I had to go to the mall yesterday,. Yes, the MALL. I haven’t been to a mall in over two years! I was dreading it because i knew what I would find.
Sure enough, as I drove up, the parking lot was empty. I walked in and there is a heaviness, and eeriness almost.
I struck up conversation with a woman working in the store and she expressed the same sentiment. She was telling me how she dreads coming to work now and how she used to work at a mall where employees had to be bussed in because it was so busy.
Granted, I am not a big shopper (in fact, I hate shopping, much to the dismay of my daughter) but malls have some level of nostalgia and comfort.
As a young kid, the mall was THE place to go to spend a Saturday. You could dress up, meet up with your friends, get an Orange Julius, try on clothes and makeup and lurk around the dark corners of Spencers.
When I was in college at Old Dominion University, I worked at the mall for extra money and because it was a cool place to be.
I have memories of going to the mall with my mom (who LOVED shopping) when I was a kid and later, as Alzheimer’s set in because she felt comfortable there, we could walk, see other people, and eat lunch together.
When my kids were young, it was the outdoor mall (The Avenues) that was the place to go. Middle schoolers really had no other place to go to hang out, eat without their parents, and hope that their secret crush showed up too. Now, even that space is morphed into something kids would never consider going to visit. Restaurants have closed, shops have gone out of business, every other spot is vacant, weird/out of place businesses have moved in and the energy is just off.
As I left and was driving out of the parking lot, I noticed the giant circus looking tent with cars all around it. COVIS Rapid Testing Center, the sign read. ((Sigh)) People are now flocking to the mall to have a medical procedure done in a PARKING LOT. If you would have told me this would happen, I would have said, “no way” but here we are. More people in the Rapid Test tent than in the mall.
It really makes me sad. It is the culmination of decades of the demise of brick and mortar stores to the more popular and convenient e-commerce giants. It is, most recently, a depiction of our society moving away from each other and into their own isolation. Don’t go out at all, if you do, social distance, wear a mask so people can’t see you smile or say “Hi”,
I try to stay pretty positive generally but this trip to the mall really made me sad. I will be OK but I will keep fighting for people, especially kids, to be able to act out our normal expression as human beings – needing and thriving on human contact, conversation, and interaction.
Go out, be around other people, let others see your face and smile! You will be amazed at how much better you feel.
And to the malls across this great U. S. of A. You had a great run. Rest In Peace.
https://www.mdjonline.com/cobb_business_journal/lenders-foreclose-on-town-center-mall/article_cb566c26-6594-11eb-8d42-1f933a8d58fd.html