The Southfield house and property provided a limitless number of projects for the father and sons team. One I recall doing with Dad was the restoration of the skating pond on the creek. This project was mounted on a scale unlike others I can think of, complete with heavy equipment, timbers and lots of concrete. While Dad was not known for his excessive concern for safety, it was on this project that he shared with me that it would not be a good idea to grab the mud covered extension cord connection while I was standing in mud. Also, on this project, he exhibited a degree of civil engineering savvy you would not expect of a senior computer systems executive from Ford. As I recall, he used a cofferdam to hold back the creek while we filled where the dam had been undercut. Lots of rocks and lots of concrete from a mixer he had rented made for a solid fix on the dam, so that the timbers could be put in place to flood the pond area. When we were done, I was the envy of the neighborhood with a large, smooth skating rink.