Favorite fall dessert: my mother's Pumpkin Pie or the Apple pie at the Walnut Room at Marshall Fields

Holiday: Thanksgiving. Annual Family reunion...traditional time to announce engagements and pregnancies...

Best fall memory: driving through Vermont looking at covered bridges and sitting stream-side at my B&B, reading a book.

Runner Up: preaching at the Coming Out Day service my first year in seminary and the wonderful response of so many of my classmates and professors

Worst fall memory: 9/11, hands down

Most puzzling fall memory: Starring in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown my senior year in high school....I honestly can't remember more than a few scattered images and events...and it was a huge success...what happened to my Charlie Brown memories?

Best thing about fall walks: Not getting sweaty, getting rained on and not caring.

Favorite fall chore: buying 1 new sweater every year

Least favorite fall chore: inspecting the old sweaters for spiders

Best change in the home: fresh air, lower electric bills

Favorite flower: I'm not really a fall flower guy, most of my favorites are spring flowers...though I do love being able to get the deep, rich colored tulips and Gerbers at this time of year thanks to hot houses.

Best tree in the fall: RM is right, Aspen trees—brilliant yellow leaves against a blue Colorodo sky (different state for me)

Fall ritual: budget/stewardship season

Most frustrating thing about fall: see ibid, or shoveling is just around the corner

Favorite childhood game: disappearing when it was time to cut down and clear out the summer veg. garden in the back yard.

Favorite childhood memory: starting the school year in the 5th grade.

Favorite decorations: Martha will cancel my subscription...but I have no fall decorations.

Favorite clothing: thin wool sweater over cotton t, cords

Best scenery: Presbyterian Camps at Saugatuck in Autumn is quietly, hauntingly beautiful

Best fall travel tip: visit the wine country during crush...amazing

Favorite drink: hot cider, or this one particular mulled wine I had once at an open house but never got the recipe for...

Best method of transportation: horse drawn carriage through Central Park, though alone it was embarassing

Traditional fall candy: Halloween Orange Slices

Favorite Sound: the starlings in the morning

Best for fall sex: hmmmm, suddenly realizing....I don't think I've ever had any

Fall song: When October Goes, Manilow/Mercer
Runner-up: September Song, Anderson/Weill

Reliable prediction: I'll have a great new memory this fall as I preside at the wedding of my cousin R and his chat room bride.

Best fall television show: when I was a kid, it was the preview show for the new Saturday morning shows...I was always so excited to see that show...when I was a teen, the Thanksgiving showings of either Sound of Music or Willie Wonka....nowadays, the First Thanksgiving Episode of Will & Grace where Jack finally tells his mother he's gay...(the first one who can tell me the familial connection between that episode and the sound of music, I'll offer to record your outgoing message on your answering machine (I'm a Carl Castle wannabe).)