Murphy creates a Springsteen holiday in NJ (Opinion)

A dumb idea for a Bruce Springsteen holiday first thought of by Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle years ago has now been made official by woke Gov. Phil Murphy.

Yes, there is now officially a Bruce Springsteen Day in New Jersey. It will be every Sept. 23, the crooner’s birthday, and while this isn’t the kind of holiday you get off from work we are all encouraged to observe the day with appropriate activities and programs.

I badly want the resolution he signed to read as follows:

“Whereas, Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey on September 23, 1949 and was raised in Freehold, New Jersey by his working class family; and

Whereas, Bruce Springsteen’s love of rock and roll music began by watching Elvis Presley on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' in 1956 and was reaffirmed by The Beatles’ appearance on the same program in 1964; and

Whereas, In the late sixties and early seventies, Bruce Springsteen honed his skills as a songwriter and performer by touring with bands based in New Jersey, including the Castiles and Steel Mill, and met several future members of the E Street Band through his associations with these groups; and

Whereas, Bruce Springsteen’s numerous appearances at venues such as the Stone Pony and the Upstage Club helped establish Asbury Park, New Jersey as a hub for musicians;

Whereas, the state legislature doesn’t want to take the time to do the hard work and heavy lifting of actually solving the state’s real problems;

Whereas, those real problems include outrageous property taxes and an untenable state pension system;

Whereas, establishing a Bruce Springsteen Day is just the kind of nonsense politicians like to waste time on to avoid solving those real problems;

Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. September 23 of each year shall be designated as 'Bruce Springsteen Day' in the State of New Jersey in recognition of the many accomplishments of Bruce Springsteen and his contributions to this State.”

Because that’s what this is. Nonsense. And that’s coming from a fan.

But of course Murphy is giving this silliness high praise.

Murphy announced all of this Saturday at the American Music Honors.

Bruce Springsteen is one of the most recognizable, iconic and influential musicians – and New Jerseyans – of all time," said Gov. Murphy. "It is important that we recognize Bruce for all he has done and will continue to do, from giving us the gift of his music to lending his time to the causes close to his heart, including making the Archives and Center for American Music a repository that will inspire tomorrow's songwriters and singers. We thank him for showing the world what it means to live our New Jersey values. I am both honored and proud to declare his birthday Bruce Springsteen Day in New Jersey.

Meanwhile, because of high property taxes, tolls, burdens placed on small business and a hundred other reasons, far too many New Jerseyans struggle with debts no honest man can pay.

Thanks, Murphy.

But OK, let’s play along…

Best Ways To Celebrate Bruce Springsteen Day

Dance across a porch as your dress sways

Work on a Highway

Take your Jersey girl on all the rides

Dance in the dark

Flash a guitar like a switchblade

Come home from work and wash up and go racing in the street

Stand back and let it all be

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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