It's Not the Destination, but the Journey

"Alex and Petes Excellent Adventure"


This story is absolutely true every word of it. It has some very interesting twists and it may seem like it's getting off track but it all pulls together in the end you'll see.
I've been a Bruce Springsteen Fan since I first heard "Greetings From Asbury Park NJ" way back in 1973 in my dads pizza shop I was turned on by our dishwasher who brought the "Greetings from Asbury Park" album into work one night and said to me "Hey check out this album this guy is from Jersey and he's pretty good."
"Spirit in the Night" captivated me with it's jazzy and lyrical groove, then came "Wild & Innocent "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) and
"Kitty's Back" made me do a double take but the juice really didn't kick in until the "Born to Run" album and tour in '75, and by the time "Darkness" came out I was a bonafide Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band "Stoney"
I started taking weekend trips to Asbury Park and Longbranch, hanging out with some friends I had in
Red Bank NJ. My girl Karen (now my wife) and I even caught a BITUSA rehearsal one night at Clarences Clemons "Big Mans West Club" in Redbank NJ. but thats another story for another time.

Anyway jump to 1984, Bruce is bigger than ever at the height of his career his show without exageration is "THE Hottest Ticket in the World".
I had caught a show at the Vet in Philly during the summer of the Born in the USA tour, the show was great but typically I was in the nosebleed section 700 level but hey I was there and I was happy. / Then...stay with me now, In December of '84 my friend Pete and I decided to make the drive from Philly to Dallas TX. just to visit Dominic another friend of ours. I had the trip all planned out how long it would take us to drive from point A to point B etc.. As well as our ETA.....lots of planning went into this trip...heh heh
Well Pete had asked me to tape an album by John Prine so that we could listen to it on our drive down
(pete loves john prine). I never taped the album and Pete got pissed but so what he'll get over it right.
So here we are on our way and we were hardly 2 hours into our excursion when we pulled into a rest stop on the turnpike in Harrisburg PA for coffee when Pete who is driving my car goes and locks the keys and it took 2 hours to get the door open in the December cold and so here I am pissed off that not only is this a drag but my planned schedule and our ETA are totally blown to hell.(as if it really mattered)some crackhead came up to us and noticing our plight offered to help, it seemd that he was speeding his face off, he found an empty cola can laying in the parking lot and somehow he cut a notch into it he fastened it to the coat hanger we were using and shoved it down into the door and bing,bang, boom,zippity doo dah,1,2,3 whatever you want to call it just like that the door was open and we were back on our way.

Ok so we're now back on our way no more schedule to stick to and all is going well and we get up into those Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains of Tennessee and Nothing is coming in on the radio and no more tapes to listen to especially not John Prine as Pete keeps reminding me, so we're just driving without any jams for a few hours, then I come upon a road sign "Nashville 50 Miles" I figure hey we're coming back into civilization and I turn on the radio and at just that very moment I heard the very last note of a guitar followed by the DJ saying
"And that was Bruce Springsteen and after the show tonight we're going to play an hour of Bruce and the New Album etc..."
"Yo Pete you awake dude?" "did you hear that ? Bruce must be playing Nashville tonite oh man we gotta go !" Petes like "Your nuts dude there aint no way we're gonna get near that concert !"...
"Look Pete theres a Shell station at the next exit I'm gonna go ask someone there we need gas anyway" I pull into the Shell station and I ask the kid working there "Hey dude is Bruce Springsteen playing Nashville tonight?" and the guy says " Well actually he's playing MTSU" I say " What's MTSU and where is it ?" the guy says "It's Middle Tennessee State University and it's about 50 miles back east in Murfreesboro but I'll tell ya this buddy the concert is "SOLD OUT" there aint No Way your gettin in ! "

I asked the guy " how do you get there? " and he laughed and gave me directions
Now understand that it is 6:30 pm and the show is supposed to begin at 7:30 pm and I've got no tickets and 50 miles to cover and I don't know where the hell I am. There was a pay phone in the parking lot of the Shell ( and it only cost a dime which was interesting because at that time all pay phones had been upgraded to a quarter ) I called information and ask for the number to MTSU, so I drop my dime and I call MTSU and the conversation went almost exactly like this........

Operator: " Hello MTSU" (someone actually answered the phone 50 miles away on a dime at 6:30pm on a Sunday night)

Me: "Hello operator are there any tickets available for the show tonight?"

Operator: "I'm sorry but the show is SOLD OUT"

Me:"Aww c'mon operator is there anyway at all I can get tickets?"

Operator: "I'm sorry sir but the show is SOLD OUT there are no tickets available any longer"

Me: "operator you got to hook me up somehow please" (for some strange reason "NO was just not an acceptable answer for me that night)

Operator: "Well sir I can patch you through to the Box Office if it will make you happy but they're going to tell you that the concert is "SOLD OUT" and they can't help you either"

Me: "Yes it would make me very happy to speak with the Box Office operator thank you very much"

Operator: "OK Please Hold for transfer"

BO: "Hello Box Office"

Me: "Hello operator are there any tickets available for the show tonight ?"

Operator: "I'm sorry but the show is SOLD OUT"

Me:"Aww c'mon operator is there anyway at all I can get tickets ?"

Operator: "I'm sorry sir but the show is SOLD OUT there are no tickets available any longer"

Me: "operator you got to hook me up somehow please" (again the word "NO" was just not happening that night)

Operator: "Well sir the only thing that I can tell you is that if you get here at show time and you come to the
"Will Call" window and ask for tickets if there are any tickets available then you can have them"

Me: "Thank You, Thank You operator Thank You"

"Lets go Pete we're on our way to the show dude"
Pete: "you've lost it dude !" "You want to backtrack 50 miles and there aint a snowballs chance that we're gettin in" I knew that Petes logic was actually correct but I didn't give it any weight because in my mind the logic didn't matter I was on a "Mission"..... "A Mission from God".
Somehow we found our way to the arena and it was only 7:45 pm, we walked up to the "Will Call" window and I say to the girl "Yes two tickets please" she hands me 2 tickets and says "that'll be $16.00 each please"
(we got the "Student" discount) Oh My God what were the chances and get this we look at our tickets and it's "ROW 2" Floor needless to say we are freaking the hell out what could possibly top this "Nothing" that's what just "Nothing", Nothing at all could top this, I've never had seats any better than the 300 level anywhere for anything

Pete and I close to peeing our pants with excitement we make it to our seats up front in row friggin' "2" when the guy directly front of us in row 1(actually he was directly in front of Pete ) gets up to make his way out of the row just before the show starts and Pete jumps up and shouts at the guy "JOHN PRINE"
"Oh my God it's John Prine" John Prine, I can't believe it , it's you it's John Prine"
It actually was John Prine sitting directly in front of us and he says "Excuse me for a minute fellas I need to go take a piss I'll be right back" When he came back we talked for about 20 minutes before the show started he signed autographs for us on a discarded popcorn box and he said that he was going to try to get backstage after the show to talk with Bruce..... I tried not to act like an ass but I almost was begging him to take me with him... but I let it go.... he was kind enough to converse with us before and after the show...... the Show was of course Terrific

After the show as it was letting out Pete and I got to talking with some people and we told them that we were from New Jersey then they told others and soon enough Pete and I had a small group of people around us asking If we knew Bruce and the band and whats it like to hang out at the "Stone Pony" and all, it was so funny Pete and I are making up stuff and I was embelishing on the fact that I had actually met Clarence Clemens (yes I did) we were like"mini celebrities" for a moment just because we happened to be from "Jersey" it was such a laugh.

I couldn't have gotten those seats from Silvio Dante himself / the circumstances that got us there are beyond belief and all understanding.... I mean talk about Serendipity, I've given it thought many times and I always come to the same answer and that is "IF" Pete had not locked the keys in the car for two hours back there in Harrisburg, PA. then we wouldn't have been where we were when I turned that car radio on to hear the last guitar note of Bruce's guitar and that DJ say those magic words that put the ball in motion... (screw me and my itinerary...ETA crap) and WHY? I ask myself would I NOT take NO Tickets or SOLD OUT for an answer and then just be on my way? WHY? to borrow a phrase " What long strange trip it's been" The trip to Dallas was totally anti-climactic and a bit of a drag...it actually sucked, nothing could bring us down from that high.....
That night I found that old adage is so true "It's Not the Destination, but the Journey" Although we did go to Graceland on our return trip and paid our respects to the King..... Like I said before I couldn't have scored those tickets and seats from Silvio Dante himself ... there was some sort of higher power pulling the strings that night and I'd just like to say
"Thank You" Who ever You are.....It was a Blast"