The DS Life: Summer's last throes

The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handheld and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.

If there's anything that closes summer, it's the clement passing of August, the noblest of the middle months. Families have their last barbecues, Jerry Lewis interrupts our channel surfing to remind us about muscular dystrophy, and custodians pull blue, creased tarpaulin over neighborhood pools. Labor Day rewards us with an extended weekend, and then just like that, summer is over.

The above image, shot by Hershel Self, combines our three loves into one photograph -- parks, reading, and handheld gaming. The bright, bulbous clouds reflected on the Game Boy Advance's sooty screen reminds us a lot of Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. print ad:

Did you spend some time outside this summer, bringing a portable along with you, of course? Maybe an afternoon at the park? Or a late night, a friend and a bag of gas-station-bought snacks next to your laying bodies? We hope you were able to catch the lunar eclipse, the Perseids meteor shower, or any of the evening sky's other shows?

Did you take our advice and kiss someone under fireworks? If not, there's no need to worry; you've got about four months until the next event to plan and plot some convoluted stratagem to make it happen by the end of the year.

The last thing we'd want to hear is that your whole summer went wasted, lost under a mess of alcohol and sloth. With school in full effect and the holiday season rush of releases coming up to keep you busy, it'll be a while before you have any days or nights like the ones summer afforded.