Victoria Bingham:  

The story I've never told. I left Wantagh HS in 74' and spent a year working at the Yankee Clipper [Freeport, LI] before leaving in September 1975, for Syracuse University - compliments of the encouragement of one Mr. Morton Cooper, a mentor, close friend, and the most special teacher of my life, as well as a couple of healthy scholarships. I dropped out of college after only 3 semesters though due to illness. I was sick from childhood to age 20 with Bulimia and a number of other nasty syndromes such as Prader Willi. Bet you never heard of that one. I didn't either until the Lord led me to the name of what he delivered me from. The description in medical journals was exactly what I had experienced. Basically it is a supernaturally compulsive disorder that won't let a person stop eating. I spent every waking minute of the day thinking about food. And given the right set of circumstances,or groceries, I'd consummate that craving. I just could not stop chewing. Back in 1974 I had moved out of my home and rented the apartment where Susan Miller had lived. You may remember that English teacher who we lost to a car accident. Living there by myself, I use do eat myself out of house and home. As they say. So, Prader Willi is the name of the syndrome that would have me eat ANYTHING if I ran out of edibles. I.E.. with empty cupboards I would deign to taking a bar of butter, mashing it into the sugar bowl and eating that. It amazes me to think about how nuts I had become. But it was a spiritual oppression, that was spawned in my dysfunctional home. And I tell this story just so you might appreciate just how remarkable the deliverance was. After dropping out of college and forfeiting my scholarships, I was still in Syracuse in 1978 when I was led to enroll in a Bible class. Upon graduating this class I became born again But that's when something most exceptional happened. The night the class ended, I was puttering about in my rented home on Westmoreland Ave. in Syracuse, when Jesus Christ spoke audibly to me. In 2 words, The Lord told me that 15+ years of compulsive outrageous behavior was over. He said clearly to me, 'It's gone'. Even more amazing was the fact that the instant he spoke, I knew who was talking to me. I still find that amazing. But I asked him, ''What if it comes back?' Jesus answered simply:'It will never come back.' But I reacted with shock and argued with him: "But what am I supposed to do?' ' I don't know how to be well!' I went on, and he let me vent, 'I've been sick my whole life and don't know how to be normal'. (I had been gorging as long as I can remember, I could not just eat a meal and get up and go about my business) Jesus said; 'Join the Army' and my first ever conversation with him, ended, as quickly as it had begun. So I joined the army. The very next morning I visited a Syracuse recruiter and joined. Would I kid you? Let me ask you - Why would a girl from Long Island, an artist, in school for art, a health food nut and bookworm, who had never been athletic in her life join the Army without some profound provocation? That was it. I passed the Army physical and by November was at Fort Jackson SC as a 'E-nothing' getting up at 4:30 in the morning doing 100s of push ups, marching marching marching, running in stiff leather boots (no NIke's in those days) more marching and finally to a mess hall by 8:30am half starved. At which point we got 5 minutes to eat and get back in formation! EATING TRAINING TO BOOT! Army Basic was 2 months of training on how to eat. I also learned how to rise early, how to work out, how to discipline myself and how to carry a mission to completion. It was all about life. I was learning how to be a normal healthy adult. My life began all over again at boot camp. One lesson learned - not from the Army program - occurred in formation one morning. One of the drill sergeants was screaming at a trainee - 'TRAINEE, don't be afraid to make a mistake! Even Jesus made a mistake!' Which I understood him to be referring to the Lord's crucifixion. He was dead wrong, Jesus...Expand for more