Two Faces Have I

After sending my blog link to Springsteen and I (http://www.springsteenandi.com/) and being told that they loved the idea and wanted me to send a film of the main points, I put together this script:

“Two Faces Have I”

            By day I am an English teacher. For 39 years I’ve taught literature and composition. After hours I am a Bruce Fanatic. For the past 11 years my daughter Alexa and I have attended 24 shows together, all but 2 in the pit. Even though I’m a professional educator, it’s at a Springsteen concert that I feel the most like me.

            As a British Literature teacher, I am passionate about Jane Austen. I have participated in events wearing Regency dress. I have traveled to sites associated with her, like Bath or Chawton. I have written a curriculum on Pride and Prejudice, and I read her works often.

            I am also a passionate Springsteen fan. I have created a “Bruce book” with memorabilia from the concerts – photos, wristbands, set lists, and reviews. I even have my “funeral set list” in my Bruce book. I’ve listed on an Excel spreadsheet the concerts and songs I’ve heard live. I listen to Springsteen all the time. He’s the only Boss I listen to, to use a cliché!

            I have so many happy memories on the Bruce trail. My daughter and I danced in the rain in Shea Stadium in 2003; in the fall of 2012, Alexa and I again danced in the rain at Wrigley Field. I’ve made fast friends, my beloved Bruce Buddies, attending the Devils and Dust concert in Chicago and the Magic Tour at Gillette Stadium. I have a crew of Bruce buddies in St. Paul and Kansa City. My NJ Bruce buddy not only took us to Giants Stadium for the Working on the Dream tour, she also escorted us to the sites in Freehold, Belmar, Asbury Park, and Long Branch.  Three words that capture my perspective of Springsteen are “from the heart.” Bruce’s works are authentic and passionate. His songs create connections.

            Jane Austen’s works are also true, full of authentic human emotions, and create bonds. I have so many new friends because of our shared love of Jane – fellow Janeites! I’ve traveled for Jane Austen conventions, though not as widely as I have for Springsteen. Some words that might describe me are a “rock and roll nerd.” Maybe that describes Bruce, too.

            This fall, after thinking about what both of my passions mean to me, I decided to create a blog combining the Boss and Jane Austen. Here are some sections from my BossJane blog:

“And So It Begins”

            As I was at the Jane Austen convention last weekend, I found myself contemplating the richness of my life. Here I was, in Regency dress, promenading through the streets of Brooklyn, kicking up my well-shod heels in English Country dances, and enjoying my first JASNA AGM.

            A mere four weeks earlier, I had been at Wrigley Field, in the pit for a Springsteen Concert. The next night I'd been on the rooftops, watching the action from afar, but still participating with Bruce and the crowd with every fiber of my rain-drenched being.

            Whether rain-soaked and rocking on, or turban-topped and gently promenading, I was dancing to the music all around me and experiencing life in its fullest. How lucky am I to be able to indulge in both of my obsessions ! Am I one of the few who follows with full heart and all enthusiasm the two icons of their times: Jane Austen and Bruce Springsteen? Am I the sole connection between these two disparate but perhaps united artists?

Janey Don’t You Lose Heart:

            Both Bruce and Jane Austen know the comforting power of a friend when one is suffering a broken heart. As Bruce proclaims, "You got your book baby with all its fears/Let me honey and I'll catch your tears...." In Pride and Prejudice, Lizzy caught Jane's tears as her sister read the news of the Bingley party's departing from Netherfield. Enduring a broken heart without a shoulder to cry on is the height of loneliness in both the genteel world of Jane and the bitter landscapes of Bruce.

On Paracosms and Microcosms:

            …Austen constructs an imaginary, detailed world that is as authentic and vivid as Springsteen’s New Jersey. Austen’s microcosm is as true as Bruce’s paracosm. Because both artists did not try to be citizens of some “artificial globalized community” but reached deeply into his or her own traditions, they have generated a passion for their works that knows no bounds. Because both artists are committed to authenticity, they allow their audience to perceive a larger reality than the small worlds each created. Because both paint particular landscapes and do not pretend to represent a larger yet unfamiliar community, they reach the world. Springsteen fans in Madrid and Austen fans in Australia are at home. I, too, dwell comfortably in both worlds.

            …Both Jane Austen and Bruce know the restorative powers of dance: “To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love” is the main reason that the Bennet sisters clamor for Bingley to hold a ball at Netherfield. Because, "Dancing in the Dark" is the surest way to heal a broken heart. 

            My obsessions are my life. I have a Springsteen poster in my classroom, a Christmas gift from a student. My Christmas present to my husband was a portrait of me in a Regency ball gown. My enthusiasms define me. I am a better person, and I enjoy life so much more, because I’m a fan of Bruce and Jane.