Not all Escapes are a Destination

When I was 9 I used to watch a lot of General Hospital. I know! 9 YEARS OLD! But hear me out… both of my parents worked. My siblings were quite a bit older than I was and they were responsible for making sure I made it home from school each day. School let out at the same time GH was on each day. This was in 1980-81 and it was during the massive popularity of Luke and Laura. My sister and brother were huge fans. I would hear about it if I doddled on my way out of school because they were missing the show and back then owning a VCR (that’s a video cassette recorder for you Gen Z’rs and some of you Millennials) was very expensive. So I watched the show because my siblings watched the show. In hindsight I probably shouldn’t have but if I hadn’t, then I wouldn’t have fallen in love for the first time. His name was Noah Drake and he was a doctor on General Hospital played by Rick Springfield. I was so smitten that when he came to my town a year later, my sister thought it would be fun to take me to my first concert.

Me at my first concert in 1982.

That’s when the monster was born. What followed was probably about 7 years of unrequited love between me and the rock star. And I wouldn’t have changed a thing. He made me very happy. And I really knew how to rock those concert t-shirts.

Me in 1984 and Michaela wearing a similar shirt sent to us by an old high school buddy of mine.

Shortly after Mike died in 2008, while we were in Pennsylvania to celebrate his life at a memorial with his family, I was having a tough time. Hanging out in the hotel with my parents, sister, nephew and Michaela, we discovered that Rick would soon be doing a show in Wendover, Nevada. My sister suggested we get tickets and go.

Our seats were a little way back and that was ok. It was good to get away and do something that didn’t involve death certificates, packing up my house or visiting a cemetery. While we were sitting there waiting for the show to begin, a lady came by and offered us seats up front. And before long I was transported back to 1982. I was that 10 year old kid again seeing my first rock concert. Rick was even better now and it truly felt like medicine for my soul. It’s weird to say that but I FELT BETTER. Michaela noticed the change in me right away when we returned and she asked when she would get to go and see this Rick Springfield guy that had put a smile on my face for the first time in what seemed like forever. She was six at the time. I told her that when he came to Utah that we would go and I promised her that if he saw her, he’d sing with her. Bold promise but I was certain.

Well, he DID come to Utah. It was four hours away but we packed everyone up including the dogs and headed south to St. George where Rick was performing at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts. We were 5th row center. Michaela danced and sang and Rick was watching her. During Don’t Talk to Strangers, he began to climb over the rows up towards us. Stopping in front of her, he asked Michaela’s name. Her little voice called out to the microphone he dropped in front of her face. Then he asked her to sing….

After he exclaimed, “you’re too freakin’ cute!”

It was a night we would never forget. She was so excited as we left the venue as people stopped her and congratulated her on doing so well. She thought that was pretty cool. The bug had bitten and soon we were traveling to nearby states to go to concerts for a little dose of Rick Therapy. Shows in Utah were pretty rare so we mostly visited Las Vegas and California but soon we were venturing out to New York and Nashville. We’ve attended a few of the “Rick Trips” in Florida, Caribbean (cruise) and the Bahamas. Those are stories for another time. Rick became like family in a way. He knew her name before he ever knew mine and was always very happy to see her. I wasn’t aiming to ever catch his eye in any way but eventually photos that I took of him in concert did. You can see them featured on the We Love Rick Springfield Instagram Gallery. These photos would eventually land me some cool opportunities including an album cover:

Photo I took of Rick and his band from Australia (Zoot) on the Rick Springfield & Friends 2011 Cruise.

And an invitation to photograph his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2014:

Rick Springfield Walk of Fame Ceremony – May 2014 – Photo by Kris Fluck

It’s been a fun ride. The concert trips have dried up though…the last time I saw him was in 2019. I am not sure we’ll see him again. Michaela is older and our bucket list has expanded. But we have some pretty amazing memories that got at least me through some pretty dark days even though now that Michaela understands the lyrics of his music more, I get a little ridicule for letting her listen to the songs when she was younger. 😂 I just tell her that if I could survive the sexy music, she will and compared to modern artists out there, his stuff is pretty tame in comparison. And I also like to remind her that if it hadn’t been for Rick, we wouldn’t have had moments like this:

Rick and Michaela 2011

Rick and Michaela 2011

The last time they met… 2018.