When I saw the destruction of Hurricane Sandy, my breath was taken away. I knew a lot of people in the New York/New Jersey area, and had been there a couple of times as well. Seeing Atlantic City like that was heartbreaking. It may not have been what it was back in the early 20th Century, but AC was something special. Seeing the Boardwalk (yes, the very same Boardwalk that is the most expensive property in Monopoly) torn to pieces is unbelievable. Seeing the other seaside areas destroyed and the lives this ruined was almost too much to handle.
As I read blogs from the area trying to find out how things really were, and if the storm was really as bad as the pictures suggested, I kept finding this song mentioned, or the YouTube video of it. "4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy)" , or just ironically, "Sandy" kept being mentioned as showing what the shore was like to New Jersey. Springsteen himself said once, "You travel around and people say, 'Hey, what's Asbury Park like?' and I play them this number."
This is what it was like along the coast in New Jersey. Like I said, I have a lot of friends from that area. I went to The George Washington University, and there were tons of people there from Jersey. (In fact, back in the day you could name a city and I'd tell you what exit off the Parkway it was.) Seriously, New Jersey was where almost everyone was from. (GW once made a shirt with a map of the US without Jersey on it that said, "GW: I'm not from New Jersey.") When they told me of their summers, it was always camp or going to the shore with their families. Going to the arcades, walking on the boardwalk, hanging out on the beach and getting in trouble. They'd talk about the rides at the pier, or just sitting on the beach.
It wasn't just people from New Jersey either. People from the Philly area also had fond memories of the Jersey Shore, before that phrase was tainted by people like Snookie. Billy Joel mentioned the Shore in his song, "Allentown." It was also where they spent summers. For my British readers (all 4 of you, whom I'm probably related by marriage), it would be like Brighton, or Blackpool. (Mostly Blackpool, now that I think about it.)
This song is a fantastic ballad, and really evokes the shore of New Jersey. Even the part of the fortune teller being arrested. How many times have I been on the boardwalk in AC and passed by the fortune tellers plying their trade? Lots. It's one of those things that happens in old seaside towns.
Listen to the song, and see what Jersey has lost. Bruce was right. I've heard my friends talk about the Jersey Shore and the power it holds. We've seen the destruction, and now I think we'll see it being rebuilt. Atlantic City will be back, along with Seaside Heights, Asbury Park, Sea Isle City and all the others. At least I hope so.
Prayers to those who were in harms way, and a quick recovery to all.
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