My Summer of Springfield was in full effect last Friday night when I took Nol to the Marin County Fair to catch a concert. Nolan was so excited that he wouldn't allow himself to fall asleep on the 60 minute drive to San Rafael. "Mom, will he sing 'Rock of Life? Will he sing "Affair of the Heart?" and my favorite, "Mama, when I meet Rick Springfield, I'm going to give him a big hug." This last statement made me realize I needed to do some expectation setting.
"Nol, I don't think you're going to meet him tonight. We're just going to watch him sing."
Apparently I was wrong. Apparently we were going to sing with him. Back to that in a second.
When we finally arrived late in the afternoon, we found seats in the first row of the concert pavilion to watch the band do its sound check. We left so Nol could ride the kiddie roller coaster and grab some dinner, and when we arrived back at the venue I noticed folks were setting up camp on the grass in front of the stage. For some odd reason, no one had managed to take the best spot in the house: a little nook along side the speakers, directly in front of the stage and about a two feet from where Rick would stand. I realized it would be a perfect spot for Nolan to watch the show. If the crowd got a little rowdy, he would be well protected. We abandoned our seats and were "in the pit."
Nol perched himself atop the stairs while I stood next too him. He wore these huge red headphones to protect his ears from the thunderous guitar riffs. Rick hit the stage and within a minute, he spotted Nolan and his Bozo the Clown ears, walked past me and yelled "Smart!" while he pointed to the headphones.
After about three songs, Rick went on to sing a crowd favorite, "Don't Talk to Strangers." Everyone loves it because he wanders out to the fans and asks people to sing the song. As he started to walk around the stage asking people to sing, he directly looked at me and then walked on by. He returned two minutes later. And the rest of the story is almost so surreal I still can't believe it happened.
Rick Springfield came over to Nolan and asked if he could bring him onstage. Within seconds, I was watching my son stand next to the tall, lanky, handsome rock star I have adored since I was eight years old. I was watching my son as he held the microphone and introduced himself to Rick Springfield. As Rick asked the audience to yell "HI NOLAN!" to my son.
Nol wasn't sure what to make of the whole situation. He stared at Rick with a smile, a tad awestruck at meeting the man whose music he sings around the house. He was also just a wee bit frightened by the 1,000 or so people staring back at him. He is only four-and-a-half, and his little lip started to quiver.
So Rick did something to try and make him feel better. He said, "Let's bring Mom on stage." Soon I was standing on stage holding Nolan. Oh. And then Rick Springfield was holding me.
Hello. Did you read that Internet? Rick Springfield was holding me.
Rick asked me to sing to see if that would get Nolan to do the same. No such luck. When Rick asked him if he'd finally belt out the tune, Nolan replied "NO!"...which made the audience erupt into laughter and caused Rick to laugh across the stage.
We returned to our spots, the song continued. And when it ended, Rick walked over to me, bent down and asked me if Nolan was okay.
As for the rest of the show, Nolan started to get tired at his normal bedtime but still had a great time. I, however, was on a perpetual cloud nine. Not only did he bring us onstage, but throughout the remainder of the concert he would look over at me and Nolan and smile. The man has a perfect smile. It was unbelievable.
To make the evening even more memorable, Mr. Springfield looked over at me when he started to sing one of my all time favorite songs, "State of the Heart." I smiled. He smiled back, pointed to me, and this is where my insides turned to mush.
He sang to me: "I know your name...I told you mine...we stopped and passed the time of day..."
On the way home, Nolan and I watched the fireworks display as we waited in traffic. We recounted the entire concert with Nolan asking me to tell him time and time again everything that happened. I could see his wide smile as I peeked at him in the rear-view mirror.
The evening was a magical moment on many fronts, individually and together. Seeing Nolan on stage was surreal. Being onstage was wonderful. Having hottie Dr. Drake put his arm around me - yummy. The song and melt-me glances...double yum.
On the car ride home, however, my son managed to top it all. In his sugary-sweet, honest and innocent voice, he said, "Mama, I really like going on dates with you."
Even Rick can't beat that.
(photos courtesy of nan sinkey!)
