I LOVE THE CRISP COOL AIR OF AUTUMN — THE SPECTACULAR COLORS AS THE LEAVES CHANGE FROM GREEN TO RED AND GOLD, THE STARRY NIGHTS, A CRACKLING FIREPLACE AND FOOTBALL.

NATURE’S BLESSINGS ABOUND. FALL IS A TIME FOR COMFORT FOODS SHARED WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS— HOMEMADE SOUP AND WARM CRUSTY BREAD FRESH FROM THE OVEN.

It’s autumn, my favorite time of year. Unlike many, I do not mourn the loss of the heat and humidity of summer. I love the crisp cool air of autumn — the spectacular colors as the leaves change from green to red and gold, the starry nights, a crackling fireplace and football. Nature’s blessings abound. Fall is a time for comfort foods shared with family and friends – homemade soup and warm crusty bread fresh from the oven.

Autumn heralds a new cultural season, too. There’s so much to do – theater, museums, music and dance. The Apollo Theater in Harlem, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Lehman College in the Bronx, New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), Newark Symphony Hall, Lincoln Center and many other performance venues boast a stunning lineup of entertainment from now through Spring 2006.

Museum exhibitions of note include the New York Historical Society’s History of Slavery in New York and the Newark Museum’s “Power Dressing” – Men’s Fashion and Prestige in Africa. Frequency at the Studio Museum in Harlem will feature artwork by thirty-five emerging, Black artists.

On Broadway the curtains have risen on the Oprah Winfrey-backed production of the Color Purple – the Musical and the revival of Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Story. Audiences are still enjoying Drumstruck and The Ark —off Broadway— this presentation takes a look at Noah and his family in a modern setting, but still in the same boat, so to speak.

There is an explosion of dance at the Joyce — the Jazz Tap Ensemble, Ballet Hispanico and Savion Glover. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater comes to City Center for its annual fall run. These are just a sampling of some of the cultural nourishment, I intend to feast on in the next few months—but there’s lots more. So make it a pledge to yourself to soak in some of the culture we brag about and is available to us I have bemoaned the state of Black music today in this column on a previous occasion.

It’s really not the state of our music...it’s the state of radio in this market that may cause some to believe there is no good Black music available today. Well, I’m here to tell you there is. Of course, my dial is set to WBGO JAZZ 88, New Jersey’s public radio station. Plenty of good Black music is heard there 24 hours a day, and also on Hal Jackson’s Sunday Classics on WBLS and Gary Byrd on WBAI on Thursday and Friday nights.

It was music to my ears when I heard that Stevie Wonder’s eagerly-awaited first album in 10 years was finally released. I was not disappointed. “A Time to Love” is Stevie’s signature blend of social consciousness, spirituality and love that once again affirms his place as one of the most enduring and creative musicians of our time. “A Time to Love” is neither “old school” or grown-folks music. It is contemporary Black music at its finest. Buy it, legitimately— one for yourself and one for a loved one. It’s music you can sing, and lyrics you will remember. Ecclesiastes (3:1-3) says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under the sun. A time to be born and a time to die.”

Death has made autumn its season this year, taking many great souls from this earth, playwright August Wilson, comedian Nipsy Russell, jazz great songstress and pianist, Shirley Horne and mother of the Civil Right Movement, Mrs. Rosa Parks, among them. As this is also the season of Thanksgiving, I give thanks that I shared a space in this universe with these American giants and that I knew each of them through the work they did, which has enriched me. So as I make plans and preparation for the holiday , I become mindful of just how much I have to be thankful for—not matter what my circumstance at the moment.

For our cover story this month, g.r.mattox profiles PR entrepreneur Terrie Williams. Ms. Williams shares her personal testimony of struggle and triumph and fills us in on her new career with the Stay Strong Foundation, the non-profit organization she founded, designed to educate, empower and uplift America’s youth.

November is Diabetes Awareness Month. A time to be tested for diabetes and commit to a healthy lifestyle of proper nutrition and exercise. Finally, the most important reason that autumn is so dear to my heart, is Autumn Jeannette Witter, my wonderful 7-year old granddaughter who lives in Atlanta, GA with her mom, Melba and dad, Roland. Autumn is an avid reader, including the New York Times, never missed a day of school last year, is bright and funny, and has brought me enormous joy. Happy Thanksgiving.