living under a rock

living in iowa has its perks.  we are a swing state, so we are inundated with an unfathomable onslaught of political ads from presidential campaigns.  tv programs are bookended with relentless attack ads, mailboxes are stuffed with propaganda, neighborhood yards wage war on one another, and phone calls pepper our caller id boxes.  those aren't the perks.  a cool byproduct from weathering those storms is frequent celebrity appearances in our community.  for example - last night, seth macfarlane (stewie, brian, peter, quagmire) showed up in town and stumped for president obama.  fo free.

i am a proud poppa.  one of the isu jazz combos had a pretty unique experience a few days ago.  they opened for bruce springsteen.  they had 24 hours notice of the event, countless hoops to jump through, and 4000+ people tuned into their every move on the hilton coliseum floor.  they delivered a professional set of music under the cloak of an ever-changing time frame, saw their mugs blown up all over the jumbotron, and sported ear-to-ear grins when the raucous applause after each tune gave them a sniff of rock star status.

the guys retreated to their v.i.p. front row seating, sat through some lukewarm political grandstanding, texted their friends, and patiently awaited the boss.  mr. springsteen, who had made an earlier appearance with president clinton in ohio, would make a quick rally cry in our town before flying out to a show in ottawa that night.  when the weather finally cooperated, the american icon made his way to campustown and began to spread the gospel.  the stadium seating dumped out onto the main floor, and gobs of people rushed the front of the stage to get as close as possible and snap off a few grainy pics of the boss on their smart phones.

i have never been a springsteen fan.  it's not that i don't like his stuff or respect him - i just don't listen to that kind of music very often.  boy did he make a believer out of me that afternoon.  he has such poise, such sincerity in his sound.  i didn't know any of the tunes, but kept close track of the titles that others around me blurted out and sang along with so i could youtube them when i got home.  he played pretty good harmonica, really good guitar, and sang with pitch control and color that knocked my socks off.  i left the rally wondering where in the hell have i been all these years?

i loved the poignant the river from the 1980 album the river



everyone knew thunder road from the 1983 album born to run.



thankfully, this world is full of second chances and multiple opportunities to learn the same lesson.  the older i get, the more i realize what life has to offer.  it's a cruel game, but one i assume we are all playing.  i'm glad i had the chance to hear one of america's treasures.  what else am i missing outside of my teeny tiny bubble?  i'm embarrassed to admit what i don't know, but am continually grateful for people continuing to put their art out there for all to see.