Samantha Young Anton

Working Mom in Healthcare PR

[Samantha Young Anton @samanton]

Don’t get me wrong - the big things really matter, but it’s the little thing we do for each other that add up. Not that we’re keeping track.

Happy Thanksgiving.

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

"My name's Raymond. I'm 73. I work the parking lot at St. Joseph's Hospital. Minimum wage, orange vest, a whistle I barely use. Most people don't even look at me. I'm just the old man waving cars into spaces.
But I see everything.

Like the black sedan that circled the lot every morning at 6 a.m. for three weeks. Young man driving, grandmother in the passenger seat. Chemotherapy, I figured. He'd drop her at the entrance, then spend 20 minutes hunting for parking, missing her appointments.

One morning, I stopped him. "What time tomorrow?"
"6:15," he said, confused.
"Space A-7 will be empty. I'll save it."
He blinked. "You... you can do that?"
"I can now," I said.

Next morning, I stood in A-7, holding my ground as cars circled angrily. When his sedan pulled up, I moved. He rolled down his window, speechless. "Why?"
"Because she needs you in there with her," I said. "Not out here stressing."
He cried. Right there in the parking lot.

Word spread quietly. A father with a sick baby asked if I could help. A woman visiting her dying husband. I started arriving at 5 a.m., notebook in hand, tracking who needed what. Saved spots became sacred. People stopped honking. They waited. Because they knew someone else was fighting something bigger than traffic.
But here's what changed everything, A businessman in a Mercedes screamed at me one morning. "I'm not sick! I need that spot for a meeting!"

"Then walk," I said calmly. "That space is for someone whose hands are shaking too hard to grip a steering wheel."

He sped off, furious. But a woman behind him got out of her car and hugged me. "My son has leukemia," she sobbed. "Thank you for seeing us."

The hospital tried to stop me. "Liability issues," they said. But then families started writing letters. Dozens. "Raymond made the worst days bearable." "He gave us one less thing to break over."

Last month, they made it official. "Reserved Parking for Families in Crisis." Ten spots, marked with blue signs. And they asked me to manage it.

But the best part? A man I'd helped two years ago, his mother survived, came back. He's a carpenter. Built a small wooden box, mounted it by the reserved spaces. Inside? Prayer cards, tissues, breath mints, and a note,

"Take what you need. You're not alone. -Raymond & Friends"
People leave things now. Granola bars. Phone chargers. Yesterday, someone left a hand-knitted blanket.
I'm 73. I direct traffic in a hospital parking lot. But I've learned this: Healing doesn't just happen in operating rooms. Sometimes it starts in a parking space. When someone says, "I see your crisis. Let me carry this one small piece."

So pay attention. At the grocery checkout, the coffee line, wherever you are. Someone's drowning in the little things while fighting the big ones.

Hold a door. Save a spot. Carry the weight no one else sees.
It's not glamorous. But it's everything."

Let this story reach more hearts....

Credit: Mary Nelson

[Mr. Met @MrMet]

Happy National Best Friend Day to my number 1 😍 @mrsmet

[CBS New York @CBSNewYork]

Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center's Pancreatic Cyst Surveillance Program is on a mission to find clues in time to save lives. @JohnElliottTV reports. https://t.co/BBLMxBLDAD

[Samantha Young Anton @samanton]

@GlassesJudge @I_Am_Sal__ @Majorleaguemadd I think this was taken at Van Vleck, a historical home in Montclair, NJ.

[Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center @CBMCNJ]

Tis the season to celebrate and share the gift of life!
Sign up to be a donor today. https://t.co/lFkaWPpaDd

#LetsBeHealthyTogether #donatelife #organdonation #organdonor

[njdotcom @njdotcom]

This tree farm sells colored trees in western New Jersey. Choose from more than 7,000 evergreens at Wyckoff's Christmas Tree Farm. 🎄 Are these colorful trees gaudy or nice?

[Jake Aferiat @Jake_Aferiat]

Nice save by West Orange’s Hannah Amoyaw on a Montclair shot in close #njsoccer

[Sonia Rincón @SoniaRincon]

Standing ovations for firefighters from @NewarkFireDept @CityofElizabeth @PatersonFire and other NJ FDs recognized for heroic rescue work at the @RWJBarnabas Valor Awards. Bringing you some of their stories tonight on @ABC7NY

[Samantha Young Anton @samanton]

@BrandonGouldHS Where’s Morganne Zinn from Montclair? https://t.co/PmQuI386pI

[Montclair HS Girls Soccer @mtcgirlssoccer]

Semi-finals of the Essex Co. Tournament tonight 7 pm vs. Livingston at Millburn HS (neutral field). Spread the word. Let's fill the Montclair side of the stadium (we're on the press box side). #MountieUp!

[Samantha Young Anton @samanton]

@WMAthleticDept @WestMilfordXC @WestMilfordSupt @WMTHSPrincipal @WmTrack @WestMilfordTPS Congratulations to the Clinton Family!!

[Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center @CBMCNJ]

Did you know about 70% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in homes? If you are called on to give CPR in an emergency, you will most likely be trying to save the life of someone you love. Find a course near you: https://t.co/7glv8QXR3g

#CPRwithHeart
#LetsBeHealthyTogether

[Dan Contreras @danmcontreras]

2nd in the state and 8th in the country to solidify the season. congrats girls! MUCH deserved after what they worked for as a team

[Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center @CBMCNJ]

Saint Barnabas Medical Center has been nationally recognized for its 18th consecutive ‘A’ grade by The Leapfrog Group!

Congratulations to the physicians, employees and volunteers at #SaintBarnabasNJ on receiving this prestigious honor!

#LetsBeHealthyTogether

[Samantha Young Anton @samanton]

Well done Montclair.

[Jason Bernstein @JBernsteinHS]

Final: Montclair defeats Livingston 4-1 to repeat as sectional champs

[Montclair HS Girls Soccer @mtcgirlssoccer]

Final score MHS-5 Nutley-0. Montclair improves to 10-0!!!

[Samantha Young Anton @samanton]

Let's go girls!

[Montclair HS Girls Soccer @mtcgirlssoccer]

Montclair moves up to #2 in the State! 👏💪Ⓜ️ https://t.co/Z2D9cMcwbO Girls Soccer Top 20, Nov. 10: New No. 1 headlines big week of changes https://t.co/g45QxYCEg3

[Montclair HS Girls Soccer @mtcgirlssoccer]

7’ in and Manning scores off a pass from Anton.

[Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center @CBMCNJ]

This #ThankfulThursday & #NationalNursesWeek, we're proud to share our incredible teams & our communities’ collective efforts continue to help #FlattenTheCurve & return #coronavirus patients back to loved ones. ❤

#HeroesWorkHere
#SaintBarnabasNJStrong
#LetsBeatCOVID19Together

[Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center @CBMCNJ]

*fist pump*