ODE TO FRONTIER

One day soon, in late afternoon,
A silent bugle will blow,
A sound of Taps, a sound of doom,
And the Rockies will soon know.

For when it’s heard, though it seems absurd,
FRONTIER will be laid to rest.
And the empty skies will not be heard,
For we have interred, the very best

It started small, but to us all,
It became as big as life,
And we fought for it, as you recall,
When it struggled in its strife.

We nurtured it, for it seemed fit,
For in it we did depend,
And now in tears, we cry a bit,
As we see an era end.

Together in stride, and side by side,
We flew the skies of the West.
With heads held high, in honest pride,
We were the very best.

Then they came, in hopes of fame,
And they drained this blood of ours.
They took the pride, and then the flame,
And left us with but scars.

But we’re FRONTIER, and we could hear,
The voices from our past.
And with their strength, we conquered fear,
And fought it to the last.

With Rylands, O’neils and other slick eels,
Our careers were bought and sold.
Caring less for how our family feels,
With their greed so hard and cold.

Scared of fate, and full of hate,
We fought their every turn.
It seemed that we became the bait,
How our minds and bodies squirmed.

There was no smile, for quite a while,
As we faced our futures grim.
We missed big Al, and his constant smile,
And we rued the loss of him.

No matter the cost, it all seemed lost,
And yet we couldn’t die.
PEOPLES could never be our boss,
For we couldn’t live their lie.

With pain we flew, both I and you,
With a shame we couldn’t stand.
To treat our fares, with People’s view,
Became the final stand.

Time was short, and yet we fought,
To maintain FRONTIER as great.
But that future, that we had sought,
Was placed in the hands of fate.

Then in July, came a sudden cry,
And our huddled masses hailed.
A real airline, had come to try,
To build where others failed.

Now we have a need, for them to succeed,
As a group of the very best.
And we must be part for their creed,
So they can achieve that quest.

And as it ends, and we part friends,
Show them how good you are.
Protect their future, defend their trends,
In your future there’ll be a star.

Ya’ll I’ll miss, and sad is this,
For you have been so close and dear,
A hand I’ll shake, a cheek I’ll kiss,
For you are the real FRONTIER.

By Jim McGhee
Pilot, Frontier Air Lines