"Roy" Neil Ferguson

Occupation: Semi-Retired Self-Employed Technology Consultant
Spouse Name/Occupation: Jean / Manager Market Research
Children/Ages: daughter, 7
GrandKids/Ages: Nowhere close to that -- see me at the 60th reunion for an update
Places I've Been: Austrailia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, England(*), France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan(*), Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore(*), Switzerland, Taiwan, Wales, Alaska, Hawaii and 40+ other states, some other countries I can't think of right now (*=extended residence).
Work Phone: I never answer it anyway.
Home Phone: Don't answer that one, either.
Email: computers@acm.org
Fondest Senior Memory: Getting a diploma with my last name misspelled: a crowning punchline to my high school stint. There were all thethings I did because I was just so totally BORED! I set up this deal where the study hall thought I was in the darkroom doing school photo developing, the physics teacher (where the darkroom was) thought I was in the gym helping out there, gym thought I was in the chemistry lab, and so on. Everybody thought I was someplace else. I just left after 6th period every day. It worked for months, but I finally got caught leaving school one day by a teacher. The funny thing was, Shelton (in the earlier years) seemed to understand my frustration. I was not actually doing too much harmful, just breaking useless rules (like staying for 7th period study hall).
I decided I wanted to learn how locks worked, and I ended up making a master key that fit the whole school. I never abused it, but got in big trouble when I opened the physics lab one day after we all stood in the hall for half an hour on a no-show teacher (Mr. Moses -- I remember he always pointed at things on the blackboard with his middle finger, and it looked like he was shooting the bird at us). I also made a master key for the chem room drawers -- and it turned out the original had been lost for years. They could not even open some drawers. We found stuff lost for who knows how long because anytime a specific drawer key went AWOL, they could not use that drawer any more. I did not get in trouble for that one, I got a thanks from Ms. Milke.
I used the computer terminal in Elder's room to hack into a commercial system at a large building on Stemmons (a few of you know who). I got so good at it I could fake a login, create my own new account, do whatever I wanted including printing out all of their client database and billing activity info, then delete the account and leave so there was no trace of my being there. I may have traded that client list to another company (big competitor) in return for unlimited computer use, and terminal and modem at my house I used on science fair projects, but I won't confirm that story.
All of this was really harmless stuff to the school (well, most all of it), but it kept me making periodic visits to Durrett. I thought he was a consumate moron. He would call my parents in, who have always been cool people, and they would say "So what's the problem? Deal with it if it bothers you. Don't bother us." That seem to frustrate the him more since they would sit and laugh at stuff. They also hated stupid rules and narrow-minded routines, and did not think much of Durrett the musclehead turned principal.
Shelton would just shoot the breeze with me in his office, then smile and tell me to stay out of trouble. Thornton's sense of humor was not nearly as well developed, but then neither were his intellectual skills.
When I finally got my diploma, I remember looking Durrett in the face as I walked past his handshake and refused to return it. I owed him nothing for my education that I could think of, and wanted nothing from him. He had lost all my respect at that point. Let's not forget, Mr. D was BANNED from Dallas athletic fields for behaving like a bully and punching a ref over a call he didn't like at Adamson. Such a fine role model for the youth. I assume he was qualified to teach history and to coach (the extent of his eductional qualifications), but that clearly pushed the upper limits of his abilities. Fortunately, there were a number of exceptional teachers at Kimball. We were fortunate to have had them.

The Real Me: No one in my life ever knew me as "Roy" except at school. Otherwise, WYSIWYG.

Benefit/Waste: Most Benefical: education not acquired from any teacher or formal class (computers) / biggest waste: any assembly -- pick one.

Learned After Graduation: How to be a good father. I thought my parents knew it all, but that was a time when we slept with our windows open and our doors unlocked at night. Our parents didn't have to deal with cellphones, rate plans, pagers, faxes, e-mail, computer viruses, pin numbers, telemarketers, ozone action days, porno on the internet, school shootings, child predators in "chat rooms", drugs in the 6th grade, kids becoming sexually active at 10, multiple body piercings, AIDS, outrageous lawsuits, exploding Firestone tires, international and domestic terrorists, serial killers, IRS filings that take weeks and a PhD to complete, and several thousand other pressures of today's life. I had great parents, but with all due respect I can't say they had half the answers for parenting in this millenium. Even they admit this is true.
I also learned life is all about your attitude: the world is your oyster for those who don't impose artificial limits on their thinking.
For fun, I graduated from grand prix driving school in Europe and learned to drive at 200+ mph, and I taught myself how to repair race cars, and restore exotic cars and antique watches. I still do some of this, but my racing days are over (for now).
Beyond that, I learned that I am a unique individual, just like everyone else.

Looking Back: I wish I had taken metal and wood shop, not that I would want to do either for a living, but it would have saved me learning the skills elsewhere. I sometimes wish I had pursued a career in formula or prototypes racing, but I have no real regrets for the life I have lived. Beyond that, the memorium page reminds me how invincible we thought we were in 1970, and how much time I have squandered.

Will/Will Not Recognize Me: I moved hair from the front of my head to under my chin as a disguise. I already had gray hair in H.S. I just got rid of the excess brown in later years that I had cultivated in quantity during my college days.