It’s Never Too Late

(re-run from 2021)

Three weeks ago, I made a summer playlist. Does that seem silly? The last day of summer is almost here. I included songs with summer in the title, like Hot Fun in the Summertime by Sly and the Family Stone, Summer Breeze by Seals and Croft, Summer in the City by the Lovin’ Spoonful, and Cruel Summer by Bananarama. I threw in California Girls by the Beach Boys and California Gurlz by Katy Perry. I rounded it out with Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet, Country Girl by Luke Bryant, Despacito, by Luis Fonsi, and a few others.

I’ve played it every morning for three weeks. Yes, summer is almost over. Should I have made a fall playlist? What songs would be on that one? I just googled songs with autumn in the title. Instead, I got 10 best songs for autumn. The only ones I even recognize are September by Earth, Wind and Fire and Harvest Moon by Neil Young.

I guess my point is that it’s never too late to enjoy something. So what, if I have to retire the playlist until next year? I had 21 days of listening pleasure as I savored the end of my favorite season. No, I didn’t care for the bad air quality from the forest fires north of here, and the 100- degree days weren’t my favorite either. But the live outdoor music was a treat, especially since last summer there wasn’t any, due to COVID.

I started out the summer as a skinny woman and slowly gained weight through the months as I gave into my sweet tooth and ate too much cake, ice cream, and other things that are bad for me. The fact that my digestive system allowed me to do it makes me happy.

Now that the weather is getting cooler, I’ll be drinking lots more tea and will discover, yet again, that I’m not really hungry, just thirsty, a lesson I forget every time stuff made with sugar comes around to tempt me.

Speaking of never too late, I’ve been moved from my favorite tenor position in the chorus to an Alto 2, the lowest woman’s part but with notes still too high for me to sing without squeaking. I’m working on it.

My goal is to see if I can hit those notes by December when we will have three concerts, pandmic permitting.

Every day I tend to add one more song to my summer playlist. Yesterday I added Angel of Harlem by U2. Why, you ask? It’s not just a summer song. Because one of my favorite but now defunct bands (Lumberyard) played it regularly. They broke up before the pandemic started.

Those were the days, drinking wine and shaking it to Lumberyard, all those songs I didn’t know but came to love – Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith, What I Got, by Sublime, Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode, Mary Jane’s Last Dance by Tom Petty, and Get It On by T. Rex. Jim Bogios, the drummer/singer from Counting Crows and sometime Lumberyard drummer, made those songs rock.

The day before that, I added A Million Dreams by Pink. It doesn’t go with the Lumberyard songs, but hey, its my playlist. I can add any song I want.

It’s a work in progress. By next summer, it will be more awesome than ever.

It’s never too late to make a summer playlist. When it’s raining cats and dogs in January (I hope), I’ll play my summer playlist and dream of hot days ahead.

Never too late.