MUCH as we'd like to, there's no denying that the leaves are starting to change and the blackberries are appearing on the vine - both unmistakable signs of the passage of time.
The Labour Day long weekend also marks the beginning of a predictable school year of grad parties.
Local police agencies dust off press releases warning about the dangers of underage drinking and the havoc out-of-control ragers tend to bring.
Newspapers take calls from angry residents who have been kept up all night or found the woods or fields near their homes buried in beer cans.
Inevitably, there will be some who take things too far and someone will end up in the back of a patrol car, an ER or worse.
Then everyone will be able to say, "I told you so."
Of course they're right to do so, but it seems no level of indignation, stern warning or certainly a newspaper editorial can change what is a part of local culture. We don't condone this activity, but short of putting everyone under 20 under a strict police-enforced curfew, it's going to happen.
So it's upon us then to manoeuvre however we can to mitigate the risk and mess. That means keeping minds and lines of communication open, and taxis on speed dial.
Soon-to-be grads tend to go overboard with these things because they believe, quite wrongly, that this will be the greatest time of their lives. It wouldn't hurt to remind them how much better life gets after high school.
