Some Musings on Retirement After 40 Years at MIT

Harry Hemond

In the fair city of Cambridge
By Muddy Charles's stream
Scholars come from around the world
To join with academe

At a place quite special and unique
A place to build careers
A place that's changed in many ways
As we've counted off the years

We rode the subway for a dime
Lunched at the F+T
Got trimmed at the terminal barbershop
And parked our cars for free

Proposals sent to NSF
Were funded, one in three
Support came too from NIH
And also industry

The tenure process, though, caused stress
The productivity ramp was steep
But the goal was meritocracy
Not helping us get sleep

Teaching was rewarding
The students here are bright
Both graduates and undergrads
Will often work all night

But sometimes they drop pianos
And pumpkins from great height
And plant the field with weather balloons
To the Ivy Leaguers' fright

Our colleagues are impressive
Both brilliant and diverse
Some study things that are nano
Others probe the universe

Throughout the years our school evolved
With many buildings new
Old Kendall Square most disappeared
As our fair city grew

Though time has changed the campus
And maintenance is still unsure
And parking now costs us a grand
Our values still endure

In search for truth, and honoring facts
Our quest for knowledge stands
May our scholar's code of integrity
Persist throughout the land

The charge of our great Institute
And its mission in the world
Must ever pass to younger hands
As more years are unfurled

Retirees can shed some tasks
Like budgets and boilerplate
And grading piles of papers
And still getting grades in late

But some of us still hope to add
As we move to PPT
To the mission to humanity
Of the place called MIT

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