79 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
79 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
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---
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layout: post
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title: Get Away From Me You Creep
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tag:
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- humor
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---
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Almost ten years ago, I took a telecommunication history with course with one of
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the most eccentric people I had ever met. Unfortunately, it was during a time
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where I was attending very few courses and I missed most of my opportunities to
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listen to him speak. Still, I managed to make it to enough classes to have
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distinct memories of him. Dr. Barry Litman passed away a few years ago and these
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are his stories.
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I attended the first day of class just as I did the first day of every class I
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took. I sat down and was probably scribbling in the notepad I purchased that I
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knew would never be used or barely staying awake. He began giving a brief
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overview the history of telecommunication in extreme story telling mode with an
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unprecedented excitement. I don’t remember anything from that day except for the
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way he ended class: “And just like that, the entire industry evolved into a star
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just waiting to supernova.”
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I explained this to a couple of students I was working with and they immediately
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knew who I was talking about. They warned me about David Sarnoff but would not
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give me any other information. I was forced to attend class for several sessions
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before the story was revealed.
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David Sarnoff was a corporate kingpin during the pioneering of radio and
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television serving as an executive for the Radio Corporation of America. Dr.
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Litman was visibly agitated as he explained this and other RCA history to the
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class. And then he began talking about Edwin Armstrong.
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Edwin Armstrong was an employee of RCA and eventually credited inventor of FM
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radio. He developed this while working for RCA, but Sarnoff saw it as a threat
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to the AM technology that the company was already producing. Because of this and
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their focus on television, Sarnoff and RCA chose not to purchase the patents for
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the technology. But after hearing the quality and seeing its success, RCA first
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tried to have the FCC ban usage of the wave and eventually claimed the invention
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of the technology and won the patent. Armstrong spent nearly all his time and
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money fighting for the rights to his own technology.
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As he was explaining these details, Litman went from agitated to infuriated. His
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face reddened, he began sweating and spoke louder and louder. The entire class
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was looking around at each other and no one knew how to respond.
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He eventually came to the close of the story. Armstrong ended up committing
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suicide. And even though he was eventually given the credit he deserved, it came
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too late. The professor was visibly exhausted and saddened but managed to
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literally spit out one final angry yell: “And it was all because of that son of
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a bitch, David Sarnoff.” He then walked out of the room.
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I mostly stopped going to class after that. I don’t know why. He was an
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incredible teacher and his enthusiasm kept me interested during most lectures.
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In the few classes I did attend he frequently referenced Vanna White as someone
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who used to be one of his favorite people, but never expanded the story. The
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last day before finals I went to class in hopes of getting some hints for the
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final. Instead, he shared his story.
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He explained to us that once a year, he and one of his close friends/colleagues
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would attend a conference related to telecommunication. A few years prior, Vanna
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White was attending something loosely related and he managed to convince his
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friend to attend. Vanna White’s booth was highly trafficked and Litman was
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forced to wait in line for three hours to see her. During this time, he was
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extremely nervous which led to him soaking through his shirt with sweat. When it
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was finally his turn to meet her, he walked up and blurted out about how big of
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a fan he was and how long he had followed her.
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And then he paused. I remember it feeling like ten minutes, but it was probably
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closer to one. Finally, he asked the class “And do you know what that bitch said
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to me?” He walked over to the side of the classroom and held the button to
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retract the overhead. Slowly, the words she spoke were revealed having been
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written in chalk on the board before the class had begun:
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"Get away from me, you creep."
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I wish I had written about these ten years ago. Even then, I wouldn’t have done
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the man justice. Truly great speakers are rare and it’s unfortunate he passed so
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soon.
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