RIP Madame Marie from Bruce Springsteen...4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

Bruce Springsteen pays homage to Madame Marie upon her death at 93:

Back in the day when I was a fixture on the Asbury Park boardwalk, I'd often stop and talk to Madam Marie as she sat on her folding chair outside the Temple of Knowledge.

I'd sit across from her on the metal guard rail bordering the beach, and watched as she led the day trippers into the small back room where she would unlock a few of the mysteries of their future. She always told me mine looked pretty good - she was right. The world has lost enough mystery as it is - we need our fortunetellers. We send our condolences out to her family who've carried on her tradition. Over here on E Street, we will miss her.

--Bruce Springsteen

Here's a video of the boardwalk that I found on You Tube, for those of you who've never been there. It shows Madame Marie sitting in her "booth."



In high school in Philly, my best friends were this wonderful, geeky crowd...several of whom had houses in South Belmar at the Jersey Shore.

I have great memories of running the Asbury Park boardwalk during those summers in the 70's and that included seeing Madame Marie wait for someone who wanted a reading.

She was an Asbury Park institution before Bruce ever wrote the song.

Here's Springsteen and the E Street Band performing the song. It's such a slice of Americana and my past, it feels patriotic to listen to it for the 4th of July!