When the dining season begins. Denver to Omaha and places between

the dining season really begins in October.

Fall arrives, the leaves change, evenings grow cooler, and almost without notice the holidays begin lining up behind it. October becomes November, Thanksgiving appears on the calendar, and suddenly Christmas does not seem very far away.

There is something else that changes this time of year. Friends who were difficult to see during the busy months of travel, work, vacations, and summer schedules begin to reappear. Calendars seem to open just enough for dinner together, an evening around the fire, or simply a chance to sit across the table and catch up.

Then come the family gatherings.

They occupy time and require travel, but they are also some of the journeys we look forward to most. Plans begin to revolve around where everyone will meet, who is bringing what, and, inevitably, what we are going to eat.

Perhaps that is why I think of October as the beginning of the true dining season.

The meals themselves matter, of course. But increasingly, I find myself remembering the people around the table more than what was on it.

Between Denver and Omaha, work and home, familiar places and new discoveries, the holidays shorten the distance. Food becomes the invitation. The table becomes the destination.

And for a little while, everyone finds their way back.