Last Call – Timothy Hayes

By Tim Hayes

As the calendar page flips to August, summer’s nearly over. I think Labor Day and New Years Day should switch places. Things do feel like they get a fresh start in early September, don’t they? And wouldn’t the end of another calendar year be a better time to honor all who have put in 12 months of work?

But hey, as usual, nobody asks me for help – and I have so many of the answers right here for the taking. Anyway, here’s a little ditty I whipped up to commemorate the summer of 2015 as it winds down over the next couple of weeks. It’s called “Last Call.”

It didn’t seem all that long ago, the kids came home from school / The leisurely months spread out so far ahead, it seemed, such fools / The beach, the trips, they’re memories now, we’re hurtling into Fall / Summer’s done, the party’s over, I hear them say, “Last call!”

Begun with such high promise, the household projects list / Got tinkered with, saw some things done, but could not quite persist / Where now, the pressure’s built beyond the season’s standard crawl / So hurry up, complete the tasks, before they say, “Last Call!”

Watching baseball either on the tube or PNC / The Buccos’ fortunes on the rise, like “We Are Family” / Waiting, waiting, waiting for the Cardinals to stall / So we can win the pennant long before they say, “Last Call!”

One daughter worked an internship in Cincinnati – great! / Another got a teaching job in music – celebrate! / Our son prepared to start in as an editor, soon installed! / A summer of accomplishment, before we heard, “Last Call!”

Mom and Dad, of course, enjoyed each other’s company / As summer shone on anniversary number thirty-three / From college sweethearts through today, together we’ve seen it all / And one real thing we know for sure, we’ll never say, “Last Call!”

With August come commercials advertising Back to School / Preparations start once more with schedules, dorms, and rules / From coast to coast, from Yankee towns to those with Southern drawl / September means reality’s back, we’re almost to “Last Call!”

We all love summer in different ways, traditions vary, fine / However your summer’s going, whether bad or quite sublime / Here’s hoping you squeeze whatever juice is left, so you recall / That you made the most of summer’s fun before they said, “Last Call!”

Enjoy the summer days that remain, folks, because the new year begins – as always – on Labor Day.