Hey there! Thanks for sticking with me as I built my Wall of Fame, the hall upstairs where I celebrate cool people I admire. We’ve finally come to the end. This week, the last inductee joins the group, and my husband is particularly happy to welcome this talented guy! No surprise there. Todd kind of fell for him before he fell for me, so he’s tickled! Not as tickled as he would’ve been fifteen years ago, however, if his secret plan had worked out.

Allow me to elaborate…

In 2011, our middle child, Ben, went off to college, and wouldn’t you know it, our Mystery Person’s daughter already attended the same university! While I struggled to get Ben to care a flying fig about a new comforter and maybe an iron, (had I lost my mind?) Todd was planting little seeds in Ben’s brain. Seeds Todd hoped might sprout into a chance meeting with a certain young lady. Questions like, “Have you ever thought about horseback riding?”

HUH?

It turns out that our Mystery Person’s daughter was on the equestrian team. And she wasn’t just good at it. She won a silver medal in team jumping at the Summer Olympics of 2020!

Every time we’d visit Ben, I’d catch Todd searching the crowds for our son’s true love. “Think of the wedding reception,” he’d joke. He’d laugh, but I knew what he was thinking! The father of the bride steps up to the microphone… and the crowd goes wild! They’d become buddies! No more sitting in the nosebleed section at his concerts!

Too bad, so sad.

Yes, Todd. I know. They’re both still single!

How about a cup of coffee to make you feel better?

Our Mystery Guy grew up near a Nestle plant, so whenever the wind blew, he’d catch a whiff of a cup of Joe! Though he loves the scent, he can’t stand the stuff! (Thanks for the info, Erin!)

 

 

 

When our Mystery Person was seven, he watched Elvis Presley perform on the Ed Sullivan show and decided to become a musician.

His first song on the guitar? That rock and roll stand-by, “Greensleeves!”

(“Twist and Shout” was next.)

Soon, all he wanted to do was to play the guitar. (At least that’s what his high school teachers said.)

He played in bands through the 1960’s and got his first recording contract in 1972.

He didn’t just play guitar and sing. Being a natural poet, he loved writing songs. He still does.

When he composed one particular song in the mid 1970’s, he dreamed of hearing Elvis perform it. Unfortunately it didn’t happen, but it became a huge hit with these ladies!

I could go on and on about all his awards. I could tell you how he’s ranked #27 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll and he’s won 20 Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, two Golden Globes and a Tony. But there’s more to life than music. The man loves other things too.

Like model trains. Our Mystery Person is quite the hobbyist.

 

 

 

And Jesus. He wrote in his 2016 autobiography, “I have a personal relationship with Jesus. I believe in his power to save, love […] but not to damn.”

 

 

 

I don’t know if our guy loves working out, but he does it faithfully to stay healthy. Or maybe he was just born to run. You know what I mean?

Guessed him yet?

Let me give you two more hints.

 

 

Number one: most everybody knows his nickname.

In French, they’d call him Le Chef.

 

 

 

 

Number two: this cute, young twenty-year old might not have become your Friend if director Brian De Palma hadn’t planted her in the front row of his 1984 music video. Their dance scene was so fun!

I bet you know him now. If not, watch this!

 

 

 

Yes! You guessed it. Welcome, Bruce Springsteen!

I posed him on an imaginary city street corner in New Jersey. If you click on it, you might spy bits of his songs I added.

Are you a Springsteen fan? Todd’s the super-fan in our house, but I enjoy him too. What are your favorite songs? I love “Glory Days” and “Waiting on a Sunny Day” and I still tear up whenever I hear him sing “My City of Ruins.”

Here’s wishing you a sunny day, friend! See you next time!

Love, Becky