What does Halloween mean to me? Chili...of course! Our church has an annual Fall Festival, filled with games, candy, space bounces and best of all.. all the chili and hot dogs you can eat.

I signed up to bring a pot tonight, along with nine other chili connoisseurs. I am thinking of my childhood today as I prepare my Mom's "Saturday Afternoon Chili." She would make a pot of her famous concoction and it would simmer on the stove all afternoon, through ballgames on the TV and through leaf raking fiascoes in the yard. Autumn in the South brings all those sounds and smells, tastes and feelings to the foreground.

I am grateful. Thanks, Mom.