Late at night with my school girl Idol

It's been said be careful who you idolize. They might not live up to your expectations.(Or they just might)

In the 1980's I was a shallow teenager who absolutely adored Rick Springfield. Posters decorated the walls of my bedroom. My lunch money was saved in order to purchase Mr. Springfield's albums and 45's (I know I am dating myself).I spent many a night using my hairbrush as a microphone dancing around singing "Jessie's girl" like a fool. As the 80's came and went so did my adolescence wanton lust. I grew up and Rick slowly faded from the limelight and soon he became a distant memory. Now that I have become middle aged I find myself looking back quite a bit and longing for those adolescent days. When I heard that Rick Springfield was writing a book I knew I had to read it. So with some trepidation, I began to read...I mean did I really want hear the warts and all story about someone I had idolized as a hormonally challenged teenager? Yeah, I rationalized, yeah I did.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that "Late, Late at Night" was brutally honest and did not paint a pretty picture of my beloved idol. In his autobiography Rick is very candid about his lifelong problems with depression (the notorious “Mr. D.”) addiction, and infidelity. By his no holds barred technique we get to see the human side of him, what lies deep beneath the surface. While reading, half the time I didn't know whether to be disgusted with him or take him to my bosom and tell him that everything was going to be all right. Many parts of this book are upsetting and very dark, but being one who has battled the big bad D word herself, there is nothing happy or bright about this illness. I also appreciated the fact that he owned all those not-so-admirable things he'd done in his life without blaming it on the booze, his mommy or chemical imbalance (Way to man up Rick). On a lighter note many parts of this book are hilarious as well as touching. I admire the deep and abiding love his has for his family and his dogs and all that they mean to him.


So does Rick Springfield have a story to tell? Yes, indeed, he does! And while it's not a pretty one, he let's us know that he's a work in progress even at the age of 60(and might I add a hot 60). Had I read this book back when I was 15, it would have undoubtedly scarred me and made me burn all of my Rick memorabilia. Now that I am an adult and have suffered through life, I have come to realize that at the end of the day we're all the same...even the idols.