Friday, November 16, 2007

Springsteen Dreams come true in D.C.


"Is there anybody alive out there?" Bruce yells as he kicks off the Magic tour in Washington DC.
"I AM!" I screamed back. And so it began.

I am so lucky to be alive these days and for two nights, was even more blessed to be present and accounted for at the DC Springsteen shows. I am still on chemo and have a few fractured bones from the cancer that bug me so I am moving slower these days. I knew I needed some help to be there. And magically, it appeared.

As Bruce sang to Wendy,

"Let me in, I wanna be your friend.
I want to guard your dreams and visions."

So, I must first give thanks to the guardian of my dreams and visions, my dearest friend Dean, who took off to escort me to the shows from FL (and sat in the yucky middle seat on the plane both ways). Here we are the night before the trip taking a shot from the patron Saint Patron to bring us a safe trip North.

Thanks to that little ceremony, our flight up was smooth as silk. We got to Washington and walked down to the Verizon Center to see if anyone was there with tickets. There were a few folks waiting in line for the possibility (no guarantees) of last minute release tickets. We got in line. This is where I met a truly amazing member of the Springsteen tribe, Jim the baseball coach, who offered part of his newspaper for me to read as we sat next to each other in line. After sitting, reading and chatting for a couple of hours, I realized my sore bones were not going to make it much longer. Jim offered to get my tickets so I could go back to the hotel and rest. At that point, I just knew things were going to work out -- no matter what tickets we got.

That evening, when we met up outside the concert hall, Jim handed Dean and I two great tickets in the 100s (low and near the stage). I asked him where his tickets where and he told me section 114 -- which sounded good as well. . . till I got inside and realized they were behind the stage. Amazing. HE gave us, total strangers, the better tickets. . . then offered to get tickets for us the next day since he was standing in line anyway for his own. It was like a children's Bible story come true! (Bruce would have set it in Mesopotamia).

The concert that night was, as always, perfect. Here is a little shot of the happy crowd that surrounded us.


Day two
"Tonight this fool's halfway to heaven and just a mile outta hell
And I feel like I'm comin home
These are better days . . ."

I woke up on Monday sore and tired but very happy. Humming "Better Days" to myself. Even if we didn't get in for the second concert, my mission had been accomplished. Everything from this point on would just be gravy. I sent Dean off to the Air and Space museum (he is a pilot and yacht captain in real life) so I could rest and build strength for the evening to come.

Baseball Jim had called when he got into line, just a few people ahead of him. After resting until midafternoon, I hobbled down to the Verizon Center. Jim had gotton us General Admission seats on the floor. Knowing I could not stand for that long, I wondered about getting some type of handicapped assistance. Jim starts working the line to see if he can trade my GA tickets for seats. . .but I soon realized my best bet would be to just go with the flow of the day and see what happened. It had been working fine so far. . .

For those of you who don't know, the General Admission seats for Bruce concerts arent really seats but standing room on the floor of the concert hall. (Imagine a cattle pen) This is great fun when you are young . . .or healthy. . .but I was a bit leary, to say the least. Still-- there was one thing that would make the GA ticket I held as special as a backstage pass-- an exclusive little corral up front for a few lucky ones who, once selected, will get to dance and sing at the feet of said hero. To get there, you have to almost know some kind of secret code -- or have a new friend like Baseball Jim. He helped me navigate the confusing world of the armband brigades to see if either of us could get up into the front area of the Floor. Our armband numbers were far enough apart that we knew we would both not be selected, but we were rooting for each other as much as ourselves as we waited in the crowd.

When they first called the number, it looked like Jim was within the lot of winners. He went off to check, but came back in a few minutes with the sad news that he had misheard the number. Then we looked at my armband. And looked at it again. I still didnt believe it but it looked like I was in the chosen few.
Jim hustled me into the line for entrance for the Promised Land, then wished me well and went on his way. Just a magical being who appeared right when I needed help. . . and stayed for the ride. I will never forget his kindness. But he would not be the last to help a sister out that night. Oh no. A few more soul crusaders were heading my way.

"Hell all day they're busting you up on the outside
But tonight you're gonna break on through to the inside
And it'll be right, it'll be right, and it'll be tonight"


Those of us selected were taken on a winding trip through the Verizon Center and down to the floor. I immediately hustled over to the right corner so I would have a good view of Patti and Little Steven. I placed my hands on the stage and looked around at the small crowd. We all had that same look on our faces, a glow of joy and happiness. In all the years I had been coming to see Springsteen, I had never gotten so close to the stage. It did seem as though the world was just spinning in greased grooves for me, like anything could happen.

It was still a couple of hours before the show so I began to meet my concert neighbors. . .Billy, dancing partner and beer bringer to all. .. Suzanne and Billy's brother who watched my place at the stage when I had to go sit, the wonderful security guards who brought me a chair to rest in between the rockin numbers and Joel, who stood on my other side and kept me chatted up. He even found my blog today and sent me the picture here that he found on Backstreets -- just me and Bruce . . in the spotlight.


Here is what he wrote on my blog:

Hi Jill,
I stood next to you with our elbows on the stage in DC Night 2. I came across a picture of Bruce standing in front of you on the stage from the show. I couldn't remember your email, but you mentioned the blog and this has got to be yours. It was great to meet and enjoy the show with you. Send me your email and I'll send you the picture.
Warmest regards,
Joel

Unreal. Magical. The trip of a lifetime. . . Unlike Blanche DuBois, I have never depended on the kindness of strangers, and yet, the very kindness and caring of the strangers I met that night turned them into friends. . . unforgettable ones. Let there be no doubt about this Springsteen tour. IT is the Magic one.

Friday, November 02, 2007