Do you know what my grandmother meant when she said, "I see you're wearing your Sunday beads?" It might have meant I was ready for church and wearing a pretty necklace. What it actually meant was that I had been playing in the yard and gotten dirty and sweaty long enough to form a ring of dirt "beads" around my neck.

Do you know what my grandfather liked to put pepper sauce on? You know what pepper sauce is, right? It's chili peppers in a corked glass bottle, covered in a soup of vinegar & oil. He would turn that bottle at 30 degrees and jiggle it until all the kids' eyes would burn just from the sight of it. The answer is, he put the stuff on everything. Eggs, navy beans, meatloaf, okay, not dessert. But everything else.

Do you know what my mom did just about every night before bed when I was in preschool? She read nearly every Golden Book to me, and eventually, I read them to her. As a result, I was much better off than the other children when I started elementary school.

Do you know what my dad did at bed time? He picked me up by my middle and hurtled me across the room as I stuck out my arms and yelled, "Wonder Womannnnn!" Then I would crash into the mattress and topple the cushy mountain of stuffed animals. After I was snug in the covers (because the monsters can't get you when you're under the covers), my dad and I would say to each other in unison, "Good night. Buenos noches. See you in the morning. I love you. Gooberlip."

My big brother taught me a ritual for bedtime too. Because of his infinite wisdom, I was able to outsmart the alligators under my bed by never letting my feet stick out over the edge. Also, he shared the secret that the songs coming from in my clock radio were actually tiny people living inside it. Therefore, I had the advantage of being able to talk to them when it was dark in my room. They would carry on about things like tying a yellow ribbon around an old oak tree, or rain drops that kept falling on their heads, until I fell asleep under the quilt with Pinky the Poodle in a stronghold.

I wonder if you have memories like these. I wonder if you don't. I've been a lucky one, with tons of giggle-worthy tales packed in the mini-storage I call a noggin. I wish I could give that to everyone who doesn't have it. Does that make me a dreamer, or naive, or just an optimist? These days, it makes me a festival planner.

What the what? Yep, that's part of what the organization called Within REACH is about. Giving Saline's homeless youth a chance to feel secure enough to have a great time and trust in others as well as themselves. That's the "Within" part. The REACH part is an abbreviation that stands for redirection, education, avocation, counseling and housing. That's a big undertaking for someone who may have issues with adults. A few residents of Saline County are already doing this with young people. They didn't need a group to know there was a need.

But there are more homeless youths in the county. They show up at the Saline County Adult Education Center (SCAEC) every so often, looking for a GED, since most employers want to hire educated people. The trouble is when someone starts filling out a form and they get to the line that says, "Address." It might be a friend's couch or a car or the woods. When you're 16 years old and you're parents are unwilling or unable to support and guide you, you're left trying to figure it out on your own in a world that doesn't allow you to make your own decisions for another two years.

In April of this year, the Director of the SCAEC began to pour out her experiences on MySaline.com. She told of a girl who lived in her car at a truck stop and a boy who slept on a couch outside his father's mobile home. The stories were real and ate at our hearts. As we discussed it more, we knew we had to do something to help. Now, as a group, Within REACH will have its inaugural benefit festival at the Saline County Fairgrounds, on October 31st. It is aptly named Salinoween. We intend to hand over a full day and evening of games, rides, contests, booths, food and live entertainment. You can come just during the festival, or get a concert ticket and do the whole thing! For details on the performers, contests, tickets and more, see salineoween.com. Do yourself and your family a favor and make some great memories there.

This column was printed in The Benton Courier on Sunday, October 18th, 2009. See more of Shelli's columns here.