I didn't know Susan Dames that well.

Sure, I knew the basics, like:

1. She is easily one of Bruce Springsteen's top ten biggest fans, ever. (I'm fairly certain she's seen the E-Street boys perform in at least five dozen different venues.)
2. She traveled widely around the world as a model in her younger years.
3. Along with her husband, she is responsible for the area's annual Bandanna Blues Festival.
4. She was as gracious and unabashedly joyful as they come.
   

And maybe that's plenty to know about a person, but she wouldn't have settled on knowing only four things about any person. From the day she met me nearly two years ago, she went out of her way to know me better. She asked me what new albums I was spinning, asked me how the novel I always blab about writing is coming, asked about my travels through Europe, about my weekends, etc. She wanted to hear everything I had to say about whatever (and listened!). But the special thing is she was this way with every person she met, whether they showed interest in her or not.

For years, her beloved Springsteen has sung "everybody's got a hungry heart," but when the Boss wrote those lyrics down decades ago, he obviously didn't know Sue Dames. No heart was hungrier for life, love or music than hers. The song should go "everybody needs a Sue Dames heart."

So in memory of Sue on this day, I'd like to dedicate this song by the Boss to her. From all of us here at The Mercury, we'll miss you, SuSu.

Bruce Springsteen - "Waitin' On A Sunny Day"
(click song title link to download mp3, or read lyrics here)