Bruce Springsteen Fans' Glory Days Compiled in Book

Lawrence Kirsch has published "For You," a book of fans' stories regarding their experiences with Bruce Springsteen and his music, memories of concerts and hours spent listening to particular records. Accompanied by hundreds of photos, the stories hit on the typical facets of fanaticism - the quest for connection, the pinpoint clear recollections of first-time experiences and the life-enriching quality of poignant songs. Only 2,000 copies of the book are being printed.
Having read just a small sampling of the letters, naturally the stories involving mortality were the most moving, like this one from Roy Opochinski of Toms River, N.J.:

Your 21st birthday is supposed to be a memorable one. I spent mine working at my summer job as a ride manager in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. At its beginning, the day was nondescript. 

And then Bruce Springsteen arrived. He entered the amusement park with his family, unnoticed by the crowd. Because there was no security at that hour of the day, it was the job of the ride managers to shadow him and ensure he was not bothered. I did this at a distance until he called me over. Turns out a fellow manager told him that I was a huge fan and it was my 21st birthday. Bruce was incredibly engaging. We spoke while his kids went on several rides and his kindness was overwhelming.

At one point, he and the kids rode the railroad, which my best friend Anthony was piloting. Anthony was a huge fan as well, and even convinced Bruce to let one of his kids ride up in front on the engine. I still remember Anthony's smile as he pulled out of the station. He even extended the ride by an additional loop of the park. I couldn’t be upset at this breach of protocol. How often does Bruce Springsteen ride on your train?

Several years later, Anthony was diagnosed with brain cancer, and within 18 months of his diagnosis, we lost him. But a few days before he passed, during one of our last conversations, he looked at me, lucid for the first time in a long time, and said, “Can you believe we met Bruce Springsteen?”

Spending a few moments with my musical hero was something I will cherish for the rest of my days. It was something Anthony certainly did.

Comments

[Julian]

This review echos the reaction to this amazing book worldwide. To those of you who haven't purchased the book; I hope Mr. Kirsch decides to do a second printing.

J

[Roy O.]

As a regular reader of this blog, I wanted to take a second to thank you for mentioning my submission to FOR YOU and thank you for reprinting said submission. I submitted the story in order to honor Anthony's memory and it's nice to see that his story and all of the other stories in this amazing book are reaching people.