10. The bite of the early-morning chill as you leave a warm building to head to work.

9. The smell of pine needles filling the air and the swishing of fallen needles beneath your feet as you walk alongside a pine grove.

8. Local sports talk on WEEI radio that talks REAL sports, not fantasy football like our two Phoenix sports stations do AT THE SAME TIME every weekday evening. (I mean, I know that fantasy football is immensely popular – and more power to those who enjoy it – but there ARE real sports being played in the Phoenix area, believe it or not!)

7. Listening to Howie Carr, The Big Show, and Jay Severin (whose afternoon drive-time show is back at WTKK 96.9). Boston radio is savvy, cynical and sophisticated, and, unlike the syndicated radio that occupies much of the radio dial back in Phoenix, refreshingly provincial.

6. Knowing that a medium Dunkin’ Donuts coffee with “just a little cream” light and a powdered, lemon-filled donut is just around the corner. (An added joy: seeing longer car lines at the North Billerica Dunkin’ Donuts on Rte. 3A than at the Starbucks next door. Only in New England!

5. The smell of wood from a nearby chimney mingling with that of fallen leaves on a still October night.

4. Watching local TV weather segments that really matter.

3. Golfing on a glorious autumn day (in a sweater, no less!) with the colors of fall all around you. October, BTW, is one of the best months for golf here in MA – the greens have all been aerated weeks ago, and the conditions are fabulous.

2. The afternoon sun shining on trees of every shade of yellow, orange, and red, lighting them up in an almost-electric glow as the sky turns orange behind silhouetted tree branches. Magical.

1. Regaling in the friendship and warmth of family and friends wherever we gather to share a few laughs and get caught up with all the goings on, whether it be in the family or in Goodboys Nation. It’s hard to beat that, and everyone should be as lucky as I am.