Phillip Barone, Publisher
I know this is the time of year we are supposed to take stock of our lives and consider what we are thankful for. The fact is, I actually do that quite often.
It’s been a rough couple of years for a lot of us and I can’t help but be thankful for the people who have gotten me through it. The most obvious ones are my wife, LeLane, and my children, Ava and PJ. Along with them are my father, Frank, and my stepmom, Janet. They have the most influence on my life. They keep me on track, put their arm around me when things get hard, and laugh with me when they are great. I love them all very much but I also thank them all as well.
Beyond family, I have had friends step up to help out WAY beyond the levels of normal friendship- Thank you to Dave Etro, Sandy Meyers, and Dave Cerrito. I will always be there for you the way you all have been there for me.
I am extremely thankful for this opportunity I have been given. The one that allows me to interact with all of you, to essentially come into your home each month. The one that allows me to be a part of Wayne, of Fairfield, of Montville, and of Towaco. It’s allowed me to get to know so many wonderful people so far. To get to know the details of a person’s life, not the broad overview. It has helped mold me to walk in somewhere and ask “What can I do to help?”.
Every night, when I lay down to sleep, I thank God for my life. It’s not always easy. Heck, it’s almost never easy but it is mine and I can make of it what I choose… and I choose to be thankful for it.
Don Seaman, Editor
I’m Don, and I’m the new editor here at Wayne Lifestyle. This very issue is my first here. And what an issue to start me off! I’m lucky that I get to share my gratitude right out of the gate.
My apologies to all of you who are reading this, but I need to start out with the center of my personal universe, my wife and three kids. And sometimes my dog. They keep me grounded, they keep me focused, they keep me…me. And that is no small task.
And I’m lucky that my universe always has room for more. I’ve added coworkers over the years who feel like family, a group of strangers who formed a softball team on a rainy Manhattan sidewalk from decades ago, friends from before I could ride a bike. And I’d take a bullet for each and every one of them — or maybe even help them move.
I’m sure it will sound pandering, but I’m grateful that I’m a Jersey Boy, specifically, a North Jersey Boy, where Taylor Ham is correct, the Shore is still Down, and The City is the only one that matters, frankly.
I’m extremely lucky that I live in a neighborhood where all of us lookout for each other’s kids as if they were our own. I cherish my neighborhood friends. I’m sure many of you feel that way.
Although it’s been like my backyard since I was young, I’m not originally from Wayne — I grew up in Bloomingdale, got married while living in Weehawken, and started a family in Montclair. But my wife, she was born here. The draw of family life in Wayne was far too strong to resist.
So, I’m a local, although I’m still learning some of the towns around that seemed to evade me for most of my life around here, and that includes most of Fairfield, Montville, and Towaco. I’m eager to add many of you to my circle. I’m grateful that I get to tell your stories and to help deepen all of our connections.
That’s why it’s so very important to me that I serve each of you well.
I’m thankful for each and every one of you, even those who I haven’t met yet.
I’m looking forward to widening my circle again.
