I have to commend you on the website. Very nice... I was shocked to see the five obits. I was especially shocked to see Taft Garret among the KIA. I bunked with him and Bob Barrie in Dubhe aboard TeVega. Taft was the first person to have enough good-natured silliness to offer me a clue. I've had mentors since but none were able to inspire me to thought like Taft. He will be missed...

As for myself, after FSA I spent about two weeks at home trying to make up my mind. To return or not to return? Ultimately, I weighed character building against personal comfort. Thus framed, the choice became simple. I chose a local private school with "Lutheran" in the name. I'm not a Lutheran but I knew some people who went there. Senior year I went back to public and graduated in January '82 after a grueling one semester/four hour per day routine.

It was fun but not very satisfying. Hence, I went on to the University of Michigan where I studied Aerospace Engineering. I finished my BSE at UM with honors and a high GRE. This was kind of a BFD for me. I transferred to Stanford pdq and achieved my MSE in '87 (aeronautics and astronautics). From there I went straight to work in the belly of the Federal Beast.

I joined NASA to do cutting-edge research work. The reality of life at NASA Ames was far more mundane. Talented engineers became minor contract czars, handing out patronage jobs to local contractors. I did get to work on some interesting test programs in the NFAC and 14' TWT but, oy!, the paperwork.

I left NASA and the Silicon Valley in 1990 to join Komatsu Dresser Company in Illinois. There I practiced as an engineering analyst. I ran vehicle dynamics simulations for 240 ton off-road trucks. Very cool stuff... In doing this work I met up with a company called Mechanical Dynamics, Inc. MDI is a small Ann Arbor based software and consulting firm. I joined MDI in '92 as a consultant. Those were the cowboy days of big three engineering consulting. I had a blast running sims for Ford. At times we would go off to the VDF (vehicle dynamics facility) in Romeo, MI. There we would gleefully beat Ford-owned vehicles like they were mail-order brides (oops!). Of course, this was all done in the name of customer satisfaction. It wasn't just us either. There are publicly-known people who get paid to hang around up there and beat cars. Guardrails on the precision steering course are named after those stupid enough to hit them. I am grateful to say that there is no "Patrick J. Lee" guardrail.

Enough...

I left MDI in 96' to join Ford. Ford offered me a paid UM MBA and a career transition. So, that's where I am now. I work in program management in Ford's RVT (Research and Vehicle Technology) division. The MBA will be done in April. It took me three years of juggling school, work, and self-maintenance (working out, sleeping, that kind of stuff) to get that damn degree finished. I will receive high distinction at commencement this April. I am currently splitting time between work and an advanced project sponsored by the UM Finance Department. I am leading a group of seven engineers, MBAs, and counsel in the establishment of a business. We are crafting a plan to introduce a bundled product/service in the web appliance market space. I can't talk specifics. It was my friend's idea (he and his wife are co-founders) and we guard confidentiality pretty closely. Needless to say, it will either fail or succeed on compressed timing. We will have a shot at funding in April when we present to a group of UM-associated Venture Capitalists.

On a more personal note, I can say that my year at Flint is still very much with me. I didn't realize how much until I talked with PK last week. George and my father are always there, in the back of my head, driving me on. I can't think of two more difficult people to please, with one possible exception. You might think this strange but one of my fantasies is to return to George and FSA in triumph. Then, I will tell George to shut up. Do you remember? He used to say that we were entitled to tell him to shut up if we ever accomplished something of significance.

Most of the time I can find more positive motivations. I can honestly say that the last nine years have been the best of my life. I really feel like I'm learning to fully utilize my capabilities. Sometime around age 27 I gave up alcohol. This was a wise choice. I work out, study, and work my ass off. Occasionally, I vacation or recreate with friends. I enjoy distance biking and have competed in some multi-sport events and 10Ks.

Anyway, I never made mate. I was nominated once or twice (I can't remember if we ever brought up the second attempt) and unceremoniously trashed for the effort. I think it had something to do with being willfully obnoxious. I try to forget this, the downside of my time at Flint. Still, in the back of my head, I keep hearing myself in the group meeting, asking if I can withdraw my nomination. George says no... and the nightmare discussion continues. Some of the comments on personality traits get pretty painful... It's really pretty comical to me now. I'm very glad I went to Flint.

Have a reason for everything you do.

-Patrick J. Lee