So, I was digging through some old stuff the other day, you know how it is, and bam! Found an old cassette tape. Not even sure if I have anything to play it on anymore. But seeing the label, scribbled in my terrible teenage handwriting, got me thinking about Tom Lehrer and, weirdly enough, my home town.
It’s funny, ’cause Tom Lehrer has absolutely nothing to do with where I grew up. Like, zero connection. He never visited, wasn’t born there, nothing. But hearing his name instantly throws me back to Mr. Henderson’s tenth-grade math class. Yeah, math class. Go figure.
That Quirky Teacher Moment
Mr. Henderson was this super dry, sarcastic guy. Great teacher, but definitely marched to his own beat. And sometimes, usually on a Friday afternoon when everyone was mentally checked out, he’d whip out this old record player he kept in the back closet. He’d put on a Tom Lehrer record. Stuff like “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” or “The Elements” song.
Most of us kids just sat there, kinda confused. Like, what is this? This wasn’t music we heard on the radio. It was smart, funny, kinda dark sometimes. I remember really digging it, even back then. It was so different. It felt like this weird little secret shared in that specific classroom, in that specific town.
Trying to Recapture It
Finding that tape made me nostalgic. So, what did I do? I went online, obviously. Started looking up his songs again. Fell down a rabbit hole for a couple of hours, just listening and remembering that weird math class.
Then I got this idea. I wondered if anyone else from back home remembered Mr. Henderson playing Tom Lehrer. We have one of those town Facebook groups, mostly people sharing old photos or complaining about local stuff. I figured, why not? So I posted something like, “Anyone else remember Mr. Henderson playing Tom Lehrer in math class?”
The response was kinda funny.
- A few people totally remembered! Shared their own little memories of him.
- Some folks remembered Mr. Henderson but had zero clue about the music.
- A lot of people were just like, “Who’s Tom Lehrer?”
It wasn’t some big revelation or anything. But it was cool connecting with the few who shared that specific, kinda odd memory from our little hometown high school. It made me think how places get tied up with experiences that aren’t really about the place itself, you know? It was just where it happened.
So yeah. Tom Lehrer. Doesn’t make me think of Cambridge, Massachusetts or anything grand. Makes me think of dusty chalkboards, Mr. Henderson’s weird little smile, and Friday afternoons in my hometown. Listening to his stuff now still brings back that exact feeling. Pretty wild.
