Confessions Of A Soccer Mom Groupie.

 I am shamelessly a die hard Rick Springfield groupie. The definition of groupie; 

noun: groupie

1. a person, especially a young woman, who regularly follows a pop music group or other celebrity in the hope of meeting or getting to know them.

OK so maybe I am not a textbook groupie , or am I? I'm not young.... so there!   It’s hard to explain…..or maybe I should just say instead that it’s hard to understand because I’m not even sure that I totally get it.

      Shaun Cassidy was the third and fourth grade “chosen one”  in the late 70's.  I never jumped on the Cassidy bandwagon…the forever late bloomer I guess. It all started for me when I was in 6^th grade, the year was 1981. Jessies girl started it all. Which is not my favorite Rick tune by the way as I would guess is the case in most of his faithful followers.  My personal favorite is "World Start Turning" More specifically my favorite lyric is "The times I succeeded and the times I failed, You know that no one will remember but me."   Simple but brilliant. Most people out of the Rick circle have never even heard that brilliant little song.

      I have watched my daughters (all 6 of them) go through the same hormone crazed obsession with “Hanson”, “NSync”, “Jonas Brothers”, “Bieber”, and last but not least “One Direction” as I did. It’s all part of growing up I guess. They have all outgrown it, but ironically I havent.

     When I was a kid my childhood room was covered in Teen Beat pics of Rick all over every inch of my wall. My sister left for college and bam I had my own room for the first time in my life.  I quickly turned it into a Rick Shrine. The poster on my door was of Rick in a denim button down shirt sitting with his knee bent. He had on some hideous white boots. I hated the boots but loved the poster.  At 13 I made a mental note that if I ever met Rick I would tell him how ugly those boots were. (I have met Rick several times now) I still haven’t mentioned the boots.

     In the 80’s I played Ricks albums on my cheap record player over and over. I was always a slob with my stuff but my albums were always put back in the sleeve and well taken care of.  I still have them all. Side note I sold all of my husbands old Beatles albums along with the rest of his record collection in a garage sale for $20. I’m not sure if he will ever forgive me.

      Through the awkward years of junior high, Rick was always my imaginary boyfriend, he was the best boyfriend I have ever had. I quickly learned that kissing a poster wasn’t all that great. (I never did kiss the poster on the door with the boots….Ewwww total turn off. I had standards.)

     In the height of my Rick crush years, Rick was in his 30’s. I’m sure he loved it that a bunch of prepubescent little girls were drooling over him singing his carefully chosen lyrics with absolutely no clue what any of them meant.  At least I didn’t….(”He held her tighter and tighter as he danced inside her.”) What……Whoa…I had no clue?  Rick you nasty freak.

     Fast forward to the internet craze. I guess it was around 1997 or 1998 and my sister in law was the first one I knew that had a pc that was connected to the internet. I remember going to her house and typing in the search engine (before google) Rick Springfield and whola…just like magic, 3 minutes later Rick Springfield stuff showed up. OMG I was hooked and knew that I needed to find away to get the internet. This would be so great to keep tabs on my old  “imaginary” boyfriend. My love and devotion never went away but it did lie dormant for years as life happened and I became a big girl.  A few months later we got our own computer and I didn’t stalk Rick news as often as I thought I would. I was busy raising babies. At this time I had 7 kids under age 14, I was changing diapers for 12 years. Definitely a crazy household. 

     In 1999 Rick played in St. Louis, I had just lost a bunch of weight and was able to wear my 13 year old daughters mini skirt to the concert. I had great 80’s scrunched hair and I just new that Rick would spot me in the audience and realize we were destined to be imaginary soul mates.

     Imagine my disappointment when I went home with no eye contact from my dream boat. Oh well at least he still looked and sounded good, I took a whole roll of film with my crappy point and shoot camera. He was like a tiny spec on the photos but I knew that blurry spec was my Rick so it was all good.

     He came to town a couple more times through those years but I wasn’t always able to make it. One time I was out of town for a family vacation, another time was back to school time and my kids all needed new back to school expensive “cool” tennis shoes. I couldn’t risk my kids being shunned at school by having cheap shoes so mommy can go visit her imaginary boyfriend. I figured the expensive shoes would save me the expensive head shrink they would need later because their mother is a groupie.

     Fast forward a few years and I finally had my chance to meet Rick at an intimate acoustic performance that I won on our local Radio station. The year was 2008 and I was a hot mess. I went tanning every day for two weeks, wore fake eyelashes and bought a new push up bra. I made posters with catchy phrases like “This soccer mom of 7 “Is Still Crazy For You” and I have waited 30 years for “Just One Kiss.” I couldn’t wait for Rick to see how clever I was using his song lyrics in my posters. What a weirdo I am, I’m sure Rick was really impressed lol.

     My husband went with me and has always been a trooper when it comes to Rick. Its’ hard to explain but my fascination and admiration is still that of an eleven year old girl. It is still just as innocent and perfect .I have no desire to anything with Rick except maybe go to lunch?  I have always secretly loved that he is married to a blonde girl who is 5‘1” just like me….I know, I know I have serious issues.  Rick did acknowledge my posters  that evening and I was happy that we had a little conversation about them. I was so excited to finally get to meet Rick and actually talk to him….OMG!! I had waited a lifetime for that moment. He was super sweet and I was so excited to see that he treated all of his fans with such respect. Little did I know that our next meeting would blow this one out of the water.

     At that time I had been at one of my heaviest weights and always hated to be photographed. My picture with Rick amazingly enough is still one of my all time favorite pictures of myself despite my weight. I think often times your inner beauty determines your outer beauty and beauty comes from happiness and confidence. I have determined that Rick must be my happy place because every pic I have of us together is a good one. 

Since that time I made a point to never miss another concert if Rick was anywhere close to St. Louis. Besides, back to school shoes are overrated. The kids can always use duct tape to get a little more wear out of their shoes. They should be passing them down to the younger ones anyway.  Sorry kids, no new shoes this year, mommy’s boyfriend is in town. Do you think I may have screwed up my kids a bit?? That sounds normal doesn’t it?

     The 8X10 of Rick and I in 2008 sits on my nigh stand right next to the 5X7 of my husband and I. It has become quite the conversation piece when we have company.

     Most people that know me know that my daughter was critically injured in April of 2013 while jogging in LA when a car struck her and she suffered severe head trauma. After the accident, a friend of my husbands remembered the “conversation piece” 8 X 10 on my nightstand. She somehow was able to get ahold of Rick’s people. I knew the night before he called that he would be calling the next afternoon. It was crazy for me to think that my daughter was in a coma fighting for her life and I was receiving a call from Rick less than two weeks after her accident.  Just knowing that he cared so much about a fan in crisis brought me great comfort. That was the first time I actually flat ironed my hair and put on a little mascara since arriving at the hospital in LA from St. Louis. Nothing Rick did was going to change the situation with my daughter but hearing Rick’s voice on the phone and listening to his kind words made a difference in my demeanor and brought hope to a near hopeless situation. He didn’t do it for publicity he just really cares about his fans. I decided right there and then that I would never mention those ugly boots, maybe they weren’t so bad after all.

     We are now 16 months post accident and my daughter is still recovering from a traumatic brain injury, 4 brain surgeries and 5 months in the hospital and months and months of outpatient rehab later she continues to kick butt and amaze us all.  http://vimeo.com/91575493.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/laurenmurphy

     I was able to see Rick in March of this year at a sound check and introduce myself as the fan from St. Louis with the injured daughter. I started to cry when I talked to him and he looked into my eyes when we talked and really listened, he also teared up when he spoke to me . It was a very emotional moment and I was so thankful that I was able to let him know how much it meant to me when he took time out of his busy day to call. This soccer mom groupie had her “moment” with her imaginary boyfriend and all was right with the world. Who gets to cry with their lifelong celebrity crush?…This girl, that’s who!

I was luck enough to see him again in July and I brought one of my other daughters to the concert and sound check. No tears this time. He was gracious as always and even agreed to take a selfie with my daughter when she asked, later he picked her in the crowd to sing Don’t Talk To Strangers during the concert. 

I didn’t mention to him who I was this time. There was no need. Who cares if he remembers me? He owes me nothing. I am forever grateful for him for giving me so much light in those dark days of April 2013….and for teaching me how to be an excellent poster kisser in the 80's.

    Rick turns 65 this week and I am thrilled that he is still performing and making himself so available for his fans. He recently landed a role in an upcoming Meryl Streep movie and begins filming this fall. I have told everyone I know, like it’s a family member who just did something awesome. Well to me he is family, part of my imaginary family. Its hard to believe the old guy is 65, hell it’s hard to believe I am almost 45. I have been a devoted Rick fan for 34 years….34 years that is crazy. What a true gift it is to be able to meet your childhood crush and to find out he is actually a good egg! Happy Birthday Rick, you make 65 look pretty good. Ill see you next time you are in the Lou. I will be the tan one with the long eyelashes and perky boobs.