I’m Not Blowing Hot Air….
At my college reunion a couple of weeks ago, I started a “Moth” Radio Hour-style story this way:
“Hi, my name is Leslie and I am… a whistler.”
A supportive response: “Hi, Leslie!”
I went on to tell folks about what I am going to be doing later this month.
The story was well-received. I thought. Until it became clear afterward that the entire room thought I was making the whole thing up. Maybe you will too.
But here goes.
I’m heading out today for Japan, where I will be competing for the world championship of whistling.
There’s a backstory, of course, and it starts on this website. Last fall I wrote a piece here in which I argued my belief that everybody, if you cut the criteria closely enough, is probably among the best in the world at something. At the end of that story I wondered what that might possibly be for me. And I mentioned, well, maybe, whistling.
That led me to look up whether and when there might be some sort of formal whistling competition. And there it was: the 47th World Whistlers Convention, June 18-21, 2026 in Kawasaki Japan.
The cardinal at the bottom of the flier for the championship got my attention. It’s the state bird of my home state, North Carolina.
After a couple of months of practice, I submitted my audition tape in December. Then in March I got notice that, despite some sobering comments from the judges, I had been selected as one of ten finalists invited in the “Senior A Cappela” division.
My bride’s reaction was perfect: “Oh my God. You’re the dog that caught the bus, aren’t you?”
After some negotiation (I pledged, as I recall, my spleen and a month of backrubs), “we" decided: hiking gorgeous Mont Blanc in south France this summer was out; whistling in the “Scrum 21” concert hall in Kawasaki Japan was in.
And since then I’ve been basically all whistle all the time.
I’ve examined the tortured history of the event I am going to, from its start in North Carolina to its current location.
I’ve visited the International Whistlers Museum and met former event organizers.
I’ve driven to Alexandria, Virginia to interview a four-time world whistling champion and get performance tips.
I’ve tried (with zero success) to get Burt’s Bees to sponsor my lips (they make lip balm) and to get Morinaga (a Japan-based candy maker with a US manufacturing site just down the road from my house) to sponsor my stomach. The good news: my local brewpub has stepped up to be my official headwear sponsor (shoutout to House Creek Beverage Company!).
My headwear sponsorship is off the table. The rest of my body is still for sale….
I’ve endured incredulous looks from friends who just don’t understand - I got five minutes into explaining what I was doing to one friend before he finally said,
“I’m sorry; I just can’t believe you are a competitive wrestler.” “Uh, ‘whistler,’” I said, “WHISTLER.”
Through it all I’ve been practicing – on long car rides, while watering the yard, in the shower, in every stairway I have found myself in. In a desperate attempt to get experience whistling in front of people, I even channeled Aretha Franklin doing “My Way” at my reunion. I already know that my “song of the year” when Spotify totals up my listens will be “Rhapsody in Blue.”
You haven’t really heard “My Way” till you’ve heard what Aretha did with it. We’ll see what the Japanese judges think….
I’ll share more about all this, and about the results of the competition, in an article I’ll be writing for The Assembly, an online publication for long-form journalism. And you’ll be able to hear some of the sounds in an NPR podcast called The Broadside, all coming up sometime in July.
In the meantime, stay out of my way while I pucker up.
-Leslie
Notes:
Moth Radio Stories: https://themoth.org/stories
Background on the International Whistlers Convention: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Whistlers_Convention
This year’s 47th World Whistler’s Convention: https://whistling.jp/en/wwc2026/wwc2026-event-outline
“We Are the Champions… of Something or Another”: https://www.boneconnector.com/writings/play-world-champions
House Creek Beverage Company: https://www.housecreekbevco.com
The Assembly: https://www.theassemblync.com
The Broadside: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1199509236/the-broadside