March 17 – Monday – Bruce Springsteen – Nebraska

Eh – Not my cup of Bruce. In 1982, he came out with what seems to be a tribute to Woody Guthrie, in a “this land is your land…” sort of album, sans E Street Band. Just Bruce, his guitar and his harmonica. I like harmonica, in moderation, but there is just so much one can take. In fairness to Bruce, I’m sure he wasn’t thinking of me and my workout routine when he wrote these songs and compiled a rather bleak album, which never made it out of the cellophane. $5.99 sale price. It’s not even inspiring me to go off on one of my tangents. Except maybe that I was thinking, now with the time change, I don’t like working out when it’s still light. There’s something private about night. Then while dancing toward the window, I saw two ferries pass each other, one going to Staten Island, and the other returning from it, and thought that was kind of cool.

Oh wait, I’ve got a good one. First, let me say Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Which reminds me of a St. Patrick’s Day, not too long after this album was released. My friend that just passed, whom we will call Vicki, because that was her name, planned to wear her “Kiss Me I’m Irish” button to Cagney’s that night. A few days before, we decided to dress for the occasion, but I needed a button too, and I thought there ought to be an “I’m Not Irish, But Kiss Me Anyway” button. But there wasn’t, so, as I was working on Long Island at the time, and she was in Manhattan, I commissioned Vicki to find a place that sold blank buttons. Not only did she do that, but she found the right sized lettering and made the button for me. I recall her outfit being something plaid and khaki green, with a cap and her button. I had taken a three piece white pants suit, dyed the vest light green to wear as my shirt, found a green satin bowtie in a shop that sold Girl Scout uniforms, and these funky short white lacey gloves that only covered the middle three fingers of each hand, and wore them with the white pants, my button and dark green Keds. And of course I had my St. Patrick’s Day cigarette holder. My boyfriend at the time, whom we all know as the ex, came up to me in the bar that night to tell me that some guy had asked him something like, hey did you see that girl in the white pants. I asked him “Did you tell him I was your girlfriend?” to which he replied “No.”

I think I still have the button someplace. Possibly the bowtie and the gloves as well. I thought I looked cute.