after I left home in 1980, Dad would try out the lastest instant picture technology and they'd take a few snap shots now and then.
(Photo by Robert Stoscup)
It was in September when Dad came home from work one day and he was tired. One could tell he was winding down. He even said himself, "Isn't it funny when your body starts giving out on you?"
Well it was obvious he couldn't go back to work the next day and so he called in to Detroit Edison to let them know and we took him to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Dad having been connected with that hospital since becoming a kidney patient.
He was just beginning to fade on us and I had a bad feeling this was the end.
(Photo by Margie Stoscup)
With them unable to do anything for him specifically it was decided that after a week he would come home on Friday. Thursday night I began to think to myself that maybe I was wrong and everything will be okay.
Friday morning Mom telephoned Dad to see how he was doing. She remembers him sounding very good, even joking with the nurses while they were on the phone together. She light-heartedly told me later that she even felt a little slighted trying to get a conversation in.
Then I got the call at work. I was at my desk and let my message machine take it as I was in the middle of something. When I realized it was my mother I picked up immediately and got the news Dad had just passed away.
Robert C. Stoscup (1927-1990)
(Photo courtesy of Mom & Dad)
Dad really was a Good Guy. He fought for us. He kept us balanced. Mom always said he was her 'rock'.
I remember the day I was leaving for Texas I had to ask Dad what he felt about me going. His reply was that the only reason he wasn't saying anything specificly about it to me was because, personally, he knew that whatever I did he had trust in me and knew I would always do the right thing. I suppose I never had such trust from anyone else in my life.
He died September 28, 1990 and we proceeded in shock for some time afterward. The people at Ford Motor Company were so very kind to me, and with the looming Christmas holidays that were upon us it was decided the best thing for me to do was honor the trip I'd booked for Brazil.
I knew in my heart it was a God-send. I wouldn't have made it through the holidays that year at home. And I'm sure even though I was away, given how my mom would worry about things, it was better for her to have me to worry about than to just sit and think about our loss.
"It's been there for 60 years," Mom says. "I could never let him go."
Added January 15, 2013
Added March 12, 2013
After Carol & Wayne were married in 1987 we'd continued our Concert Tour Visits seeing Bruce Springsteen on stage again together in 1988.
Wayne so kindly flew into town to be by my side when Dad passed away. (If it hadn't been for him doing that I would have been a very hurting person. I knew a lot of people those days but was convinced they didn't really know me. Wayne did, though. When he showed up, I wasn't alone.)
Wayne and I saw each other again in 1991 when Bob Seger released his album "The Fire Inside" even though he didn't go on tour. I think we both visited each other in Michigan and Colorado that year.
1992 was no exception. When Bruce went back out on the road I flew into Denver to see Carol & Wayne and we all went on a trip to the Grand Canyon via Las Vegas. For a little while our concert visits were once more flourishing!
We took a little hike down the side of the canyon soon learning that people on donkeys have the right-of-way. Those babies do not move for anyone! We got closer to the edge than we could tolerate a couple of times.
1992 - Johnny out West.
(Photo by Carol & Wayne)
1992 - Another fine memory.
(Photo by Carol & Wayne)
"Let's do it!" I said.
(I guess helicopter pilots sit on the right side.)
1992 - Carol enjoying the ride.
The title "Free As A Bird" taken from The Beatles Anthology 1 Album (1995)
Original composition by John Lennon. Beatles version by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison & Ringo Starr.
"Last Good Time In Town" (Walsh-Souther)
Taken from a song on The Eagles LP - "Long Road Out of Eden" - 2007
Well, I could stand up straight, get a real job
Stay up late with the same old mob
But it hasn't crossed my mind
Lately
Put on a suit, work downtown
Then come up when the sun goes down
No, I haven't had the time
Lately
Originally published July 23, 2010 on my Facebook account
