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Thank you, so much, Tom Lehrer. I am never forget your inspiration and career example. https://twitter.com/EFF/status/1318692044626227201
1/ I have a tale to add to this. I did undergrad at UMCP. One weekend my friends and I found out that the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum on the Mall was opening up an exhibit of the V2 rocket. We decided that we had to go down and help in the celebration. Yeah, help.
2/ Were were undergrads, and undergrads helping is a thing. The Metro was also recently opened, and only went to RI Ave, so we bussed to the Metro, Metroed to the Mall, and then went over to the museum. We hung around, looked at exhibits, and eventually gathered by the V2.
3/ We circled around it. The rocket is surprisingly big. Our original fantasy of circled hands around it wasn't going to work; there were only eight of us, two each for SATB. Terrified we were going to be thrown out, we took a deep breath and sang Lehrer's "Werner Von Braun."
4/ The acoustics are cavernous. Not a performance hall, yet they rang well. I remember singing the whole song and trembling -- we were utterly convinced that the staff would take offense and -- I don't know -- toss us out, rip up our Smithsonian membership cards -- something.
/5 So we sang in a circle around the rocket, "Gather 'round while we sing you of Wernher von Braun | A man whose allegiance | Is ruled by expedience | Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown | 'Nazi, Schmatzi,' says Wernher von Braun..." in four-part with the song echoing.
/6 Of course, when one sings, fully expecting that the guards are going to nab one, the song is LONG. I remember trembling as we went through all the verses. Finally, the last, "'Und I'm learning Chinese,' says Wernher von Braun" echoed through the museum and we fled.
/7 Even as undergrads, our OPSEC was pretty good. Each of us eight in a different direction; walk, do not run; mix into the crowd, slip into the loo, find another exhibit. We planned to regroup a half-hour later, hearts still pounding.
/8 On my way to the rendezvous point, I met up with one of my friends and we went up an escalator. At the top, a docent turned to me saying, "You're one of the people who sang the song." Busted. My friend and I exchanged a nod, he exited stage left and I smiled to the docent.
/9 "That was GREAT!" said the docent. I smiled. The docent explained that while setting up the V2, the staff had thought that someone needed to sing "Werner Von Braun" at the opening and they were thrilled that someone had done it. My friends huddled to the side unable to hear.
/10 I crooked a finger in a come-hither gesture to my friends, they gave me the stink-eye of death, I repeated it, and eventually against their better natures, they came over. If looks could kill, the one my gf gave me would have reduced me to a greasy pink cloud.
/11 Of course, though, it was all okay and the docent burbled about how wonderful it was, as we nodded with fixed smiles giving stunned thank-yous. And then we looked through more of the museum and schlepped back to College Park, grinning and walking on air.
/12 I remember that the newsletters of events later scheduled events of people gathering around the V2 and singing WVB. They liked our original thought of holding hands in a circle around it.
/13 To this day, I can still sing WVB, Masochism Tango, Lobachevsky, others. Earlier this year, I subjected people to "I Got it from Agnes" for some reason. Oh, right. It's a contact tracing anthem.
Thanks, Prof. Without you, I wouldn't be the miscreant I am today.
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Thanks, Prof. Without you, I wouldn't be the miscreant I am today.
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