Playlist for Kenny Loggins

So one of the great traditions of my new town is the fantastic Fourth of July celebration it puts on. (Sorry, Arlington Heights, Frontier Days is great, but I think Lake Forest and Lake Bluff do the Fourth of July much better).

Each year, they have a great musical talent perform at Deerpath Park followed immediately by fireworks so big you feel like you could reach out and pull them out of the sky with your bare hands. (NOTE: Do not try this. Fireworks are very dangerous. I've known people who were involved in a freak fireworks accident. You don't want to be in their shoes. Trust me.)

Last year, Rick Springfield played. This year, it's Kenny Loggins. That's right. Kenny Loggins of Loggins & Messina, for those of you of a certain age, and the guy who sang the theme songs to Caddyshack, Footloose (the original), and Top Gun, for those of you in my generation. Previous concerts have included The Village People, KC & the Sunshine Band, Eddie Money, and others. Completely awesome. I know. The entire community comes out for this event. It's like a night at Ravinia with people bringing picnics and wine, although you can purchase food from Lovell's, if you'd prefer.

I don't know if Kenny Loggins reads Little Merry Sunshine or not (but if not, why the Hell not?), but I thought I'd take it upon myself to create his play list for him. These are the songs I'd love to hear. He can perform others too, but at a minimum, I hope he sings these songs. No need to thank me. It was a labor of love.

For the First Time


Footloose (the original will always be the best)


Danger Zone (By the way, what are the odds we could have the hottest guys from LFPD and LFFD playing sand volleyball shirtless while Kenny Loggins sings this? I'll pick the players and no, I don't need anyone else's opinion. I'm fully qualified to make this decision.)

This is It


I'm Alright (because everybody needs a little Caddy Shack)


Meet Me Halfway


Return to Pooh Corner (I prefer this to the original, House at Pooh Corner. He must sing this because who doesn't love Winnie the Pooh and all this song represents?)


Forever


The Real Thing


I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)


Rainbow Connection (The only thing better than Kenny Loggins singing this would be Kermit joining him to sing it.)


Danny's Song 


Finally, for his encore, he should perform Conviction of the Heart. 

Because I'm so easy going and not controlling at all, Kenny can feel free to do these songs in any order he wishes. I would encourage him not to do all the mushy love songs together because I may just end up in tears. Honestly, I'd forgotten how many wonderful love songs he'd written. But Conviction of the Heart should be last.

Of course, if you received this blog post via email, take a stroll onto the inter webs and watch all the videos. It's worth an hour of your workday. It's the 3rd of July, the day before a holiday. You're probably not doing anything anyway.

Good News!

As I was walking to the elevator this morning on my way to work, my neighbor, Bud, from the second floor was emerging and said I was just the person he was looking for. Now I only know a small handful of my neighbors and it was 8am, so I couldn't imagine what in the world Bud could be needing me for at that hour.

He said he thought he'd found my gym bag and wanted me to come to his condo and take a look. Sure enough, as soon as we walked in, there was my bag sitting on the floor with my fleece, one of my Croc flip flops, and my cosmetic bag of toiletries sticking out. I couldn't believe it.

Beaming with excitement, but hesitant to touch the bag, I asked where he'd found it. I have looked in the garbage dumpsters in the complex a few times on the off-chance the thief realized it contained nothing of value and dumped it or dumped parts of it. Bud said that he saw it on our street when he came home last night about 10:00 and picked it up first to remove it from the road, but then realized it was probably mine based on how I'd described it at our condo association meeting on Monday night. Because I came home at 9:30 last night and did not encounter it, I think the thief dumped it within that 30 minute window. Of course, it also further solidifies my belief that the thief lives among us.

I thanked Bud profusely, took my bag and called the police on my way to work to report it found. Not knowing if they would need it, I did not stop to see if everything was in it or not. I've now spoken to them and they did not need it for anything, but asked me to let them know if I found anything not belonging to me in the bag.

Quite fortunately, everything was in my bag except my goggles and iPod charger and FM transmitter. Once I do some laundry tonight and wash all my workout clothes, I'm going back to the gym tomorrow. I'll be there just a little more enthusiastically and grateful for my new neighbors who have my back.