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opprairie.com sound off<br />

the orland park prairie | February 16, 2017 | 19<br />

Social snapshot<br />

Top Web Stories<br />

From opprairie.com as of Friday, Feb. 10<br />

1. Orland man charged with public indecency<br />

for alleged rec center incident<br />

2. Orland police reportedly bust Tinley man for<br />

felonious amount of drugs<br />

3. Sandburg cheerleading finishes third,<br />

Providence takes fourth at state<br />

4. Sandburg girls basketball suffers Senior<br />

Night loss<br />

5. Eagles wrestling dominates Andrew<br />

Regional, takes five individual titles<br />

Become a Prairie Plus member: opprairie.com/plus<br />

Laurie Marino, of Orland Park, posed<br />

the accompanying image Friday, Feb.<br />

10, which she said she captured on a<br />

trip to Lake Geneva.<br />

Like The Orland Park Prairie: facebook.com/opprairie<br />

“Thanks @JerlingJayhawks for bringing<br />

over 350+ students in the last 2 days to<br />

see what @TheBridgeTC is all about!<br />

#afterschoolworks”<br />

@TheBridgeTC — Bridge Teen Center,<br />

on Feb. 8<br />

Follow The Orland Park Prairie: @opprairie<br />

From the Editor<br />

#<strong>OP</strong>Kind rocks our office park<br />

BILL JONES<br />

bill@opprairie.com<br />

This past week, I was<br />

coming into work<br />

when I noticed, in<br />

a small patch of rocks between<br />

our door and that of<br />

a neighboring business two<br />

rocks that, well, were not<br />

the like others. In a patch of<br />

light-brown stones were two<br />

bright white rocks, and they<br />

had writing on them.<br />

The one said, “We make<br />

a living by what we get;<br />

we make a life by what we<br />

give.”<br />

The other, “Always tell<br />

your world, no matter<br />

what,” with the flip side<br />

reading, “#<strong>OP</strong>Kind.”<br />

They were both incredibly<br />

colorful, and I opted to<br />

leave them there for someone<br />

else to find.<br />

Upon entering the office,<br />

I said, “Did anyone else<br />

notice the rocks out front?”<br />

I got about a 50/50 mix<br />

of “What are you talking<br />

about?” and “Yeah, I saw<br />

those. What’s up with that?”<br />

For the uninitiated,<br />

#<strong>OP</strong>Kind is a social media<br />

campaign launched by the<br />

Village to publicly recognize<br />

those who practice<br />

acts of kindness. Officially<br />

attributed to Mayor Dan<br />

McLaughlin, it was started<br />

as a hashtag for Facebook,<br />

Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest<br />

as a way to celebrate<br />

kindness.<br />

It all is designed to tie<br />

into the theme, “Orland<br />

Park is Kind,” of the 2017<br />

State of the Village Address<br />

to be held Thursday, March<br />

9, at Sandburg High School,<br />

with tagged photos to be<br />

shared at the address. The<br />

Village also has produced<br />

— and will provide free of<br />

charge — “I Am #<strong>OP</strong>Kind”<br />

stickers, designed to be<br />

given to those who demonstrate<br />

kindness.<br />

People are encouraged to<br />

further share these happenings<br />

via social media<br />

through pictures and brief<br />

descriptions of the acts of<br />

kindness.<br />

And, if I didn’t know<br />

better, the cynical side of<br />

me might suggest someone<br />

from the Village dropped<br />

these rocks outside of our<br />

office in a deliberate effort<br />

to get me to write about<br />

them — sorry, we have<br />

slacked on getting word out<br />

regarding this program, but<br />

mission accomplished. But<br />

these trending campaigns<br />

also have a way of taking<br />

on lives of their own, and I<br />

also recently saw an email<br />

that the Orland Park Area<br />

Chamber of Commerce was<br />

working to get more businesses<br />

involved. I happen<br />

to know a member of the<br />

chamber who loiters around<br />

our office quite a bit, so<br />

there’s a good chance she<br />

or one of her cohorts were<br />

involved.<br />

Either way, it was a<br />

pleasant surprise. I like the<br />

unexpected things that take<br />

me out of the routine of my<br />

day, and I like trying to take<br />

people out of their routines<br />

on occasion, as well. It just<br />

keeps life interesting.<br />

After I left the rocks<br />

there, one of our designers<br />

found them outside the door.<br />

She liked the one so much<br />

These two rocks turned up this past week outside the door<br />

of The Orland Park Prairie’s office.<br />

Photos by Bill Jones/22nd Century Media<br />

she decided she wanted to<br />

keep it for herself. By all accounts,<br />

it made her day.<br />

So, to the person who<br />

left these rocks outside our<br />

door, thanks. We owe you a<br />

sticker for your own act of<br />

kindness.<br />

And for anyone else looking<br />

to participate, the #<strong>OP</strong>-<br />

Kind stickers are available<br />

at the information desk in<br />

the lobby of Orland Park’s<br />

Village Hall, 14700 S. Ravinia<br />

Avenue, from 8 a.m.-5<br />

p.m. Monday through Friday.<br />

For more information,<br />

call (708) 403-6399.<br />

Sound Off Policy<br />

Editorials and columns are the opinions of the author. Pieces from<br />

22nd Century Media are the thoughts of the company as a whole. The<br />

Orland Park Prairie encourages readers to write letters to Sound Off.<br />

All letters must be signed, and names and hometowns will be published.<br />

We also ask that writers include their address and phone number<br />

for verification, not publication. Letters should be limited to 400 words.<br />

The Orland Park Prairie reserves the right to edit letters. Letters become<br />

property of The Orland Park Prairie. Letters that are published do not<br />

reflect the thoughts and views of The Orland Park Prairie. Letters can<br />

be mailed to: The Orland Park Prairie, 11516 West 183rd Street, Unit<br />

SW Office Condo #3, Orland Park, Illinois, 60467. Fax letters to (708)<br />

326-9179 or e-mail to bill@opprairie.com.

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