I meant to start this blog 5 months ago. I had written the story of my (now legendary) 35th birthday in Italy. I was going to post it, but for some reason I never did. It was to be the start of a new year of my life on earth…the perfect time to start a blog. I picked the name “What are we supposed to do now?” because that was a question on my mind. How was I supposed to top that trip? How was I supposed to return to reality? What was I going to do with the rest of my life? I used “we” because I also thought that my friends who were with me were feeling a little of the same. Actually, don’t we all feel that way sometimes? Or maybe more often than sometimes? What are we supposed to do now?
I have no idea why I didn’t start my blog. I’m starting it now. The question is still on my mind. And in retrospect maybe it’s a good thing that I waited. It might be more appropriate to ask this question at the beginning of a new year and a new decade.
Last year was a remarkable one for me. I spent most of it unemployed, but that gave me the time to learn a lot about myself. I started a new 2nd career in real estate and I traveled more than ever for fun…not work. I figured out what makes me happy. I figured out who my true friends are. I changed my approach to my career. I changed my diet. I changed my lifestyle. I dropped some weight. I got out of debt. I crossed all of those little things off of my list. Now it’s time for the bigger things. What am I supposed to do now? I guess it’s time I start figuring that out. Isn’t it time we all do?! Life is for living, right? So, Happy 2010! May we all find our answers!
The following is what I was originally gonna post as my first blog. Even all these months later, the thought of it makes me smile. I imagine that it will for the rest of my life!
…….
It’s been exactly a month since my 35th birthday. I was in Rome. Bruce Springsteen dedicated a song to me. My life hasn’t been the same since.
Yes, I know…crazy sentences that I would never imagine myself writing. But, all true. I was in Rome on my 35th birthday at a Bruce Springsteen concert. And, yes, he did sing me a song. A month later, I am certain that there was a shift in the universe that day because everything has changed. Anything is possible. I know that now.
It all started on January 30, 2009. I was checking up on Bruce Springsteen’s tour dates online. I noticed that Bruce was playing in Rome, Italy on the exact date of my 35th birthday. I had wanted to go to Italy forever, but there was never a right time and I never had the money. I put it out of my mind years ago and thought it would be where I’d go someday on a romantic vacation with the love of my life. (HA! Insane coming from someone who can barely remember her last date.) Now, I should also mention that I am a HUGE Bruce Springsteen fan. I have been for decades. He’s my guilty pleasure and I go to as many concerts as I can on each tour. I’ve flown across the country for him, but never across an ocean.
So, I spent all of January 30th fantasizing about the fact that I could be in Rome in less than 6 months with the man of my dreams, Bruce. I wasn’t thrilled with the song, but it sure would be cool if Bruce happened to sing “Surprise, Surprise”, which includes the lyrics “today is your birthday” on my actual birthday. By that night, I had 2 tickets to the show. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to welcome 35 in the best possible way ever! I had no idea how much I paid for the tickets (the website was in Italian), who would go with me or if I’d be working in July and I didn’t really care. I had 2 tickets and that meant that I would figure it out. As a side note, I would like to point out that Bruce kicked ass on the Super Bowl two days later. This got me even more excited. And a few days after that, I picked up the license plates to my brand new car which coincidentally are NJ719P. 7/19 is my birthday. I decided this was a sign that I made the right decision.
Now let’s skip ahead to the weeks leading up to July 19th. I work freelance in the movie business and it was a very slow year. Luckily for me, I also have my real estate license and summer rentals at the Jersey shore were quite fruitful. So, I managed to save enough to cover my vacation and I wasn’t working on a movie so I was free to leave the country. All good. Melissa, one of my best friends, decided to join me for the whole trip, which shaped up to be a 2 week journey. And Amy, another close friend and Springsteen fan, from NJ and now living in California, was to fly out for the last 5 days, including the concert. Even better! I scored 3 general admission tickets (on the floor) to the concert and decided I would just sell the original 2 (which were seats and much further away) when we got to Rome. The plan came together more smoothly than I ever could’ve imagined. My personal and professional lives were a bit of a mess, but I tried to put that out of my mind. I was going to Italy to see Bruce! What could be better than that?
On July 5th, Melissa and I woke up, went to breakfast, got mani/pedis at a fabulous salon that we discovered that day and headed for JFK airport. We were beyond excited. About 8 hours later, we landed in Rome! Our first day and night were low key. We just relaxed, walked around a bit, went to dinner, and threw our first (of many) coins in the Trevi Fountain. We picked up a car the next morning and headed north to Tuscany. Now, I don’t want to skip through the whole trip (which was incredible!), but the real story takes place in the last few days. So, I’ll say that we drove through Tuscany and up to Florence. Then, we took a train to Venice and another train back to Rome, where we met up with Amy.
The night before the concert, we decided to make t-shirts reflecting the fact that we came all the way from NJ to see Bruce in Rome. Amy was in charge of bringing the supplies for the t-shirts and the song request sign that was also to be made pre-concert. For those of you who haven’t seen Springsteen lately, he does this thing in the middle of his shows where he collects signs from the audience. He gathers a whole pile of them and then goes through them all, picks his favorites and plays a few requests. We were well aware of this process and I had been thinking for months about the song that I would request. Being the dork that I am, I have every set list from every show I’ve ever been to. I went through them and realized that the one song that I really love and haven’t heard live for over a decade was “Sherry Darling”. There was much debate over this amongst my friends. Why not “Jersey Girl”? What’s so special about “Sherry Darling”? The answers are simple. I heard “Jersey Girl” less than a year ago and I like “Sherry Darling” AND it’s my birthday. (I love the “it’s my birthday” line…I’m not big on birthdays, but I love the line…it only works once a year, so I take full advantage!) We stayed up late to make our t-shirts (which looked amazing!) and put off the sign till the next day. It would give us something to do while standing in line with our general admission tickets.
We woke up on the morning of July 19th much later than we were planning. So, we rushed to get ready and out the door. None of us had any idea what to expect of general admission in a foreign country. In the US, they hand out numbered wristbands and there is a random lottery for the order of admission into the stadium. We heard that was not the case in Italy and that we had to get there early. We were uncertain as to whether we’d have to stay or if we’d be able to check in and leave. We were prepared either way. We didn’t come all this way to be in the back of the stadium!
We arrived at Stadio Olimpico around 11am. There was a swimming competition going on during the day which caused the concert to be delayed 2 ½ hours to a 10pm start. We knew this, but we were not aware of the insanity that we were about to encounter. There were people everywhere…people who didn’t know what was going on! It took us about an hour to find the right place for the general admission line. By the time we got there, all of the wristbands had been given out. There were only a thousand of them, but the “pit” (the closest section to the stage) held four thousand people. Some brilliant person decided to start writing numbers on the next three thousand people’s hands in red marker. There was also a list with the names of each person to avoid cheating. It was very unorganized and the line was moving very slowly. About an hour went by and the line basically dissolved into a crowd and then it was gone. Huh? Exactly.
Somehow, the person “organizing” the line was given misinformation. We basically wasted all that time for nothing. The “organizers” disappeared and I ran after the one person who looked like he knew what was going on and asked if we could leave for a while. He advised me to be back by 4pm, nothing was going to happen until then. We left.
I still had my 2 extra tickets. A concierge at a fancy hotel had called earlier saying that he had found a buyer. We needed to drop off the tickets and we needed to find something to make the sign with. It was a Sunday in Rome…not a CVS or Staples to be found! When we arrived at the hotel, Fabrizio greeted us. He was lovely. He was also surprised to see 3 girls in matching shirts, but immediately embraced our enthusiasm. We asked if he knew where we could find some cardboard or a big box or anything that could be turned into a sign. He paused for a moment, then disappeared through a door and shortly after re-appeared with a large piece of foam board that said “Eucan II Meeting General Session” on one side and was blank on the other. A perfect canvas. He ushered us out the door very quickly and said not to let anyone know where we got it! HA! We grabbed some sunscreen and headed back to the stadium for what appeared to be a very long haul.
Upon our second arrival at Stadio Olimpico, we noticed the formation of several different lines. Again, no one knew what this meant. I made my way through the crowd and found a guy with a crew badge who spoke English. I told him it was my birthday (see, I said I use that as much as possible!), and that we’d come from NJ and that I couldn’t bear to be in the back of a crowd of 20,000 people. He pointed out the proper line. I didn’t know whether or not to believe him, but I didn’t really have much else to go on, so I went back to find Amy and Melissa. They had already made new friends, Aly and Tom. We all moved to the proper line.
Aly is a musician/chiropractor who is originally from Asbury Park, NJ, but now lives in California. He came to the concert alone. Tom is a student originally from Australia, but is now attending school in the UK. He was also alone. They found each other and now Amy and Melissa found them. By the time I got back with the info, they were already alerted of the fact that it was my birthday. Aly said that it was “divine intervention” that brought us all together and that he had a birthday present for me. I didn’t know whether to be thrilled or scared!
About 10 minutes later, I was being serenaded by Aly and his harmonica. As if the 3 girls in matching shirts with a huge piece of foam board wasn’t spectacle enough, there was now a grown man playing a very bluesy version of Happy Birthday in the group! This got much applause from the entire crowd and attracted 2 more wayward concert goers, Alessandro (an Italian from Florence, who didn’t speak a word of English) and a 2nd Tom (also a student, from Australia and attending school in the UK…go figure!). We adopted them both into our motley crew.
Since we knew we had several more hours to kill, we thought it would be a good time to start work on the sign. I told everyone what the plan was. The sign was to read: “Today is my 35th birthday. I flew all the way from Jersey to spend it with you. Please play Sherry Darling”. Aly immediately took issue with my plan. (Yet another person who had a problem with my request!) He was adamant about the fact that I NEEDED to request “Surprise, Surprise”. The debate went on for several minutes and Amy finally made us compromise. I would re-work the wording to say: “Today is my 35th birthday, Surprise, Surprise. I flew all the way from Jersey to spend it with you. Please play Sherry Darling”. I didn’t really know the song other than the fact that it mentioned a birthday, but I added it and everyone was happy. We sat and started outlining what would turn into an obnoxiously colorful, glittery, sticker adorned sign!
The doors didn’t open until 5:30pm. There were several occasions where someone would yell something and everyone would get up and move forward. False gate openings if you will. This added some excitement to the afternoon. Other than that, we just sat and chatted and colored in the sign and made friends with others around us. The time actually went pretty quickly despite the blazing sun and hot temperature. Once the gates did open, it was a mad dash. Our little family got separated, but we had already formed a pretty solid bond and those up ahead waited for those of us caught behind. We had our choice of good spots in the stadium. Either 10 people back in front of center stage or right up front at the side stage. We picked the side stage. We were all aware of how Bruce collects signs and the side stage was the obvious choice. (He gets the band going on “Raise Your Hand”, goes to each side and to the middle, but you have to be up close in order to ensure that he’d see you.) We picked our spot and marked our territory with the sign laying flat on the ground, the group gathered around it.
We still had 4 hours till show time. We made more friends. Sunita, Elena, Raffaele, and Marco joined our circle. We found a translator for Alessandro. Turns out that his friends were also at the show, but he was able to score a general admission ticket and they were not. We met Fabrizio, the security guard who was posted directly in front of us. And we noticed “Tattoo Man”, Bruce’s head of security. (More specifically, Melissa noticed him.) Tattoo Man instructed Fabrizio to hand out water to anyone who needed it. So, for the entire night, we were served free bottles of water whenever we asked for them. I can’t even imagine how much this would’ve cost had we been paying. Gotta love Tattoo Man! The sign grew more and more glittery and colorful and we grew more and more popular. Who knew that being from Jersey gave you celebrity status at a Springsteen concert in Rome? It does! Aly played Happy Birthday to me again. We had the whole crowd around us excited about our sign and my birthday. Crazy! At some point, Alessandro thought it would be a good idea for everyone to sign the back for good luck. So, we passed it around. People were really thrilled to be a part of something.
The concert started. Badlands, Out in the Street, Outlaw Pete, No Surrender, She’s the One, Working on a Dream, (where is Raise Your Hand?), Seeds, Johnny 99, Atlantic City, RAISE YOUR HAND…This was it! We all took our positions. I was pushed up front, almost off of my feet to the side stage. By the time Bruce turned to me, the sign was basically at his eye level. He looked at it, paused (it was the biggest, busiest sign of them all!), read it, and grabbed it out of my hands. We went NUTS!!! The whole crowd surrounding us went NUTS!!! Bruce took our sign!! Step one was complete. Now, he just had to choose it!
Request #1 – Hungry Heart – not my song.
Request #2 – Pink Cadillac – nope, not mine
Request #3 - I’m on Fire – for a couple getting married, though he didn’t say that, I just read it from the sign. We were getting worried at this point. How many requests will he play?
Bruce walked back to the where he threw the pile of signs. And he picked up MINE!!! HOLY SHIT!!! Can this really be happening? He turned to the band and pointed to “Surprise, Surprise”. And then he put the sign at the foot of the mic stand, turned to the audience and said “For the birthday girl, all the way from New Jersey? She came to Rome to check out the Bossman and the Coliseum.” HOLY SHIT!!! He just dedicated it too!! And with that, the song started…
Well, surprise, surprise, surprise
Yea, surprise, surprise, surprise
Well, surprise, surprise
C'mon open your eyes and let your love shine down
Well, surprise, surprise, surprise
Yea, surprise, surprise, surprise
Well, surprise, surprise
C'mon open your eyes and let your love shine down
Today is your birthday we traveled so far we two
So let's blow out the candles on your cake and we'll raise a glass or two
And when the sun comes out tomorrow
It'll be the start of a brand new day
And all that you have wished for I know will come your way
Well, surprise, surprise, surprise
Yea, surprise, surprise, surprise
Well, surprise, surprise
C'mon open your eyes and let your love shine down
In the hollow of the evening, as you lay your head to rest
May the evening stars scatter a shining crown upon your breast
In the darkness of the morning as the sky struggles to light
May the rising sun caress and bless your soul for all your life
Well, surprise, surprise, surprise
Yea, surprise, surprise, surprise
Well, surprise, surprise
C'mon open your eyes and let your love shine down
Well, surprise, surprise, surprise
Yea, surprise, surprise, surprise
Well, surprise, surprise
C'mon open your eyes and let your love shine down
Surprise, surprise
C'mon open your eyes and let your love shine down
Now, let me just say again that I didn’t really know this song. And Aly forced me to add it to the sign. BUT, this song had more meaning to me than anything else Bruce could’ve played. Remember how I said that my life was a shambles before I left for Italy? Well…it was. And these lyrics…HOLY SHIT!! We were all crying. The boys were high-fiving. Quite honestly, we didn’t really know what to do. It was overwhelming. The concert went on, but something shifted. Everything was gonna be ok. I felt myself get lighter.
After the show, we were even more famous! Everyone knew that I was the girl who had the song dedicated to her. It was hilarious. We took pictures. We said goodbye to Fabrizio and Tattoo Man (but not before Melissa passed him her email!). We met Alessandro’s friends. We wondered how the heck we were getting back to Rome. Since it was 2am, there was no public transportation and there were 40,000 people trying to get taxis. We starting walking…all of us, but none of us knew where we were going.
After about an hour of aimless wandering, we were all getting frustrated. We tried calling cab companies. We asked for directions. We walked and walked, but we were getting nowhere. Out of the blue, this guy appeared in the middle of the street. Amy noticed him. He’s American, from Florida and his name is Lee. He drives a FIAT, a really small FIAT, but he offered to drive us back to the city anyway…all six of us! We piled in. Needless to say, it was comical.
By the time we got home, it was 4am. We were exhausted, excited, in complete and utter disbelief! Somehow, we managed to sleep. We actually slept much longer than we intended, but it was a good thing. Our only real goal for the day was to go to The Vatican to have things blessed for our friends and family. Amy had been looking for a wedding gift, a plain cross, not a crucifix, for 5 days, apparently not an easy task in Rome. Since it was our last day, we had to find something. So, we headed out, had some lunch and took a cab to Vatican City. We got dropped off at the museum shop, which at the top of the hill. We walked down the hill to check out the other stores first. The stores were not where we remembered. So, we walked back up the hill. The museum shop was closed. I was just on the verge of being cranky when we walked down the hill again, turned the corner and there in front of me was Nils Lofgren (guitar player of the E Street Band). Seriously? Nils? About 10 feet in front of me!!
Now, I am not one to stop celebrities in their everyday lives. I am very aware of how annoying this can be since I work in entertainment and I actually dislike people who do such things. BUT, I have been known to make exceptions to that rule occasionally. (One other time…for George Clooney…on my 27th birthday…after drinking lots of wine!) This was definitely another exception. I told Nils that I was the girl who they sang “Surprise, Surprise” for the night before. I swear, my knees were weak as I talked to him. He was so gracious, wished me a happy birthday and asked how I liked Italy. Then he asked if I liked the song. I said that I liked it better live than on the album. (Apparently, I am incapable of editing how I really feel even to my favorite rock stars!) I didn’t get to really tell him how much it meant to me. I might have babbled something to the effect, but I know there is no way he understood just how much I was touched by the whole experience. We took a picture. I got a hug. We headed to St. Peter’s Basilica in total shock. I immediately texted all of my new friends from the concert with the news!
Amy went to check out the other shops, while Melissa and I went into St. Peter’s. I had jewelry that I was to have blessed. We had already been inside the Basilica last week. However, something was very different this time. There was music playing. There were beams of light streaming down from every window. It was incredible. We were both brought to tears upon entering. Very odd, since neither of us is very religious. We made our way to the back of the church where the confessionals are. This is where the priests bless things. I walked to one of the confessionals and found a priest, probably the coolest priest I’ve ever met! Melissa stayed behind and waited for me. He blessed my jewelry and then asked if I wanted to be blessed. I said I could use all the help I could get. He “blessed my soul for all my life.” Ummm…just like the song lyrics. When I got back to Melissa, she had more tears in her eyes. I asked what was wrong and she showed me these pictures she had just snapped of me glowing from the beams of light coming in from the skylights. “May the rising sun caress and bless your soul for all your life.” I told her what the priest had just said. We were both speechless. We left in a hurry!
As we exited the church, we found Amy, who was carrying a box. She found her plain cross! We urged her to go inside and have it blessed. We pointed her in the direction of my new favorite priest and sat outside digesting what had just happened. About a half hour went by before we saw Amy again. Her face was red and her eyes filled with tears. She found her own perfect priest. He asked her why she was blessing a simple cross and not a crucifix. He commented on how out of the ordinary it was…especially in Rome. She explained her reasoning behind it and they engaged in a deep conversation about religion. He then pulled out his rosary, which had a tiny replica of the exact cross that she had just purchased. She exited the church as we did. None of us completely understand what happened there, but it was certainly a Divine experience!
We arrived home the next day…Melissa and I to NJ and Amy to CA. Melissa and I decided that we should bookend our trip with mani/pedis at the same nail salon that we had discovered the day we left. When we arrived this time, we realized that the entire salon was decorated with paintings of Italy. We had been to every place that was hanging on their wall. We didn’t notice the last time cause we didn’t recognize the places before. Crazy!!
As I said, nothing has been the same since. Anything is possible. Italy and Bruce and the Vatican and Divine intervention taught me that. I don’t know if the world changed or if it was just us, but something happened. Maybe we are more aware, more grateful, more focused, or maybe it’s just stronger faith in ourselves and the universe. Perhaps it’s all of the above.. It doesn’t really matter. We are all feeling it. And we’re all feeling better because of it. Melissa has been corresponding with Tattoo Man. She also got her dream job upon returning home. Amy flew to New Jersey for a wedding and ran into many long lost friends. She managed to heal some relationships and move on from others, finding the closure that she had been searching for. And, as for me, I know that “all that I have wished for will come my way”. It’s already begun to!
The thought of my night in Italy with Bruce still gives me goosebumps. And the beauty of it is that I wasn’t the only one overwhelmed by the experience. And it wasn’t just my good friends from home either. Everyone in our section felt a little bit of something magical that night…kindred spirits brought together by Bruce and a sign. We have all become email/facebook friends. And most of us will be together again in New Jersey to see Bruce’s last show at Giant’s Stadium in October. People are flying from 2 countries and multiple states to get there. Amazing! We formed a bond that night that will last for the rest of our lives….and hopefully many more Springsteen concerts!
Someday girl I don't know when
we're gonna get to that place
Where we really want to go
and we'll walk in the sun
But till then tramps like us
baby we were born to run
