Name: Sir Joseph Anthoni Campos
Nickname: Joni
If you were an animal, you would be a: Brown-throated Three-toed Sloth (Bradypus variegates)
Your relationship to the Bride/Groom: Introduced Gil & Amy during my Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede birthday party.
How did you meet the Bride/Groom:
It all began in the summer of 1963. I was an uptight 17-year-old from New York and was vacationing with my affluent middle-class family at Kellerman's, a resort my parents had grown to love, situated in the Catskill Mountains. I planned to attend Mount Holyoke College that fall to study economics and possibly enter the Peace Corps. That is where I met the man that would change my life forever.
During one of my family’s mundane night activities I spot the resort's dance instructor, Gil Samson. He was a rather unassuming man and part of the working-class entertainment staff. He was tall and skinny, with jet-black hair and not particularly attractive or funny, plus he had a crooked finger. I normally would have thought nothing of him would it not have been for the smooth way his toes glanced across the floor as if he were dancing on clouds. One night, by chance, I was invited to one of his parties. I obliged, of course, not wanting to be rude. I even carried a watermelon to help out. This is where I observed Gil for the first time as he exposed my once sheltered eyes to his “dirty dancing.”
We chatted a bit and shared a dance or two or three, and from that moment on I was ensconced. I would later discover that Gil’s dance partner, Amy Ploss, would be unable to perform their next show at the Sheldrake Resort just down the road because of a prior commitment for a photo shoot. With this one show being their only other source of extra income, I knew there was only one thing I could, nay, must do.
I quickly became Gil’s pupil in dance. We did not see eye to eye at first and tempers would flare. I practiced and practiced and practiced, though it all never seemed to matter to Gil. It seemed as if he believed all I wanted to do was drop him on it. And then, on one random rainy day we clicked. We practiced turns and holds and steps. We even practiced balancing on an old felled log. We also worked on the most integral part of our routine in the lake. We called it “the lift” and it was going to be a showstopper.
Our performance at the Sheldrake goes reasonably well, though I was far too nervous to accomplish the lift. When we return to Kellerman's, my parents learn of our foray away from the resort and they forbid me from having anything to do with Gil or his friends. I defy them, however, and continue our clandestine affair. Our further friendship is revealed after Gil is accused of stealing a wallet from one of the resort guests. In order to save Gil from being fired, I confess that he could not have been responsible for the thievery because I was with him in his cabin that night playing Mario Party on Nintendo 64 for seven hours. Gil is eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, but is still fired for having a relationship with a guest. I felt absolutely terrible that day.
With my newfound friend gone, I was absolutely crushed. I watch my brother, JC, perform his Hawaiian routine in the annual guest talent show on one of our last nights at the resort, thinking I would never see Gil again. That is when he came bursting through the door. Excoriating my parents for their choice of my seat, Gil utters the words that will resonate inside of me until the end of my days, "Nobody puts Joni in the corner." He then proceeded to pull me up from the table and onto the stage. Gil grabbed the mic and proclaimed in front of all the people at Kellerman’s that he always did the last dance of the year, and that this year would be no different. He talked about how my selfless acts of dancing inspired him to realize that there are people in this world willing to stand up for other people, no matter what it costs them.
We danced the best dance of any dance that had ever been danced that night, and it was all punctuated by our “lift.” I had finally mustered up the courage to do it. The room was transformed into a disco-disco that night. Everyone, from the staff to the guests, danced the night away without a care in the world. I had the time of my life that day, and I owed it all to Gil…one of my best friends.
Three words that describe you: Clean as a whistle, sharp as a thistle, best in all West Minster! Oh, wait, that’s more than three words.
What will you be looking forward to the most on the day of the wedding: Seeing one of my best friends marry the woman he loves…and the open bar.
Favorite Love Song: Rump Shaker, by Wreckx-N-Effect
Something people might not know about you: I think America’s Funniest Home Videos is the only pure form of reality TV.