Thursday, June 11, 2009

Bruce

"Define your fears instead of your goals." -Tim Ferriss

"I am an old man and have known many troubles, but most of them never happened."
-Mark Twain

"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid." -Epictetus

"Every time we choose safety, we reinforce fear." -Epictetus


It's been a tough 2 weeks for JC. I somehow got poison ivy working out in the yard. And this wasn't your normal case of poison ivy. It was like I took a bath in it. It's been all over my body for 2 weeks. Luckily, over the last few days it has retreated, and I have been able to kind of get back into my normal routine. No one in my family had ever had poison ivy. I'll tell you what, it was pretty unbelievable. It sucked.

I haven't been able to work out for the last 2 weeks. So I am way behind in my preparation for the summer Y league season. Yesterday, I went through a light rehabilitation workout. The timetable for my return to the league is still a week and a half. There have been reports scattered around league circles that have said I might miss the first two games. As of this morning, my timetable has not changed, and I should be ready to go for the first game.

On Sunday night, it was late, it was 2am and I was just chilling trying to sleep when I stumbled upon a Bruce Springsteen concert in New York. It went from 2-4am. I watched it all. I was ready to fall asleep, but a sudden energy just took over. I turned the lights on and I watched. I grabbed a pad of paper and jotted down a couple things. It was the best thing that has happened to me in a long time. This was an amazing concert snippet too. It was at a great venue in New York. They showed unbelievable songs. The crowd was fantastic. I mean it was fuckin' vintage Bruce. I was almost crying.

I have this theory. My dad and his generation grew up with Bruce Springsteen. They were with Bruce from start to finish. They were there when he started playing 5 and a half hour concerts and changing the world and the way we lived. My dad and my uncles know every line of every song that Bruce has ever written besides the last two so so albums. Bruce has been a huge part of the lives of a lot of successful men, my dad and uncles included. His music got guys through high school and college. His concerts created dates and became instant "I'll always remember this night forever" nights. It created a camaraderie. Bruce inspired a generation of men to do amazing things. He's inspired success in business and success in raising a family. His music was just so powerful, that it still resonates astoundingly today. So I guess my point is, that a lot of the men that we know and like and respect, would not be the people we know without the inspiration of Bruce Springsteen. So in turn, I think you can find a similar energy through his music that my father's generation found. And I think that's what I did on Sunday night.

And what is amazing, is the fact that the concert I watched, was a recent concert. And it was still unbelievable. All those guys are old. They're in their mid 50's. But the intensity and passion that they play with is incredible. That's the thing--it must have been incredible to see one of their concerts when they were in their prime. I mean, we really missed out here folks. Anyway, I love music.











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