Yanks, Met Fans, and Bruce At Red Bank bar

[Dirty Annie]

Saturday Morning....it is our plan ...Krissy,Doc, and myself to pay a visit to downtown Red Bank for the Alliance festival, hang out, and leave some time in the afternoon. But not before we would get Scoot over from Freehold and do a little bit of celebrating for his birthday.As we made our way through the stands and very cool little shops scattered around Broad, I couldn't help but feel what a great little town it was. The idea that the Alliance for Neighbors was in existence for a little over a month and yet they were able to throw together the shows and the Fair was a testament to the hearts of the people around that area.The afternoon was in full bloom when we made our way to Fameabilia on Monmouth. That place is a sports nut dream come true.Autographed sports Jersey, photos, and even guitars. Saturday they had 2 very special guests signing baseballs. Sweet Karma for Scoot!!! Scoot, Janie99,Doc, Krissy, and myself enjoyed lunch at Muphy's and joked about Bruce being out in the street performing while we were inside. Twilight closed in but we decided it would be good to attend a candlight ceremony and view the memorial wall overlooking the water. It was adorned with pictures of those lost at WTC. So many lost faces lit by the flickering candles. There was artwork painted by the students of Rumson H.S. depicting the tragedy. It was very touching. As the street lights went on, children passed out candles. As the choir sang Janie99 caught sight of a lone figure viewing the wall. Yeah...It was Bruce taking in all the pictures and written tributes. We glanced at him from afar. The image of him kneeling down to read was awesome....really awesome. There he stood a common man amoung his neighbors. As if the 5 of us needed anymore confirmation about why we admire him so much. He made his way towards us slowly and then Krissy went over to him and asked him if he wanted a candle. He accepted it. Doc said hi Bruce and he replied. Ya could tell he was moved by the wall. Ya could see it in his eyes. He proceeded past us and went further into the crowd. No one bothered him as he stood listening. He even helped re-light the candle of the lady next to him. As the ceremony concluded with America the Beautiful...He held the candle up into the air just like the rest of us. Then he knelt by a picture and left along side it, the candle that Krissy gave him. As he made his way up Front street people were stopping him to say hello . He was very cordial. And NO... there was no crazy mob scene... it was nice. We hung back and kinda lost him in the crowd. So we stood on Broad contemplating what we were gonna do. Who knew where Bruce went. He vanished. At that point a couple of people were standing outside the Downtown Jazz club. In there???maybe?? We needed drinks...I needed a Yankee score. So we entered the Sushi Mexcan restaurant bar and who's at the bar.....yeah Bruce. Sittin there with the guys watching the Yanks. Good fortune shines...well not on the Yanks...damn it....but us!!! Just a bunch of friends kickin back some beers watching the game. Damn...it was unreal. Bruce was laughing and having a good time. He pointed to the tv like the rest of us when that fan tried to remove the lodged ball from the sign. Once again...a surreal experience. The 8th inning comes quickly when you are with friends. Too, too bad it wasn't one of those tied games that go on until the next day!! Freaky though watchin Scoot cheer for the Yanks probably for the first time in his life.............Bruce gets up to leave...Scoot says" Don't leave...there's gonna be a comeback!!!'' Bruce stops and stands there looks up at the tv and laughs and says"yeah, any day now". We are saying to him........nahhhhhhh...don't leave like you would a buddy who has to make it home. Bill from Canada...tells him "Show a little faith". But the game held no interest for him at that point so he left. The plans we all had for getting things together and going home early....shot to sh*t. Plan B....cap the night off at the Dublin House.....sit around laughing about how a bunch of people from Pa, N.Y.,Va,Ct. could hang out and have some beers watchin a game with a very special guy from Jersey.

[piwi]

Wow - what a great story again :)

[Diamond D]

An amazing 3 days in Red Bank.

Great story Annie!

[dari]

just f***king amazing!

thanks annie :D


dari

[jukebox graduate]

No Waaaay! If I ever make it to NJ I would like to hang around with you Annie because Bruce seems to be following you everywhere these days. That read like a great short story. It sounds like the Alliance is doing some wonderful things.

Details? What did he drink? Dolphins cap?

[Krissy from GL]

Annie pretty much summed it all up... my mind is still so muddled from the weekend, it's hard for me to put any coherent thoughts together, but I'll give it a shot anyway.

The weekend started early friday afternoon, when Doc stooped by the old homestead in DC to pick me up. The weather was gorgeous, and we were hauling ass up to Red Bank, so we could meet everyone at Walt Street. We got to Jersey in record time (Doc kept saying "it's amazing how fast the trip seems when you know that Bruce is on the other side of it"). We met up with Annie, Scoot, Janie99, Someday Girl, Stang, CWGourmet, PattiM (and her DH), among others, who popped in and out... we drank, had dinner and bull-****ted with each other until the show started. Doc and I made our way up the stairs to almost the very last row of the theater (here's where I'm supposed to say "it was an honor to just be in the building" ;)). Bon Jovi came on and kicked butt (I WANT a cowboy hat, dammit)... the rest of the show was sprinkled with good performances, but it dragged in areas... as was to be expected when you try to meld so many different artists together into one show. John Eddie showed up, which was a WONDERFUL surprise.... I have a whole new respect for Joan Jett, and her duet with Bruce on LOD was one of the high-lights of the show. Bruce's performance was tremedous... I'd forgotten how incredible it is to see Bruce perform LOHAD. And ending the night with Stand By Me brought tears to my eyes. After the show, we headed back to Walt Street for some more drinks, and ended up hearing one of the best blues bands I've heard in a long time... the guitarist took Doc's beer and played his guitar with it... of course, all Doc could do was watch the beer with a thirsty look in his eyes, in fear that some was gonna get spilled before he got it back;). After a while we got kicked out of the bar (the lovely bar-tender announcing "get the F*** outta here" was a nice touch). Doc, Annie and I headed back to the hotel and hung around until we got our usual 3-4 AM munchies, which lead us to a diner down the street... which we also got kicked out of... New Jersey LOVES the three of us :).

Like Annie said, the plan was for us to hang out in Red Bank on Saturday for a while... celebrate Scoot's b-day, and then head out. Well, that departure time kept getting pushed back farther and farther... I ended up having to cancel some plans back home (yo peeps, that guy I was bitching about called and thought we were still going out on saturday... whoops). So, we hung around Red Bank... Annie bought out the town... Doc bought a gold lamme jacket, which I'm going to get him to wear to the LOD show if it kills me... Scoot nearly had a heart attack when he found out that he could meet Mookie and get a sig and picture... we had make-shift birthday cake in an alley (what better place for a bunch of tramps to sing happy birthday??)... We ate lunch/dinner at Murphy's, and then went to the vigil. It was very beautiful, and very moving.... and Bruce showed up. I've never met Bruce before... I've been a few feet away from him, but I've never made contact with him before. Scoot gave me the idea to pass a candle on to him as he passed us (thanks again, scoot), which I did. He very graciously accepted and thanked me... his voice was very soft and he seemed very moved by the whole evening. And, um, he's even more attractive up close :) (for those of you who are wondering, he had on a leather motorcycle jacket, the dolphins hat, jeans, and a I think a white t-shirt). We watched the cermony, and it was so powerful for me to be a part of the whole thing... especially because I was able to watch Bruce lift the candle that I gave him at the close of the ceremony, and I got to see him leave it as a memorial on the wall in front of one of the pictures. After that, the Annie/Krissy detective team found him in the Dowtown Cafe, where we decided to drink and take in a Yankees game. Like Scoot, I'm a Mets fan (and an active Yankees hater), but I was rooting for them last night! Bruce was very sweet and acted like any other guy... bull****ting with people and downing tequila and Bud Light, and he got a good chuckle out of Scoot's comment about the Yanks making a comeback.

It was my first real Bruce experience, and it was completely unreal... I think the Doc-mobile was driving about ten feet above all of the other cars on the way back to DC this morning. Thanks for the great weekend, guys! :)

[JerseyWendy]

Thanks for sharing your stories. I love this man and would hope that I would show your class and restraint while hanging out with him. OMG, you hung out with Bruce!

[gyspyangel]

Again ... Annie, who has my number???? I am so happy for you! What a great exprience! And yet still I have yet to meet him. And I have lived practically next door to him all my life!

One day...one day.. Until then I am living vicariously through you. Annie you are the queen of stories. Now will you move here!

Talk to you soon.

gypsy

[Gizzy]

...and the dolphins cap returns................

[brucegroupie]

Great story, Annie!! Thanks for sharing it with us, and I'm glad it happened to ya! :)

Deena

[Toots]

And here I am on the wrong coast..I'm lost and broken hearted! Why you ask? I'm still waiting for my very close personal friend Doc to make that phone call he promised me!

Next time I'm giving my phone number to Annie!



But I'm glad you all had a great time. As you can see, I'm pea green with envy. :D

Toots

[PattiM]

WOW.......Dirty Annie, Rosie et al.........


Great stories..........Thank you for sharing......

I am so happy for all of you.........it is all just so amazing......

It is encounters and stories like yours that sets Bruce eons above and beyond all others in the music/celebrity world.

[young again]

That's IT! I am moving to Monmouth County!
Look how many DIFFERENT shades of green I am with envy!

What a great story. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[Spirit]

Great stories!! I knew he was in there. Think it's time to call my friend's husband and give him a piece of my mind. We should have forced him to take all the kids home so my friend and I could have gone into the bar. Oh well. At least we got to see him and his kids at the street fair. I'm happy for you guys that were there.

[doctort]

Krissy and I were gonna go to the concert Friday night then head back first thing Staurday as ahe had a ton of studying and i had a ton of work to do

we got up Saturday am and decided to got to the street festival in Red Bank - after twisting Scoots arm to coime down and hang with us, we wandred around in and out of all the little shops , yes i did buy a gold lamme jacket that hopefully I will have th guts to wear to the LOD benefit

we saw that Mookie Wilson and Bill Buckner were gonna be siginig photos of the play from 1986 world series - a plot was hatched, Annie and Krissy went to meet Scoot while I stood in line - i met up eith them and Scoot was very excited to get the photo but even more excited when he found out that Mookie was still there - like an 8 year old boy

back we went sos Scoot could get a photo with Mookie, then we toasted Scoots bday with some cupcakes in the alley and a photo session(very appropriate we were in an alley)

we wandedr back and decided to get a bite at Murphys(he runs a restaurant too ??) - good food and good company, told Krissy we would get back later than planned - decided we would go to the vigil and the leave so off we went


we checked out the memorial to the victims, very powerful and moving to see the photos and the words people left, you see faces and live sreally hits you, we stood around and watched the youth choir and saw the purple choir from Red Bank getting ready

very calmly, Janie 99 says "Bruce is up at the memorial wall" - in the dusk, we spotted a lonely figure, he looked very small I thought - we saw him walking down the path straight toward us and Scoot told Krissy to hand him a candle, I said hi Bruce and he nodded, he looked quite shaken and moved, almost like he was ready to cry - he walked off and we lost him in the crowd - Dective Krissy and Annie found him again during God Bless America, we watched him raise his candle like the rest of us then wef olwwed and watched him kneel and place his candle in front of one of the photos at the wall

we taile dhim down the street, no one was really bothering him , when we got to the corner , he had disappered

we wandered across the street and bought some smokes, saw some people poutside the Downtown Cafe - dective Annie said hmm go see if he was in there, nah but we decided to go in and have a drink and catch the Yankee game, of course we walk in and there he was sitting at the bar

the table directly behind him was empty so we grabbed it and settled down to watch the game and ordered some beers - Bruce was having a great time, the guy next to him(who I dont think he knew) had him in stiches, it was really neat to hear his voice and hear his laugh(although I couldnt hear a word of what he said) - just a regular guy watching a game in a bar

as Annie said, was really funny when the ball got stuck in the scoreboard and they showed the guy trying to grab it, he alughed and pointed at the screen just like we did or any fan would - the game was a rout and he stodd to leave, Scoot said to him he was gonna miss the miracle comeback, he laughed and lokked at his watch said it was time for a miracle, Bill Daverene said faith will be rewarded, he laughed again , we tried to get our buddy to stay(thought we almost had him convinced) but he waved and said good night and walked out leaving the 5 of us sttting there in wonder at what had just happened

Annie Krissy and I went back and checked into the same hotel we had checked out of that am and headed back to Red Bank where we closed out the night with Scoot and Janie at the Dublin House with some conversations that I can not repeat here

another great weekend with some incredible peeps, glad I was able to share the moment with others who feel the same way that I do , Annie and Scoot you are hanging out with me on my bday - and I 'm not even disscussing the sandwich stories - LOL

till we meet again

Love

Doc

[stang]

Wow guys, great stories! What a special day.
And the Yankees are the reason I had to work and miss all of the fun in Red Bank on Saturday.
I have been to the memorial a few times and it is very emotional when you're there. I don't think you can walk away from it without shedding a few tears. It really humanizes the tragedy.
I have heard that Bruce is at the Downtown Cafe a lot, he just likes to hang out there. I've even know he's been in there just having a beer at the bar in the afternoon when very few people are around.
What makes Bruce so special is that even though he's this major superstar, he is still so down to earth. Just by himself yesterday, hanging out, just like a normal guy who grew up in Freehold and has lived at the Jersey Shore all his life and wanted to partake in the street fair.
Annie, Doc, Krissy from GL thanks for sharing the stories. Wow, what a great end to a great three days.
I am very happy for all of you to have that special moment that you'll never forget. I wish I could have been there.
Stan
PS I have a feeling we may all be seeing each other in December in a city by the sea.

[Phillyfan1]

WOW!! Great Stories guys....gotta admit I am Green with envy also

Thrilled for all of you and proud to call you my friends :)

Scoot...what an unbelievable birthday!

Doc...I was thinking the same thing..I wanna hang with this bunch on my b-day;)

Thanks for sharing !!

[brucegroupie]

Stan, about your last sentence - I hope your tease is right!!!!!

There are a couple of us "mid-west" girls who are planning a road trip if you're right. :)

[Toots]

Those are all great stories. Like everyone else said, it just makes Bruce all the more desirable. He's just a normal guy. ;)

Rumor has it that our dear family physician Doc has a birthday right before the holidays. Maybe he'll get some holiday shows and cupcakes for his birthday. If he's lucky enough and close to a certain stage, Bruce's kids could hit him upside the head with candy canes. What more could a guy ask for?

Love you guys!

Toots

[ForYou]

Who needs the library when you can come here and read these great great stories. Another great NJ night with Bruce
just being Bruce.

Doc-OMG, that
gold jacket would look smashing with the crown you wore at Cobalts :eek:

[doctort]

yes the crown would go quite well with the gold lamme jacket but think I have some other accessories in mind , we will see - LOL


wonder if Bruce had as much fun watching the Yankees last night as he did on Saturday ???

Doc

and btw, Murphys resturant in Red Bank, quite good only complaint was they kept trying to tow our table between courses

also saw signs in Red Bank for Murphy Real Estate , guess they sell you a house and then tow it - LOL

[scootbigman]

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1414773&a=13890448&p=55493818

[LJK]

I thought this was going to be a joke, like "three Bruce fans walked into a bar."

[JanieGirl]

Great stories guys ... it couldn't have happened to a better bunch especially on their birthday(s)... thank goodness for cell phones ... I got the up to the minute reports all day ... believe me I was there with you in spirit ... but really wished I was there physically ... gotta get that second car back QUICKLY!

Love ya,
Jane

[Someday Girl]

Great stories guys! Thanks for posting them. Excellent pics Scoot, as always. See you all on the 3rd.