People often accuse me of being a Pollyanna. Always looking on the bright side, believing that there is still good in people, ignoring obvious problems. These are people who don’t know me. My best friend developed The Blue Island Gripers Club just for me. I think I’m the only member, even she won’t join. My long suffering husband sometimes calls me a Whiner, (yes, with a capital W). Now that you know the awful truth, I thought I’d bring you a little Christmas cheer.
Most people my age are not on Twitter. Either they never even heard of it, or they’re not interested (afraid). For those who are familiar with Twitter, you will recognize the following as a Twitter entry.
RT @stace_ this morning we had a total of 117 cars pay it forward in the @Starbucks drive thru by paying for the car behind them. kindness at its best
For those of you not familiar with Twitter, let me decipher this message. Someone who goes by the screen name stace_ apparently works at a Starbucks drive thru. One day, someone pulled up to the window and handed the cashier an extra couple of bucks, and said that they would like to pay for the car behind them, too. The next car, no doubt surprised and pleased, repeated the gift. This continued for 117 cars!
Of course, I don’t know that it’s true. I checked it out on Snopes.com, the site that dispels urban legends, and they had nothing about it one way or the other. So, for now, I’m going to assume it’s true.
The letters RT at the beginning of the message mean that someone has repeated (re-Tweeted) the message to their friends and followers. This message has been re-sent by over a hundred people, who at a conservative estimate, have 50 to 100 friends and followers of their own. Roughly, that means 5117 people have heard about and been touched by one person’s act of kindness. Imagine that!
At this Christmas season, think of how a single act of kindness on your part can touch so many people...and if you are a recipient of a kind act, pay it forward. The world could be a better place, and so could Blue Island.
Have a fabulous, pay-it-forward holiday,
Pollyanna
Showing posts with label small business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label small business. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Sunday, December 21, 2008
And the good news is...
I have to say that the city is currently doing what it can to help the remaining businesses in Blue Island. They have offered to run free commercials on the city’s cable station WDDE, and for a nominal fee you can be interviewed by Joe Gatrell and Lefty. This is the type of thing that can make a huge difference for any business. Believe it or not, after having our business in Blue Island for nearly eleven years, there are still residents who have no idea that we exist. They don’t come this way, they haven’t really noticed, or they don’t look at newspaper ads.
The Christmas parade was a huge success, thanks to Rita Pacyga, and unlike last year, the weather did not interfere. My apologies to everyone who worked on all the fabulous floats, but I thought that the Mexican horsemen, with their horses decked out in blankets of lights, stole the show. It was an eerie and wonderful sight to see lights prancing down the street in the darkness.
In a recent zoning meeting, the zoning committee gave a beleaguered Blue Island businessman the nod to have his building rezoned. As I mentioned in my previous article, commercial property tax has skyrocketed, forcing many small businesses to close their doors. A Blue Island resident, who I had not met before, addressed the committee, and eloquently explained that we cannot afford to lose another business. This move by the zoning committee may well save one of our most valuable assets uptown.
The last issue of the Forum reported that at the request of Mayor Peloquin, Tom Nagle of Robinson Engineering put together a package of infrastructure projects worth $38,000,000.00 to be presented to President Bush and President Elect Obama. Maybe the ushering in of the new administration will bring improvements to our worn out streets.
So here I am, ending the year feeling hopeful once again. Both personally and business wise I know we have a lot to be thankful for. Perhaps people will begin to understand that we’re all in this together. Like any other city, Blue Island will rise or fall according to the effort put forth by its citizens.
Spending my $5.00 and wishing you all a blessed holiday!
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
The Christmas parade was a huge success, thanks to Rita Pacyga, and unlike last year, the weather did not interfere. My apologies to everyone who worked on all the fabulous floats, but I thought that the Mexican horsemen, with their horses decked out in blankets of lights, stole the show. It was an eerie and wonderful sight to see lights prancing down the street in the darkness.
In a recent zoning meeting, the zoning committee gave a beleaguered Blue Island businessman the nod to have his building rezoned. As I mentioned in my previous article, commercial property tax has skyrocketed, forcing many small businesses to close their doors. A Blue Island resident, who I had not met before, addressed the committee, and eloquently explained that we cannot afford to lose another business. This move by the zoning committee may well save one of our most valuable assets uptown.
The last issue of the Forum reported that at the request of Mayor Peloquin, Tom Nagle of Robinson Engineering put together a package of infrastructure projects worth $38,000,000.00 to be presented to President Bush and President Elect Obama. Maybe the ushering in of the new administration will bring improvements to our worn out streets.
So here I am, ending the year feeling hopeful once again. Both personally and business wise I know we have a lot to be thankful for. Perhaps people will begin to understand that we’re all in this together. Like any other city, Blue Island will rise or fall according to the effort put forth by its citizens.
Spending my $5.00 and wishing you all a blessed holiday!
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Two Voices in the Wilderness
A customer stopped in the other day and brought me a column published in The Regional News, a newspaper published in Palos and Orland. The column was titled: Whither all our local mom-and-pop stores? and it was written by Amy Wiest, president of Wildflowers Inc. in Palos Heights. I was thrilled to see it! I am not a voice in the wilderness!
I called Amy immediately, she gave me permission to quote her in my article, and now I’m so excited, I don’t know where to begin. Maybe I should start with her very first sentence: “I am surprised and saddened every time I see another independent business close its doors.” How many times have I thought that, said that, and written about it? “The recent closure of longtime local businesses in Palos Heights such as Rini’s, Flowers of Palos, and Quiznos have left me wondering what responsibility my shopping choices played in their failure.” By this time I was doing handsprings.
I have recently heard about the imminent closing of yet another business in Blue Island, and also was surprised to see that An Seanachai on 127th had closed and the building is for sale. To quote Amy one more time: “It is hypocritical for us to be sad when another little neighborhood gem disappears or gossip about their downfall while on our way to the giant retailers.” Amen, sister! Or to paraphrase Smokey the Bear “Only you can prevent the collapse of your downtown.”
Amy even confronted head-on an issue that has bothered me for a long time, one that I have been too timid to confront, and so now I will hide behind her words: “Even if you don’t work for a small business, if we all go away, where will the community groups go for their donations? Who will sell the tickets for Woman’s Club functions; make donations for the PFA fundraisers; place ads in your group’s ad books; hang your event signage; donate silent auction items and sponsor the civic events? If you think the big retail chains will, you are very wrong.”
In the last month I have received several requests for donations, ads, and auction items from some very upstanding and outstanding community groups. Requests will only increase as the holidays draw near. When I look at the signatures at the bottoms of the letters, I don’t recognize the names. I should know them. If these people have the chutzpah to ask me for money, I would think they would have the common sense to at least make a token purchase at my business and introduce themselves. Imagine the talk around Blue Island if I openly refused to put up signs for Spaghetti Dinners, Vegas Nights, Boy Scout Troops, etc. Worse yet, imagine the outcry if I demanded $5.00 a piece to put up the signs. Community support is a two way street.
Amy asked the question: “When we choose to shop in the big chain stores, can we follow the money trail back into our community?” Let me tell you, I was recently at Target in Crestwood. At the cash register there is a list of the schools they donate to. Guess what? There is not one Blue Island school on that list. Not one.
So once again I ask every man, woman, and child to spend their $5.00 a day in Blue Island. If you are a current customer of mine, let me know what civic groups you belong to, or which local charities you would like us to support, and when those donation request letters come in, I guarantee you that checks will go out.
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
I called Amy immediately, she gave me permission to quote her in my article, and now I’m so excited, I don’t know where to begin. Maybe I should start with her very first sentence: “I am surprised and saddened every time I see another independent business close its doors.” How many times have I thought that, said that, and written about it? “The recent closure of longtime local businesses in Palos Heights such as Rini’s, Flowers of Palos, and Quiznos have left me wondering what responsibility my shopping choices played in their failure.” By this time I was doing handsprings.
I have recently heard about the imminent closing of yet another business in Blue Island, and also was surprised to see that An Seanachai on 127th had closed and the building is for sale. To quote Amy one more time: “It is hypocritical for us to be sad when another little neighborhood gem disappears or gossip about their downfall while on our way to the giant retailers.” Amen, sister! Or to paraphrase Smokey the Bear “Only you can prevent the collapse of your downtown.”
Amy even confronted head-on an issue that has bothered me for a long time, one that I have been too timid to confront, and so now I will hide behind her words: “Even if you don’t work for a small business, if we all go away, where will the community groups go for their donations? Who will sell the tickets for Woman’s Club functions; make donations for the PFA fundraisers; place ads in your group’s ad books; hang your event signage; donate silent auction items and sponsor the civic events? If you think the big retail chains will, you are very wrong.”
In the last month I have received several requests for donations, ads, and auction items from some very upstanding and outstanding community groups. Requests will only increase as the holidays draw near. When I look at the signatures at the bottoms of the letters, I don’t recognize the names. I should know them. If these people have the chutzpah to ask me for money, I would think they would have the common sense to at least make a token purchase at my business and introduce themselves. Imagine the talk around Blue Island if I openly refused to put up signs for Spaghetti Dinners, Vegas Nights, Boy Scout Troops, etc. Worse yet, imagine the outcry if I demanded $5.00 a piece to put up the signs. Community support is a two way street.
Amy asked the question: “When we choose to shop in the big chain stores, can we follow the money trail back into our community?” Let me tell you, I was recently at Target in Crestwood. At the cash register there is a list of the schools they donate to. Guess what? There is not one Blue Island school on that list. Not one.
So once again I ask every man, woman, and child to spend their $5.00 a day in Blue Island. If you are a current customer of mine, let me know what civic groups you belong to, or which local charities you would like us to support, and when those donation request letters come in, I guarantee you that checks will go out.
Candace Carr
CARR home-garden-holiday
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