Night Owls

I guess I got spoiled
Living in Ventura
Where there were
A variety of stores
Open 24-hours a day.
Many of the supermarkets,
Some of the drug stores,
Discount stores like Walmart,
And even some copy shops
Are open around the clock.
If I was hungry,
There was always
A Denny’s restaurant
Somewhere nearby.
Ventura is the home
Of the original
Kinko’s copy shop
Where the corporation started
Their 24-hour experiment.
Being an engineer
Working independently,
I would often find myself
Well past midnight
Copying reports
To be sent out
Early the next day.
I would not be
The only customer
There during the wee hours
Of the morning either,
There was a whole population
Of us night owls
Whose existence
Was based on
That 24-hour convenience.
There would be teachers
Running off assignment
For class the next day,
Restaurants getting menus
Printed up,
Bands printing up flyers
For their next gig,
And always a few stragglers
Running off resumes.
When I moved to Los Angeles,
I was shocked to find
How rare all night markets are
Around much of Los Angeles.
I missed that 24 hour convenience!
I suppose those markets
Are the exception
Rather than the rule
Throughout most of the country,
And even Kinko’s
Has been quietly eliminating
The all night service
For most of its stores.
Maybe somebody realized
Their best customers
Were killing themselves
With their all night escapades,
And calculated
That it just wasn’t worth it
Serving the dwindling
Customer base.