I open the door and jump into my neighbor’s car. It’s a mild summer evening perfect for the Lionel Richie / Cee Lo Green concert.

There’s no absence of chatter. It is all pure excitement.

We pull into the parking lot. We grab the bags of goodies out of the car.

We inch towards the golf carts that will take us to the outdoor venue more easily. It seems that Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay are quite heavy while still uncorked. Despite their obvious weight begging to be taken off, we decide to walk the rest of the way.

There are a sea of blankets dotting the green, sloped lawn.

We are smart.

We send one sacrificial lamb to stake our territory as we wait in far less coveted ground. It is my neighbor who invites us here this evening. I will call her, “Summer.”

“Summer” waves at the rest of us and we quickly find the Pinot and Chardonnay light enough to bull doze through anyone in our way. After all, “Summer” has found us the perfect spot to sing Lionel songs.

We hunker down. Our rock star neighbor has agreed to be our designated driver. I will call, her “Seasons.”

My other neighbor uncorks the bottle, I will call her, “Mick” for reasons known only unto her. We pass around some appey’s and help Pinot and Chardonnay lose a little weight.

Cee Lo starts off and we wonder how we have lived without seeing him in concert before.

Then Lionel, the sneaky one, ambushes us with our past and transports “Summer” to her senior prom.

It is one song after another yanking us back to our youth. Like shots lined up at a bar. Each one making you more impaired as you drink them down.

It is then that my neighbor “Mick” turns towards me and “Summer.” She leaves “Seasons” alone since she is our driver.

“Will you girls have another glass of wine with me?” she muses.

“Of course!” reply me and “Summer”

With an absolute squeal of delight, Mick declares us, “The best neighbors ever!”

Now, of course, we know that, but it’s always nice to be validated.

We feel a bit younger tonight. A little Lionel lightness. A little 1980‘s giddy. We, “Dance The Night Away.” Well, actually, no………….we leave that to the guy a few blankets in front of us.

Lionel takes a few minutes to remind us of our age. He tells us when we suffer through a day and we don’t know who to turn to………….not to worry……….because he does.

“His name is wine,” says Richie. “You go home and you grab your album, your CD, your cassette and your eight track and you call on Lionel Richie.”

We spend the night doing just that.

The next day, a few neighborly calls make their way from house to house. We are relieved to hear that, “Seasons,” still finds us the best neighbors ever. Never mind, that she drove us home from our mid-life, ‘prom.’

We tally just how much weight Pinot Grig and Chard lost the night before.

It seems that while, “Lionel, we all wish we could say we were still a little, “Stuck on You.”

Let’s just say, that our “Endless Love”  with Pinot and Chard lasted “All Night Long.”

The next time we find ourselves back in the 1980’s and, “Running With the Night,”  it will be with “Merlot.”