The Boss Does it Again

On Friday morning, I headed to work in a foul mood. It was the last day for me to work in this one particular place and I was not looking forward to it. I bickered with my wife, acted like a jerk, and in general, was not a happy camper. I realize now that the fact it was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, had much to do with it. The "High Holy Days", as they are called, make me think of my Dad, who passed away four years ago. I miss him every day, but some days more than others.

I had a 45 minute drive ahead of me and decided to listen to E Street Radio, one of the Sirius XM stations I love the most (big surprise there, right?). It was the time of the morning when they do "Be the Boss." This segment is done every morning and it gives a different Springsteen fan every day the opportunity to play their favorite Boss songs and talk about them or about Springsteen in general. I did it back in March and loved it.

On Friday morning, the "Be the Boss" guy was from Staten Island. He first became a Springsteen fan in September, 1975, when he was a high school senior. I became a fan three months later while I was a freshman in college and the Boss played at my school, as I have described before on this blog. Right away, I identified with the guy.

The Staten Island guy started his segment off with "Jungleland," one of my all-time favorites, and as I listened to this Springsteen masterpiece which I have probably listened to a thousand times before both on record and live at concerts, I was lifted out of my mood. When he played "Born to Run," I was blown away all over again by what I believe is one of the few perfect rock songs. And finally, he finished off his set by dedicating his last song to the only person he knew who was a bigger Springsteen fan, his wife's brother. The wife's brother was a firefighter who died in Tower One of the World Trade Center on September 11th, and the song he played in his memory was "You're Missing," the heartbreaking song about 9/11 from "The Rising."

Wow, after all that, I was in tears. Sure, I still missed my Dad, but he lived a full and happy life, surrounded by children and grandchildren. My troubles are minor compared to lots of other people. And once more, like so many other times before, the Boss was able to lift me out of myself, and put me back in a better frame of mind. That's the power of great music and a great artist. It's why Springsteen is so important to me, and has been for the last 36 years. It's why I'm still a fan.

Thank you, Bruce, once again, for all you have done for me and continue to do for me.