Which is better: Camping in a hurricane or camping with a Hurricane?

                        
Which is better – camping in a hurricane or camping with a Hurricane? Well, after last year’s experiences, we found the differences are huge. I was in our pop-up camper listening to the radio when I heard an unbelievable weather alert. A storm with 75 mph winds was approaching the campground. We were at our favorite campground on Lake Erie, so it wasn’t actually a hurricane but the predicted winds were at the starting point for such storms. Flash forward: I’m hanging onto our camper’s awning minus shoes but with my purse and keys handy in case the two large trees on either side of the camper give any indication of coming down. My husband, Joe, who had neglected to put on our awning’s extra tie-down strap, was now working on that project and getting soaked in the process. Branches and small limbs were raining down like, well, rain. I heard a sharp cracking sound and turned my head in time to see a limb as large as a medium-sized tree fall on top of a shiny red van belonging to a group of firemen. Firemen! Does Mother Nature have no respect? Conclusion: camping in a hurricane is no fun. But what about camping with a Hurricane? Last fall while we were spending our very first week as Volunteers in the Park (VIP) for the Halloween campouts, a helpful couple, VIP’s Sonny and Phyllis Brickman, showed us the ropes. We quickly became friends and learned about the couples’ exciting past. The couple met when Sonny worked as a musician and Phyllis was hired as a go-go girl at the same club. At the time, Sonny was the only man in Toledo who had long hair, which made everyone think he was weird, including Phyllis. She was a tomboy and would not give him the time of day, but after being friends and hanging out for one year, they fell in love and got married. The couple has been married for 42 years. “I loved to dance,” said Phyllis, who worked mainly in Toledo. “Hotels had dining and dancing. I would spend 15 minutes dancing in a cage, then I would teach people how to properly dance. It was a ball.” Phyllis did all the popular dances of the 1960s. Wearing full coverage outfits made by her mother, Phyllis was the highest paid go-go girl in Toledo when she ended her dancing career. She also once turned down Frankie Valli’s request for a date. Sonny became interested in music when he was 15 years old. Music had always been a part of his family as his mother played the organ at her Methodist church and his father sang in quartets. Using money from the sale of his 4-H livestock projects, Sonny bought a used guitar and amp for $150. Sonny believed in perseverance. “I worked and worked (to learn to play the guitar) and nothing,” he said. “One day when I was about to give up, it just came to me.” Working his way up, Sonny was fortunate to land a job with one of the most popular groups in the early 1960s. Sonny was a Hurricane, as in member of Johnny and the Hurricanes, that is. “I saw (the Hurricanes) first on American Bandstand. As a member of the group, The Checks, we went to see the Hurricanes when they came to Findlay,” said Sonny, who played bass guitar. He was a member of Johnny and the Hurricanes for approximately six months while their regular bass player did a short stint with the Marines. During that time the group traveled around the country playing backup for such greats as Jerry Lee Lewis, Fabian, and Del Shannon among others. The Hurricanes top song, which went gold, was Red River Rock. “It was a neat life and a good time to be in music,” said Sonny. “The musicians were outstanding and we were like family.” Then in 1970, Sonny and Phyllis, along with his parents, attended a service at the Cathedral of Tomorrow in Akron, held by Rex Humbard. When Pastor Humbard gave the invitation to come forward and accept the Lord as Savior, Sonny and Phyllis went forward. In a defining moment soon after, Sonny realized his spiritual and musical lives were at odds. He then went into Christian rock music, and was in several groups with his eldest son. He is now playing in a praise and worship team in his church and is currently going into another Christian rock group. We hated to say goodbye to our friends but when we did, Sonny’s words were kind. “Take care of each other,” he said. Camping with a Hurricane is way, way better!


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