Lisa Brotherton-Barnes and Tracey Brakefield didn’t go to Cape Girardeau on Saturday to see Rick Springfield but that’s what they ended up doing.

The Farmington sisters planned a road trip last weekend to have some girl time to de-stress. Their hero, best friend, biggest supporter and mother, Helen Brotherton, had died Sept. 12 and they just wanted to hang out and relax.

The last time they had been to Cape Girardeau was December of 2006 when they went to see Rick Springfield play at the Show Me Center. It was a benefit for Sahara “Hoops” Aldridge, who died the next November of brain cancer at the age of 13.

Lisa and Tracey started talking about Sahara and Tracey decided to check out Sahara’s blog on the Internet. There she learned Springfield was doing a solo performance at Buckner Brewing Company in downtown Cape that Saturday.

They thought that was beyond coincidental that he was going to be in town but tickets had been sold out for some time. Tracey called the PMac store where he was expected to make an appearance and found out some guy had two VIP tickets for sale because two of his friends couldn’t make it. The tickets were $100 a piece.

The sisters discussed the price. One reminded the other that their mom thought it was really awesome that they went to the concert in 2006 to support the little girl.

This concert was to benefit the Mississippi Valley Therapeutic Horsemanship, a facility that had become important to Sahara after she lost mobility.

Lisa decided her mom would think this was something really cool for them to do and called the store back. This time the guy with the tickets was there. After arranging for a friend to take the money to the store, Lisa found out the guy was Sahara’s father, Shannon.

The sisters decided to stop by PMac an hour before Springfield was scheduled to be at the store. To her surprise, they were the first fans of many to arrive and decided to stick around. They ended up on the KFVS-12 News and in the Southeast Missourian newspaper.

They got Springfield’s autograph and their picture taken with him.

Lisa said the concert at Buckner was really cool because it was intimate. There was limited seating and they were up close to the stage. Afterward, they went to the VIP meet and greet and got another picture made with him.

Lisa had become a fan of Springfield in the 80s and he had become a musical hero. She said she had an image of who he was and her expectations were met and exceeded. She said he is a great, genuine guy who loves children and animals.

At the meet and greet, they were able to talk to Sahara’s father, who shared his own experiences of grief and loss and coping when such an important person in your life is lost.

Lisa said it was an emotionally fulfilling weekend — time for some healing to start.

“It was the first time in three weeks we laughed,” she said. “We felt free and had a good time.”

Springfield has a new album out called Venus in Overdrive, which includes three songs written about Sahara. Springfield, also an actor on General Hospital, was a friend of the girl and her parents.

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