In Memory of Jim Berger, Fan of The Boss

[sharbur]

My sister's good friend from High School (St. Mary's,South Amboy NJ) was lost in the WTC tragedy. A profile of Jim appeared in the NY Times and his family and friends are proud to say that the headline read "Jim Berger, Fan of The Boss". The profile talked about the fact that Jim was a diehard Bruce fan...if you rode in his car, you had to listen to Bruce. His favorite song was Thunder Road, he always sang all the words. Last Saturday, his friends got together, had some wine, raised their glasses and all sang Thunder Road aloud, in memory of Jim. He was an employee of AON and was last seen helping evacuate employees from the 101st floor. I felt the need to share his story with the Live Daily family. His formal memorial service will take place on Oct. 5 in Bucks County, PA and he leaves a wife and three young children. I know I'll never feel the same when I hear Thunder Road, ever again.

[Steve Kurtz]

I have edited this post because I believe I may have been a bit presumptuous in my original wording. I will leave in only that part which I truly believe to apply. Thank you sharbur, for reminding us that Jim Berger was one of us...truly one of us.

If THUNDER ROAD becomes a source of tears for you now, let them be tears of joy and strength, and know that the song that meant so much to Jim Berger should now mean so MUCH MORE to you.

[Edited by Steve Kurtz on September 30th, 2001 at 11:42 AM]

[brucegroupie]

It was JRZGRL who posted the other thread. sharbur, you can probably do a search under her name to find the thread Steve Kurtz is referring to, and the ideas that came from that thread.

[dari]

i guess it stands to reason that someone in this bruce community would know jim personally or through a friend/relative. as has been stated on another thread, that could have been any one of us. he could have been the person you sat next to at a show who's name you never caught...but you high-fived him when your favorite song was played. please let his family know that there are people out here who never knew him, but are thinking of him just the same.
the west coast WWA is meeting on tuesday night and we'll hoist one to jim and all of the other fans we'll never get to know who were lost in this atrocity.

dari

[sadiiiz]

FWIW, I'm told that Jim's wife received a phone call from Bruce. He told her he had carried the article in his pocket and was touched. They spoke on the phone for about an hour.

grace

[Steve Kurtz]

Grace...goosebumps...a source of emotion and having been touched deeply. I've got 'em all over me at this moment.

Bruce, if yer readin' this...thanks man. It's your music that brings us all together, but it's your actions as a human being that cause us to love, respect, and honor you in a way that transcends ordinary fan adoration.

sharbur...I hope ya get a thousand responses to this thread, and the memory of Jim Berger and the music he loved lives on in everyone who reads it. I meant no disrespect in insinuating that perhaps we'd already been over this. It can never be stated enough...Bruce lost at least one true fan, but it sounds like we all lost a good friend. And as Dari said, he may have been the guy we shared a show with and never knew past that night. How many of those wonderful people have passed through our lives at one time or another? I salute you also, Jim Berger. May you rest in peace.

[sharbur]

Thanks for directing me to the earlier thread. I had not seen it. Actually I haven't visited the board in weeks and last night when my emotions overcame me I decided to post Jim's story, never realizing there was already a dialog going on. My sister is going to his Memorial Service which takes place this Friday. I'll have her print the posts and share with everyone. Any other suggestions, let me know and I will pass them on to her.

[The Music Traveler]

unbelievably saddened by your loss sharbur...

we sang to Jim the other night. I hope he heard us.

I'm glad Bruce called his wife..it was the right thing to do and a wonderful act of human kindness... but you know, it doesn't really surprise me..
;)

[JRZGRL]

Sharbur,
I was reading the NY Times and spotted that article on Jim Berger. Less than five minutes later Bruce opened the telethon with "My City of Ruins." I was so overcome that I had to share Jim's story with the LD community. His name did not sound familiar from trees, but I thought perhaps someone here knew him. Even if not, we all knew Jim just by our common bond....Bruce.

Can you please ask your sister if the Berger family is requesting donations to a specific organization? Many families have started education trusts for the children. I'm sure we'd all like to know what their wishes are. Thanks,
JRZGRL (Chris)

Screen door slams, Mary's dress waves...