Today is your Oak Lawn Patch’s second anniversary. I am more excited about this date—October 21—than I am my own birthday.

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In the past two years I’ve gotten to view Oak Lawn from all angles—through the bars of the Oak Lawn slammer to the bars on 95^th Street, from the village board room to the board walk at Wolfe Wildlife Refuge.

I’ve seen what we can accomplish when we all work together as a community—organize carnivals and lemonade stands for sick children, raise monuments, hoist giant inflatable pumpkins on the village green, start neighborhood watches and use any excuse to hold a parade.

Since Oak Lawn became Patchy we’ve found four lost dogs. Last night, on our Facebook page, we found a kid.

There are a lot of moving parts to Patch, which often require me to make quick editorial decisions on little sleep. I know I have disappointed some, but even with eight hours of sleep, I probably would have made the same decisions again. You have never hesitated to let me know how I can make Patch better with your wonderful South Side directness.

I hope you’ve had fun because it has been a joy and a privilege bringing Patch to you every day. Not a day goes by when I don't think of how I can become better at my job for you.

Together we’ll keep speaking truth to power because I know that when someone in power tells me I’m smart, it usually means they think I’m an idiot.

I am so grateful to our many thousands of readers, our 2,168 Facebook fans, and to everyone who has stopped me on the street or at the grocery store to tell me how much you like Patch.

It makes me so proud. Thank-you.

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