To my friend
My friend Stanley Stout passed away last week. It was a complete shock to all who knew him. As I pondered Stanley’s funeral and the work I needed to complete for this class, it reminded me of how far technology had progressed his work over the time I knew him.
I have known Stanley for several years. He was a nationally-renowned livestock auctioneer, traveling North America to sell cattle and other sorts of livestock. Now, it should be known that Stanley loved to tell jokes and play pranks on others. When I first met him, he faxed me jokes. When e-mail became easier to access, he quickly shifted to that technology and we all received his jokes in this manner. Ironically, this also meant we always knew the days when he was in his office to disperse these tales. It also meant we could easily access someone’s e-mail address whom we had lost contact. It was a great networking opportunity. Many also enjoyed seeing who Stanley had determined should receive certain e-mails.
Stanley also moved his desktop onto his Palm or whichever device he used to track contacts, schedules and telephone numbers. You could ask him how to contact someone and he had every bit of information needed. Amazing.
Although you could say Stanley “converged” over the years, one item remains – nothing could beat hearing him chant a sale live. And, his handshake was always better than a signed contract. You also could always count on the opportunity that when the sale was over there would be time to raise a cold beverage to toast friends. Stanley, my glass is raised to you.