Molly and Springsteen

Who Are You When Nobody’s Looking?

I love my life and wouldn’t trade it for anything, but if there’s one person whose life and career arc I truly admire, it’s Springsteen—the way he’s led his life, his personal growth, how he’s dealt with success, and, of course, his gifts as an entertainer and leader. Bruce’s admirable qualities are impressive, but even more impressive to me is how he got to be where he is today. Bruce is my favorite American success story: a small-town kid from Freehold, New Jersey, with only two things going for him, a huge dream and the discipline to chase it.

Bruce Springsteen continues to defy the traditional image of the rock star who hits it big and then flames out through self-destructive behavior. From 1973 to 2020, he recorded twenty-one studio albums, eight of which were named to Rolling Stone’s list of Top 500 Albums of All Time. He’s also shown a unique ability to integrate nonmusical success into his life by pursuing a fresh set of meaningful projects. In his sixties and seventies, Bruce has delivered commencement speeches, headlined a sold-out one-man show on Broadway, written a bestselling autobiography, and been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

I can also attest that Bruce is the real deal.

When my daughter, Molly, was an undergrad at Duke, Bruce’s daughter, Jessica, was also there, one year behind. At Duke, all the first-year students are housed on the East Campus with everyone moving in on a designated day in late August.

In 2011, Molly’s sophomore year, Melinda volunteered to serve on the Duke Parents Committee. The day after move-in, she and I had a meeting with Larry Moneta, the vice president for student affairs. Larry mentioned how Bruce had driven down from New Jersey with Jessica to help her move into her dorm.

But then came a revelation: Larry described how the Springsteens were offered a special move-in day to bypass the chaos of competing with hundreds of other parents in the North Carolina heat for parking spaces and drop-off zones. Larry also shared that he offered Bruce a guaranteed room with air-conditioning for Jessica. Apparently, first-year dorm rooms were randomly assigned, and not all of them had AC.

Bruce declined both offers. He queued up in the long line of SUVs with all the other parents to move Jessica into a room without air conditioning.

Last year, Molly, who lives in Boston, happened to see Bruce on Newbury Street. She was stunned, but she also had the presence of mind, and the courage, to approach him for a selfie. He could not have been more gracious.