My soul is sparkling clean this week thanks to The Rising, a powerful song from Bruce Springsteen. Anyone who knows me knows about my DEEP passion for the singer-songwriter from Freehold, New Jersey.

Words can't capture the magic of his electrifying live performances and extraordinary musical talent. You have to see him in person to believe it. "I’ve always prided myself on being able to deliver," Bruce once offered in an interview.
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A DREAM OF LIFE...
"May I feel your arms around me
May I feel your blood mix with mine
A dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancin' on the end of my line."
~ Bruce Springsteen, The Rising

The Rising is about a firefighter climbing one of the World Trade Center towers just before it collapsed. Springsteen has said most of the songs off The Rising cd were written after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and that he wanted to capture "an emotional feeling… in the air at that time."
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SOMETHING TO FACE THE WORLD WITH...
"People deserve better. They deserve truth. They deserve honesty. The best music... is essentially there to provide you something to face the world with." ~ Bruce Springsteen

Truth, honesty, and something to face the world with… Bruce has always celebrated the redemptive passion of music, shedding light in times of darkness, renewing spirits and saving souls with Rock and Roll.

A brilliant songwriter, in concert he has no equal. Bruce has never played Hawaii. My first chance to see a live performance of him was in Oakland, 1985 (Thank you Aunty Adeline!). Through the years, I've been lucky enough to make trips to see him live. Memorable were the three shows I saw in L.A. in 1992--the personal reward following my sixth (and last) round of chemotherapy.

Just thinking about Bruce makes me smile...
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MUSIC… MAGICAL!
"Music is just a means of creating a magical state." ~ Robert Fripp

"The end of all good music is to affect the soul." ~ Claudio Monteverdi

If Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band tour, I urge you to attend... I might just be next to you...dancing, clapping, and singing along, at the top of my lungs!