Clinton Township Newsletter

5 s e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 1 Hi Julie, I love your fantastical August 2021 cover! In fact it is so thought provoking that it should be hanging in a coffee house or some such place where people gather. I have been reading C.S.Lewis recently because I am hoping to do a program or two for the Women's Forum. So naturally when I saw the lion heads I thought of Narnia. The flying machines remind me of a lyric, "sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground" can't remember the rest of the song, maybe from Simon and Garfunkel. The balloons, I gather, are a tribute to our beautiful Hunterdon County. The jewel, I don't know what that could mean and the sunflower field with the people either cheering or jeering, I can't figure either. But the butterfly balloon is gorgeous and inspiring and can have so many connotations especially for women. The sky is spectacular! The whole composition reminds me of one of the most visually beautiful movies I think I have ever seen. Martin Scorsese's HUGO is a treasure and I'm afraid, terribly under-appreciated. All of the colors and fantasy that you have poured into your design you'll find in that movie. And the story, while a sweet fiction, does reveal the history of early film making. So there you have it, I have been meaning to write ever since your magazine arrived and this morning when I started clearing off the coffee table I thought, Now! Btw/ I am especially partial to August because it is my birthday month and because it ushers in the most beautiful season of the year - Autumn! What will you do with that !?! Enjoy the rest of the Summer and stay healthy. – Evelyn Hi Evelyn, Thank you so much! There are about fifteen pieces of artwork within that cover. I just started collaging them together and wasn't sure where I was going with it until it was done! (Doesn't art often happen like that?). For me August is often sort of a hot, hazy, dreamy month, so that thought got me started. In years past, my children were always catching up on their required summer reading during the month of August, and their books (like the Narnia series, which I loved!) were often very creative and fantastical. At the same time, I would take them to the movies, and/or we would watch movies at home that were sometimes highly imaginative as well (like the 1995 film "The Little Princess", one of my all-time favorite children's movies.) August (Happy Birthday!) makes me think of lions because of my Leo mother, son, and daughter. Since the lion is also the mascot for North Hunterdon High School, it ties in perfectly, in my opinion. I was originally thinking of a hot-air balloon somehow in the shape of a lion's head, floating over a field of sunflowers. The more I played with it, the more complex it became. I love your lyric association with this design. The song you're thinking of is one of my all-time favorites and I sang it a million times to my colic-y first baby in – yes – August of 1993! It's from "Fire and Rain" by James Taylor: Been walking my mind to an easy time, My back turned towards the sun Lord knows, when the cold wind blows, It'll turn your head around Well, there's hours of time on the telephone line, To talk about things to come Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground The balloons can be a tribute to Hunterdon County. Honestly, I was just thinking of hot-air balloons as a summertime thing, and then as this issue was at print, the balloon festival took place, so that was kismet! August always makes me think of sunflowers, so I made sure to have them in this image. Having the Victorian people in there was a bit of Monty Python-esque fun (for me, at least). I think of them as miniature people standing on the sunflowers, cheering. You might notice that in the sky I took the same sunflower image, flipped it 180 degrees, and played with the colors so that they would mix with the sky. I always like to make my covers a bit trippy when possible. The jewel balloon just seemed cool to me – rather than have a roundish balloon, wouldn't it be interesting to have a dodecahedron instead? I just looked it up and found this online: "What is the significance of a dodecahedron? The dodecahedron is said to represent the universe; while the other four Platonic solids represent earth, fire, water, and air, the five elements." That's a connection that I wasn't consciously trying to make! Re: the butterfly balloon artwork – originally I had all of the balloons very similar in size, and my son (who has a good eye for design) commented that they all blended too much visually – and perhaps I should emphasize one over the others. He was right, I think – so I chose that one because it's my favorite one. I love your interpretation relating it to the empowerment of women. A butterfly by itself seems a bit frail, (Shakespeare's Hamlet says, "Frailty, thy name is woman!") or easily defeated but, in this image when working with other butterflies, they are working wonders. I felt the steam-punk dirigibles would look very cool floating into the sky and atmosphere (and through the CTNL logo.) I added a lot of colors and sparkles to the sky – sort of like flying into a dream. And, now that you mention it, this cover does remind me of Scorses's 2011 film "Hugo", which includes a bit about Georges Melies' silent film, "A Trip to the Moon". I loved "Hugo" as well. All this August cover needs is a man in the moon! I am enjoying the end of the summertime – I hope you are too! I always appreciate the fact that September ushers in the Fall season while allowing us to enjoy a little bit of remaining summer weather. I have many bittersweet memories of my children starting back to school in Septembers past, and also the memory of 9/11 hovers in there as well. You'll find that the 2021 September CTNL cover takes a distinct turn in that direction, as this will be the twentieth anniversary of that horrible day. I decided to put all of my creativity aside and keep it serious. I will try to make the October issue as magical as possible, though! As always, thank you for reading and appreciating the Clinton Township Newsletter! Take care, Julie U.S. News & World Report recently released their 2021-2022 Best Hospitals rankings and ratings. Hunterdon Medical Center was cited for "high performance" in two specialty areas, Geriatrics and Urology, and in five procedures/ conditions, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Heart Failure, Kidney Failure, Pneumonia, and Stroke. An overall rating of "high performance" indicates a hospital was significantly better than the national average in a given area of specialty, procedure, or condition. Only 10 to 20 percent of all hospitals evaluated fall into the high performing tier. In 2021, U.S. News & World Report evaluated more than 4,300 hospitals and reviewed performance in 15 adult specialties, 10 pediatric specialties, and 17 surgical procedures and medical conditions. The data used by U.S. News & World Report to review each hospital's performance in these areas includes measures captured by the American Hospital Association annual survey and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, among other sources. The purpose of these rankings is to help guide patients in need of medical care due to a difficult surgery, a challenging condition, or added risk because of other health problems or age, to hospitals demonstrating exemplary outcomes. "Being recognized by U.S. News & World Report for our high performance in multiple areas and conditions is extremely important to the community we serve," said Martin Klein, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Hunterdon Healthcare. Klein added, " It is a true honor and a testament to the incredible physicians and clinical team at Hunterdon Medical Center who are all committed to providing the highest quality of care right here, close to home and family." F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n o n 2 0 2 1 - 2 0 2 2 U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals reviews and rankings, please visit https:// health.usnews.com/best-hospitals. For more information on Hunterdon Medical Center, visit: www.HunterdonHealthcare.org. h u n t e r d o n m e d i c A l c e n t e r r e c o g n i z e d f o r " h i g h P e r f o r m A n c e " B y u . S . n e W S A n d W o r l d r e P o r t

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