b'Matters heart of thematterThingsthat Matter Since 1990 A Sign for the TimesFeaturing Local People, Places and PUBLISHER& EDITOR IN CHIEF It helps me check in with my soulEllen DonkerBY ELLEN DONKERASSOCIATEEDITORCheryl SilverSOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERRachael EntineADVERTISING CONSULTANTSRene ConlonH. Leslie GilmanCOPY EDITORSNick HumezTia Swanson I tsfallandsign to read, The CONTRIBUTORSMalcolm Clark Lizzie DiBiasebynowILordProvides, Adrianna Donat thought Idandithasstayed Malia Rulon Hermanbewritingthatwayever Sonya Kimble-Ellisabouteas- since. Donny Levitiertimes.Forme,itsaCassandra RatkevichButasthereminderofmy Tia Swanson Julia Maloof Verderosa pandemicisstillfoundationand withusandsoaninvitationto manyofuswerebreathedeeply. flooded by Ida and schools started later thanAnd for my family its a statement about what planned, the air seems heavy. Half a life ago,weholdtrue.Withtheverbinthepresent I had asthma and I remember that it felt liketense (provides instead of provided, or will pro-a brick was on my chestthat it was hard tovide), it speaks to me as an acknowledgement breathe deeply. Thats how I feel now.of the right now, and what already has been, Please address all correspondence to: Yet we are all still carrying on. During andas well as reassurance for whats next, be they Visual Impact Advertising, Inc. after the flooding, neighbors texted each otherhard times or good times. P.O. Box 198 forupdates;SOMALoungersofferedsoundIts hope. And it gives me courage.Maplewood, NJ 07040 advice to those watching raw sewage erupt fromAt some point Ill change the message on the 973-763-4900 their sinks and toilets; others pulled out theirboard. But the timing isnt right yet. I still need mattersmagazine.commops and towels and shop vacs to help friendsthe reminder that it is well with my soul:that info@mattersmagazine.com clean up basements and haul sodden furnitureI am cared for regardless of the turmoil around Matters Magazine is owned and publishedand debris to the curb. This is what we do, andus and the plans that continue to be turned up-by Visual Impact Advertising, Inc., P.O.in Maplewood and South Orange we are par- side down. The pandemic and Ida and lifes un-Box 198, Maplewood, NJ 07040. Mattersticularly good at helping our neighbors. certainties are no match for a promise like this. Magazine is free, with editions direct mailed 7 times a year to the residents of MaplewoodIn my kitchen I have a felt board that cameWeallhaveoursourcesofhopethe and South Orange and distributed to busi- with plastic letters for making a sign. I like tosomething that gets us out of bed each morn-nesses and surrounding communities total- change the message on it to make my familying, ready to show up for another day of life. ing 16,000. Subscriptions are available to non-residents for $30 (U.S.), $40 (Foreign)laugh. Often it is from Skipper, my cat. (We doWhat gives you hope? What keeps you posi-annually. No part of the publication may bea lot of pet humor in our house.) Or it mighttive? What invites you to continue to notice reprinted or otherwise reproduced without writtenpermissionfromVisualImpactfeature a welcome home message when one ofbeauty in the world? Advertising, Inc. the kids returns from college.Promise me you will keep looking for that CIRCULATION VERIFIED BY About six months into the pandemic whenbeauty, because its all around us. And while U.S. POSTAL RECEIPTS. we were past spending our days trying to mas- we may have different ways of finding it, we all READ & RECYCLE termind grocery deliveries but still hunkeredneed to remember to breathe deeply, and know down in a pre-vaccinated world, I changed thethat it is well in the depths of our souls. 10/ matters magazine / fall 2021'