David Ferris:  

UPON MY GRADUATION FROM MILFORD I EMBARKED UPON THE MILITARY CAREER PHASE OF MY LIFE. HAVING HAD THE SONG "MILITARY MADNESS" DEDICATED TO ME, IN THE SCHOOL NEWS PAPER I LEFT FOR THE MARINE CORPS IN 1975.AFTER FOUR YEARS THIS PHASE OF MY LIFE HAD PROVED TO HAVE PROVIDED ME WITH SEVERAL INTERESTING TALES OF REVELERY AND DEBAUCHERY. MUCH THE SAME AS THOSE ZANEY ANTICS MANY OF MY COLLEGE CONTEMPORARES EXPERIENCED IN "FRATLAND." I SERVED IN THE MARINE CORPS THRU TO 1979. THE WORK COOP PROGRAM ALLOWED ME TO LEAVE IN EARLY DECEMBER AT THE END OF THE FALL TERM.THUS, GRADUATING EARLY I WAS ABLE HOWEVER, TO RETURN IN THE SPRING AND WALK WITH MY CLASSMATES. WHILE SOME THINGS REMAIN A BLUR I DO HOWEVER, REMEMBER DIVING FROM A PLATFORM INTO THE BASE POOL WHERE I SURFACED INTO AN EPISODE OF "JOHNNY QUEST." IT WAS NIGHT AND AT THE TIME THER WAS, UNKNOWN TO ME, A NIGHT SCUBE CLASS CLASS BEING CONDUCTED IN THAT SAME AREA OF THE POOL. EVEN THOUGH I WAS EXTREAMLY DISRUPTIVE THE INSTRUCTOR DID NOT REQUIRE ME TO STAY AFTER CLASS. I RECEIVED AN HONORABLE DISCHARGE FROM THE CORPS WHERE UPON RETURNING HOME TO THE STATES I PACKED UP MY "STUFF" AND IT WAS OFF TO COLLEGE. I WAS GRABBED BY THE LURE OF THE MYSTERIES CONNECTED WITH THE DISCIPLINE OF PHILOSOPHY SO I COMPLEATED A DOUBLE MAJOR. THE SECOND AREA BEING THE ORAL INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE. A FANCY TERM FOR STORY TELLING OR AS I PERFER TO CALL IT LYING AND GETTING PAID FOR IT! DURING MY TENURE THERE I WAS INDUCTED INTO PHI SIGMA TAU THE PHILOSOPHICAL HONORS SOCIETY. THE INITIALS ARE P.S.T. LOOKING FOR HUMOR IN ALL SITUATIONS OTHER MEMBERS OF THAT SOCIETY FORMED A SUB-SECT OF ANGERY DISGRUNTELED PHILOSOPHERS WITH THE ACRONYM P.I.S.T. THUS, BY ADDING THE IOTA WE BECAME THE SOCIETY KNOWN AS PIST!I ALSO RECEIVED A FELLOWSHIP TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD ENGLAND, CHRIST CHURCH COLLEGE. I PROUDLY GRADU...Expand for more