♪♫ Meet Me Halfway ♪♫
A Music-Aided Look at Being Perpetually in the Middle of Things
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Kenny Loggins owned the 1980s like few others did.
After launching the 1970s “accidental duo” of Loggins & Messina with the more well-traveled Jim Messina and going solo toward the end of the decade, he found his biggest success when he pivoted to another kind of collaboration.
Kenny Loggins went Hollywood!
Beginning with, “I’m Alright,” the theme song for Caddyshack (1980), Loggins would lend his talents to eight songs in six 1980s-defining films. He capped his run appropriately with “Nobody’s Fool,” the theme for the sequel, Caddyshack II (1988).
In between, Loggins wrote the title track for Footloose (1984), an effort that would earn him Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe nominations and result in his only No. 1 hit (which he got to perform at the Live Aid benefit concert).
He also placed “I’m Free (Heaven Helps the Man)” in Footloose, a double play he would repeat two years later for Top Gun (1986) with the iconic “Danger Zone” plus “Playing with the Boys.”
He even went back to his duet days, teaming with Gladys Knight on the single “Double or Nothing,” in Sylvester Stallone’s franchise installment, Rocky IV (1985).
But hidden in all these blockbuster hits was a more understated song for a movie that’s similarly easy to overlook, both in the plethora of 1980s fare and Stallone’s resume: 1987’s working-class-hero story, Over the Top.
The movie deals with cultural and economic tensions between “blue collar” and “white collar,” broken families, and an arm-wrestling trucker entering an arm-wrestling tournament to win a truck.
And in an ironically unsurprising irony, the most quotable line from the movie (delivered by Stallone’s lead character) is, “The world meets nobody halfway,” while Loggins’ No. 2-peaking single on the Adult Contemporary charts is titled, “Meet Me Halfway” (embedded at the top of this article and also available at this link).
Yep, the 80s were something else!
Always in the middle of something
I like the idea of “halfway.” It indicates you’ve made some effort, but you’re not at your final destination yet. It’s both a chance to reflect on where you’ve been and a commitment to keep going. It might be a pivot; halftime adjustments are important in sports, for instance.
As Loggins crooned:
Meet me halfway across the sky.
Make this a new beginning of another life.
For Loggins, the 1980s were hugely successful, but another pivot awaited him. The King of Movie Soundtracks exited the apex of his career, but remained busy for decades, occasionally contributing to film and TV shows and even branching into children’s music. He had a 50th anniversary reunion with Messina in 2022.
I find myself identifying with Loggins in kind, though obviously not in scale. It seems like I’m perpetually in the middle of … something. It’s actually a good feeling for the preparer-not-planner that I am!
I’m especially aware of middleness on this day, July 2, which is exactly halfway through 2025. Really, in any non-leap year, there are 182 days before July 2, and 182 days after it. You can’t get more halfway than this!
It’s the perfect time to reflect on the second quarter (as I had done for the first quarter) for “Good Neighbor, Bad Citizen.”
In the last three months, I shared more about myself than in any prior Substack season. And I don’t mean adding something personal as a tiny aside in an article. Often, my life experience was the main fodder, including in the “award winners” for the second quarter:
Most Likes and Most Comments:
— “My Weakness & How I Disguised It” from May 7) —
More people engaged with my story of personal shortcomings than any other post.
My Weakness & How I Disguised It
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Most Views:
— “ ‘No Idol-ing’ Zone” from April 23 —
I explained my (maybe controversial) religious affiliation in talking about the passing of Pope Francis.
Additionally, I described my personal health and wellness activities, and my interaction with the Military Medical Complex (“The Elephant in the Swampy Room” from June 11).
I probed my own professional experience for examples of learning from the past (“Does Your History Matter?” from June 25).
My all-too-real technology problems framed two posts (“Multi-tasking vs. Master-tasking” from May 28; and “Is AI the New Frankenstein’s Monster?” from June 18).
And I told an important story from my college days (“ ‘If I Were in Charge of the World ...’ ” from June 4).
On the interview front, I was literally in the middle of the screen when I appeared sandwiched between Adam Haman and Bob Murphy on a crossover edition of their podcasts in April.
And Jeff Macolino and I talked so long on my May visit to his show, we needed a halftime and then an overtime in what became a three-part podcast.
(Click here for “All My Podcast Appearances” and their accompanying articles)
Just so y’all know, putting so much first-person stuff in articles and podcasts feels weird. I think I’m a rather boring person, and I don’t consider myself an expert (especially since I don’t believe experts exist: “Passive Poets & Empty Experts” from May 21).
So, why would I write about … me?
I’ve found it’s a good exercise in perspective. If I need anecdotes about the challenges of grappling with Christianity and anarchism/voluntarism, I should consider picking on myself before I pick on others. There also might be a “wooden beam” in my own eye to address (Matthew 7:1-5)!
As I tinker with ideas for these weekly essays, I hope you’ll keep meeting me halfway.
Meet me in the Comments
Of all the things you’re in the middle of right now, which one excites you most? Which one do you dread the most?
If not Kenny Loggins, then who’s your nominee for King (or Queen) of Movie Soundtracks?
What do you think of the last three months here at “Good Neighbor, Bad Citizen”? Likes? Dislikes? Favorite post? Least favorite post?
Or tell me something else on your mind related to today’s themes.
Let me know your thoughts below …
—
My book, Good Neighbor, Bad Citizen, is available at:
Amazon (paperback & Kindle)
Barnes&Noble (paperback)
Lulu (paperback)
Find me on X: GoodNeighBadCit
And, as always: Be a good neighbor, even if it makes you a bad citizen.
That's a good paradigm shift: Meet me halfway. We should always be willing to at least go halfway towards a mutual goal - often further (gauging ability and appropriateness). But at least halfway. If you don't - or if you don't even think that way - can you really blame anyone but yourself?
Perfect Wednesday post. Thanks.