Brad Williamson:  

Standard Form Letter For Catching Up Over 40 Years - 15 JAN 2021 
Well, old friend, (and I mean old as in friend from long ago, as opposed to antique, for which I now qualify having completed nearly 65 trips around this star that warms our days), it's great to hear from you. 

I've thought of you on and off, (really!) and tried the occasional research project to find you, but no joy until now.  Ah, the pleasure of finding old friends. 

It has been a few years since we went our separate ways, what maybe 40 years ago? Yikes! We are old, but like the 1957 Triumph TR3 I drove to Andress my senior year, it ain't the years, it's the miles!

 What have I been up to? A bit of everything. Currently living in Southwest Michigan, long story (El Paso to College Station, TX, to San Diego, CA, to Great Lakes, IL, to Orlando, FL, to Ballston Spa, NY, to San Diego, CA, to El Paso, TX, to Monroe, MI, to Pulaski, NY, to Decatur, IL, to Sawyer, MI), just across the lake from Chicago. Much of the time now I spend on the road, caring for two sets of aging parents who stubbornly refuse to relocate to some central location. If you add in the occasional project or investigation for my company, I’m in Michigan about one-third of my time, with another one-third in Virginia on the Blue Ridge, and the remainder split between Phoenix, Arizona and upstate New York, depending on the seasonal migrations of my in-laws.

 Married nearly 37 years now to a girl I met while in Ballston Spa, New York, during my Navy years (eight, four on a nuclear submarine) and married just before I got out of the Navy, four children, three girls, one boy. Turned out pretty well if I do say so myself! One son-in-law, one daughter -in-law, and two grandsons, one two year old, one seven year old. My wife, Margaret (formerly Putnam from Saratoga Springs) and I taught them at home since the oldest started school, and consequently, they can think for themselves, which seems like a near-miraculous feat in this day and age, and makes me very proud of them.

 Went into commercial nuclear power at Fermi in Michigan after I left the Navy in 1985. Earned my Senior Reactor Operators license, and spent time in Training and Operations. Left Detroit Edison to work for a training contractor out of Illinois. Ran simulator training at various sites around the country for a few years. Left those guys to start my own company, Synfinity, Inc., building training devices for I&C training at nuclear power plants. Sold out my share after 3 years, and went to work for Technicon doing forensic engineering work around the country. Gave that up in 1993.

 My next small business, Interlogic, Inc., was my management consulting firm - I helped companies build and manage nuclear power plants, and did everything from help manage organizational change to design software for managing their legal commitments. Clients in Austria, Japan, and South Korea, gave me the opportunity to travel internationally, and occasionally include the wife and family. I also had the privilege of consulting for the United Nations in Vienna at the International Atomic Energy Agency on issues involving change management, configuration management, and safety margin management, so I was over there several times a year. Vienna is currently my favorite city! 

In between contracts, I turned my photography skills into a real business, Harbor Country Photography - weddings, senior photos, etc. Nice being able to work fr...Expand for more