May 29, 2012

"Roll down the window and...



...let the wind blow back your hair."

Bruce Springsteen (Thunder Road - 1975)



"Maybe we ain't that young anymore"
(Self-Portrait Project)


What brings me peace?  If only trying to decide what flavor yogurt to have for breakfast was sooooo easy...Springsteen and the Shore, duh.  They go hand in hand in my psyche and soul.  I'm not young anymore, at least not in the teen-aged sense...but The Boss can transport me back to those days instantaneously.  I spent Memorial weekend at the Jersey Shore, and lucked into finding a room at a beautiful Victorian Bed & Breakfast in North Wildwood.  A far cry from those long day trips, or bunking with "friends, of friends, of friends....I think?????" of my youth.  But at times, I swear there was magic in the Jersey salted ocean air because I was 17 again...but luckily I wasn't still driving a puke green Maverick or smoking menthol Salem Lights.  Selective time travel is a good thing.

Bruuuuuuuce, how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.  Growing up in Philly, I always felt a sense of commonality with the man from across the river.  "Thunder Road" was released in 1975, right before my junior year of high school and quickly became my favorite Bruce piece of poetry.,  The Jersey Shore was our teen-aged escape from life and reality.  Bruce took me there emotionally, when my parents wouldn't let me physically. There are just some artists and songs that stick with you and take you to another time and place, true time-travellers.  Bruce has that magical ability with me.  "Thunder Road" is my magic carpet ride.  It never fails to move me...literally and figuratively.





Two kids trying to outrun their adulthood, caught between what is expected of them and their dreams.  I'm not sure I've fully outgrown that dilemma myself even after all these years.  But I've come to realize I'd be quite lonely without some angst in my life.  I seem to thrive on it to a certain extent. Not sure I could handle smooth sailing and auto drive.  There is something quite appealing about hopping in a car and escaping while traversing a long meandering highway, stretched into the horizon.  My own "Thunder Road".   That is what the Jersey Shore always has been to me.  An escape via a long meandering highway.  Altho, it has certainly become a more congested meandering road thru the years. But once I crossed that Ben Franklin Bridge I always felt the weight of the world lift from my shoulders.

I took a hiatus from all things Jersey Shore related for quite a few years, as the Outer Banks of North Carolina called my name and I dragged my family right along with me.  I tried to distance myself from towns like Ocean City and Wildwood.  That was my youth, I needed separation...altho never from Bruce.  But since moving back to Philly, I've come full circle and am surprised at how the boardwalks, Taylor Pork Roll sandwiches, dive bombing seagulls, and aroma of Coppertone on the Jersey beaches actually brings me happiness and peace.  And of course, Springsteen never left my side, he was always my tie that binds.




"Ain't a beauty, buy hey you're alright"
(Self-Portrait Project)


Even with the troubles the young couple faces in "Thunder Road", when you come right down to it Bruce's song is one of hope.  Life can be better.  Tomorrow is another day, Scarlett.  Just like The Boss says, all you have to do is cut loose from what is holding you back and trapping you.  Take action.  It might be late, but you can still make it.  What I've come to realize is that regardless of age there is always something, some life circumstance, some internal conflict, some obligation, some indecision...that makes us feel trapped in one sense or another.  It's timeless.  It's life....whether you are a teenager in 1975 or an adult in 2012.  So I guess I will ALWAYS be bound to The Boss and the Jersey Shore.  And that's a good thing, because they both bring me a sense of peace.  And whenever I hear Bruce tell me on the car radio to "Roll down the window and let the wind blow back my hair"...you just KNOW what I'm gonna do.  Some things will never change, and yes Virginia...there is a sense of peace in THAT too. 
  
So take a cue from Bruuuuuuuce...


--Kathy


24 comments:

  1. These selfies are beautiful. Such a sense of nostalgia. Bruce Springsteen is amazing. I haven't thought of his songs in a loooooooooong time. So glad you brought those up. Lots of good memories attached. Nice to see you {in the picture}

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  2. Such a wonderful post, Kathy. Your selfies are teriffic and a bit risque. But, hey..............if ya's got it, flaunt it!
    Have you been approached for any modeling jobs yet????

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    1. You might call it risque'...I call it wiped out after spending the day out in the sun at the beach, haha.

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  3. Kathy - I know exactly what you mean about the Jersey shore. I'm wa-a-y older than you so Bruce was not the music we listened to but being at the Jersey shore always brings recollections of my youth. Funny, I was just talking about Taylors Pork Roll with my friend the other day. My dad loved that stuff!

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  4. Your self-portraits are wonderful, soft, elegant with just enough sexy. Ahhhh yes, Springsteen brings back memories.

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  5. You are a lovely woman and your self portraits are simply STUNNING! I really enjoyed reading your journaling, too. I've never been a big Boss Man myself nor have I ever been to the Jersey Shore, but I can surely relate to your "selective time travel" (love that concept!) and your perspective.

    Great job, Kathy!

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  6. Your selfies are just AMAZING!! And you are making me long for the salt air and cry of the gulls. I love my Boston but I really miss my beaches and shore! Wonderful post!

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  7. I absolutely LOVE your self protraits. Beautiful photography work, and a beautiful woman too. So pretty!

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  8. PS...I know how to spell portraits, really I do.

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  9. Such gorgeous selfies- I have been so bad about doing them lately. You are inspiring me!

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  10. I connected with your words completely - thank you for always expressing yourself so well. You could 'see' your thoughts in your portraits.

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  11. Fantastic self portrets and you are very beautiful, don't ever forget this.

    Greetings,
    Filip

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  12. Love it Kathy - the post - your memories and the self-portrait. Excellent. Sometimes I want to clap after a blog post but I would look kind of ridiculous.

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  13. Wowza Kathy, your selfies just get better and better! I'm still hiding from behind the dang camera, I need to be braver!! Great post!!

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  14. Fantastic self-portraits, Kathy! Great post!

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  15. first of all, this series of selfies is amazing. you look beautiful! and i love your inspiration taken from "thunder road"--one of my all time fave bruce tunes. i quoted it in my senior portrait write up in my high school yearbook in the late 80s! oh, those were the days :) thanks for linking up at {in the picture} this month.

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  16. that is probably the most beautiful self portrait I've seen. Seriously. Let's just say you've held your age far better than I. ahhhhh. Love Springsteen. Lots of excitement way back when he married a girl from Lake Oswego,OR. Didn't last, but caused quite a stir in these parts..The BOSS was getting hitched.

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  17. You're stunning. Wow! Dangity dang, girl!

    And MG, I lived very near Lake Oswego, OR. - in West Linn, for 5 years. Ha hah! I did not know this about the BOSS. LOL!

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  18. Beautiful selfies and I really enjoyed your post.

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  19. Great shots! And a bed & breakfast in North Wildwood??? I'm curious about that one. Cape May, definitely, but North Wildwood? You surprise me yet again. LOVE Bruce - and you know what's cool? My 18 year old has discovered him. I hear it blasting from her bedroom - and for once I don't ask her to turn it down!

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    1. Kathy, I was surprised too. Candlelight Inn in North Wildwood. I went down to photograph a kite show on the beach at Wildwood (photos to come) so I wanted to stay in the area. Quick Tripadvisor search and and last minute cancellation at the Inn was my good luck. Springsteen at Citizen's Bank Park September 2nd and 3rd....just sayin' :)

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  20. Wonderful selfies, and I have enjoyed your post very much

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  21. You sexy beast!!!!! You knocked these shots right outta your Philly park! Great post, great words, I'm super impressed. Love those lace curtains.

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  22. Sweet, sweet SPs, Kathy. Both are fantastic. It's great that a smell, a curve in the road, or a song can immediately transport us to another time of great memories. Have a good week.

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