Escort

Monday night

Bruce Springsteen and I had attended the same indoor event; we weren't friends, but I'd seen him in person enough times not to be awed by his presence. I may have been a plain-clothed security guard employed by the the venue, wherever we were.

When it came time for Springsteen to leave, he began walking up a ramp that led to the outside. I immediately began to accompany him, and he became annoyed. He turned around and said, "I can go by myself." (In other words, he didn't need a bodyguard. He wasn't afraid to be in public.) When he got outside one person asked him for his autograph and another gave him some sort of food in a covered dish.

*****

Bruce and the E Street Band have a new album coming out in October, called "Magic," so Gordy and I have recently been trading some in-depth e-mails, reminiscing about Bruce and his music.

Now that I think about it, sometimes when I fly in to Dulles Airport, I'll end up downstairs, walking up a big inclined ramp to the light, where the shuttle buses wait to take commuters to the rental car area. Maybe I was thinking about my upcoming trip back to Virginia, or maybe Bruce and I were at the airport...