The little tike was curious. He’d seen the timepiece in his home for years now. Although he wasn’t quite sure of the concept of time, he was most interested in its constant ticking of the clock. Why does it make that sound? Where does the sound come from? Why do the pointed things keep going round and round? Why do they move so slowly?, he wondered.
On one particular afternoon, his curiosity got the better of him. He needed to know just how this clock worked. He decided to investigate. Within minutes the clock and all its parts were strewn across the floor. From that moment he was hooked on time.
He was just four years old.
Rick Stanley has come a long way since that day, over fifty years ago, when his parents walked in on him and what was formerly the family clock. Since then, his childlike curiosity has piqued even greater. So, while life got in the way of his dissecting of timepieces, it certainly hasn’t diminished his fascination with time...or the making of it.
His attraction for knowing just how things work eventually led him to the study of mechanical engineering, the study of how things move, how they’re designed, what makes them (dare I say?) tick. Rick would go on to graduate from the University of California, receiving a degree in the subject. That degree has been paramount in providing for his wife and three children.
While Rick worked hard inside and outside of the home, one son, Vince was watching.
Like Father…
Vince Stanley grew up to watch his father intently. He’d study his father’s design theory and methodology and all types of tools needed to make his timepieces. He would help modify the design and make custom parts—anything to be a part of the process of clock making. He had become a prime student.
Eventually, Vince would go on to study mechanical engineering in college, obtaining his bachelor’s degree. Yes, Vince was bitten by the same inquisitive virus that had overtaken his father decades earlier, perhaps more so.
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