Every so often I shoot my shot.

That happened about a month ago when I saw an Instagram post highlighting the rather unusual “Star-Spangled Banner” performance prior to a Baltimore Orioles’ game at Camden Yards.

There before me was a fella named Chris Ullman who whistled – yes, you’re reading that correctly – whistled the United States’ National Anthem.

Two things to note before I move on:

• My children pointed out to me several years ago that I am a whistler. Not a good whistler, necessarily, but as I yutz about the house doing whatever it is that I’m doing, there’s a better-than-average chance that I’ll be whistling something.
• I’ve always wanted to have an anthem singer join me as a guest on Conversations. I was close, a year or so ago, to landing a notable one but our dialogue fizzled when it came time to schedule the call☹

Chris, I figured, seemed quirky enough (in a good way!) that he might want to join the Conversation. Of course, I had no idea if he was even a sports fan, but I did discover he was a competitor, having won the international whistling championship four times over enroute to earning a sport in the Whistling Hall of Fame.

You can imagine my delight when I discovered Chris had a website (link here) that included a way to contact him.

A brief back-and-forth ensued which resulted in you about to learn what it takes to become a championship whistler, how one gets ushered into an Oval Office command performance for President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney that included a “Dueling Banjos” duet with his then-boss and future Indiana Governor and Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, and how to find your whistle … which also happens to be the title of Chris’ 2017 memoir (linked here).

Find the TEDx MidAtlantic talk Chris references here and follow him on Instagram here.