Bruce Springsteen "Badlands"

I was standing at the back of the crowd as Tom Morello ended.  I was looking for my wife, who'd been texting me from somewhere up front, when I saw Sue come out of the crowd.

She, like pretty much everyone else who'd just seen his spirited set, was pretty amped up.  She gave me a big smile, said something like, "What a show!" and slapped me a high-five.

Then she said a quote that I knew I knew, but I couldn't place right away.  But knowing Sue, I was sure it was a Bruce Springsteen line.

I first spoke to Sue McDonald several years ago.  She had contacted to the station to let us know that she, along with some other Bruce Springsteen fans, were raising money for the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund.  (Federici was the longtime organ player and multi-instrumentalist in the E Street Band).  We made her the mvyradio Person Of The Week (hear it in our archives), to spread the word about the good deed she and her other Springsteen loving friends were doing in honor of the band member who'd recently passed away from cancer.

I thought of Sue again, two years ago, when my wife was approaching the due date of our second child.  We knew it was going to be a boy, and I knew that I wasn't going to be able to keep up this blog while I was out.  So I contacted Sue, and asked her if she'd like to do a Guest Blogger slot, and write about Springsteen songs featuring Fathers and Sons.  Two of the Top Five Most Viewed Posts in the history of my blog, are by Sue.

Sue and I continued to bump into each other at various shows and mvy events, including the Newport Folk Festival on a few occasions.  And because we're friends on Facebook, I kept up with her musical adventures.  It seemed like every time I saw her status, she was off to see another live concert.

So it was curious to see her post a comment on the mvyradio Facebook page, during Newport Folk 2011.  I wrote her a quick email to ask why she wasn't at Fort Adams this year.

"I'm with you in spirit, PJ! Unfortunately some medical stuff has gotten in the way . . ."

She went onto explain that she'd be diagnosed with lymphoma.  She called it "highly treatable," but she was still going to have to go through chemotherapy.  She had, in fact, had her first treatment the day before the festival, so she felt it would be wise to spend a couple of days on the couch, and enjoy the festival vicariously through mvy.

I heard from her periodically through the Fall.  She lost her hair ("Apparently I'll be rockin' the Sinead O'Connor look for a while"), but the chemo did what the doctors said it would do.  Her tumor disappeared and she began the to road to reclaiming her life, which (as best I could gather from Facebook) included getting out to as many shows as time and money would allow.

I ran into her early in the weekend at Newport Folk this year.

"I think about where I was at this time last year . . . " she said.  We let that thought hang in the air for a minute.  "I'm just glad to be here."

I saw her a couple more times over the course of the weekend, including at the Tom Morello set, as we were all running from one stage to the next.

A few days after the Festival, after I'd written about my own experience with the Morello set, I got a note from her:

You know, I was slightly embarrassed when I thought about high-fiving you on my way out of the tent after this show. I'm a pretty reserved person, after all. But, I was so energized by Tom Morello's performance, by raising a fist to "Union Town", by his guitar hero antics during Ghost of Tom Joad, by asking us to "jump the f-- up", and by his cheekiness in getting "us" on stage. It was by far my favorite set of the weekend. I'm pretty sure I told you "it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive"!

But, after reading about it, and watching it again, I'm not embarrassed, and I'm really, really happy for your wife that she got on stage. What a memory to take away from the weekend!!

-Sue

"Badlands."  She was quoting Springsteen's "Badlands."

It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive.

You're damn right, Sue.


Hear the song on Youtube.


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