Here's a sweet story of the very last time I was inside a mall. It was the day Mr. Peasant, and I bought our wedding rings. I remember looking at four different shops, and the Kay Jewelers sales girl went through her typical greeting of "So how long have you been together?" I told her we had been together for 3 months, and she was visibly shocked. She even called out to another sales girl "Hey you're never gonna believe this! They've only known each other three months!" I thought if the wedding ring sales lady was that shocked that really meant we were rare! She had met hundreds of couples, and she hadn't heard of that before. True love, folks.
We finally picked our two yellow gold plain bands at JCPenny. I think the total for both rings was $400.00. We put them on right then in the middle of the mall tossing our boxes in the 80's concrete trash can. I was a little overwhelmed with how shiny my new yellow band was and just felt it was too flashy. So, when we got home, Mr. Peasant took his knife sharpener stone and ran the band over it a few times to dull it with scratches. It worked perfectly.
That was seven years ago. I haven't been inside a mall in since then. I just don't think the mall near us is safe and obviously nobody else does either. It is a dying mall. Think about that for a minute. The mall isn't safe.
I remember as a child the mall would be packed. Your parents had an emergency meet up location just in case you got lost in the packed mall. The mall was so filled with people it had a traffic flow you had to keep up with. My first Job was at a mall in the food court. The old ladies would walk the mall because it was so safe. What the hell happened?
SAFETY IN NUMBERS. LESS PEOPLE = LESS SAFETY.
I realize some malls are doing great and are very safe. My thoughts are about why some malls are dying. When malls were packed with shoppers, I think we benefited from a form of protection from the crowd. You could even go shopping alone because it was guaranteed you would be surrounded by fish. These were stranger fish but fish none the less. This automatic shoal helped with shopping independence since you didn't have to arrange meeting up with friends to shop. The mall had a built in safety feature from being packed. In today's retail apocalypse, a huge empty retail space feels creepy. Maybe the lack of people shopping creates a less safe environment? Are we too cool for school? These fish know what schooling is all about.
Wikipedia excerpt on Shoaling here:
In biology, any group of fish that stay together for social reasons are shoaling and if the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are schooling. In common usage, the terms are sometimes used rather loosely. About one quarter of fish species shoal all their lives, and about one half shoal for part of their lives. Fish use many traits to choose shoalmates. Generally they prefer larger shoals, shoalmates of their own species, shoalmates similar in size and appearance to themselves, healthy fish, and kin (when recognized).
Fish derive many benefits from shoaling behaviour including defence against predators (through better predator detection and by diluting the chance of individual capture), enhanced foraging success, and higher success in finding a mate.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
SHOPPING ONLY BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO
The concept of shopping as a leisure activity rather than a chore is dying. I hate shopping, and it's for good reason. Companies and the general public have made shopping awful. I don't think today's lower incomes help either.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Hanging out with the public can be exhausting. Just to get the basics in our small town, we have to go to Walmart. Walmart is one place that is always packed with people. We refuse to go to our Walmart at night due to crime, and we skip shopping there during the first of the month because it is Christmastime packed. You have dangerous drivers in the parking lot. There are emotional support dogs crapping in the bushes. Then, you try to navigate the grocery aisle traffic jams of carts and scooters. Finally, you must choose to be your own cashier checking yourself out, or you can wait in line for 45 minutes to be checked out by a poor overworked lady at the register. It always takes longer to check out than to do our entire shopping. And may Heaven help you if you have to use the public restroom!
With the rise of crime, some towns now want 24 hour Walmarts to close over night to relieve their local police from having to be security guards for the largest retailer in the world. This amounts to a subsidy paid for by the taxpayers. Walmart wants you to be a free cashier and your county police force to be a free security team. I just read about a woman in a Texas Walmart that was caught licking an ice cream container and putting it back into the freezer case! And now, another older gentleman copy cat licked an ice cream container. In the old general stores, the products would be behind the counters. This makes sense after reading those disgusting stories of licking containers. It may be time for a reassessment of our public trust. I haven't updated my public trust since the 90s.
❤WORTH A LISTEN❤
Thinking about our ring story gets me a little sentimental. Here's a beautiful love jam. This guy is old school and amazing. Enjoy.
Lee Fields It Rains Love
So tell me have you changed the way you shop? Have you experienced being in a empty store or felt uncomfortable while shopping? When was the last time you went to a mall? Thank you for reading, grab a shopping buddy and God be with you!
I realize some malls are doing great and are very safe. My thoughts are about why some malls are dying. When malls were packed with shoppers, I think we benefited from a form of protection from the crowd. You could even go shopping alone because it was guaranteed you would be surrounded by fish. These were stranger fish but fish none the less. This automatic shoal helped with shopping independence since you didn't have to arrange meeting up with friends to shop. The mall had a built in safety feature from being packed. In today's retail apocalypse, a huge empty retail space feels creepy. Maybe the lack of people shopping creates a less safe environment? Are we too cool for school? These fish know what schooling is all about.
 |
| By Uxbona - Own work, CC BY 3.0,pic info |
Wikipedia excerpt on Shoaling here:
In biology, any group of fish that stay together for social reasons are shoaling and if the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are schooling. In common usage, the terms are sometimes used rather loosely. About one quarter of fish species shoal all their lives, and about one half shoal for part of their lives. Fish use many traits to choose shoalmates. Generally they prefer larger shoals, shoalmates of their own species, shoalmates similar in size and appearance to themselves, healthy fish, and kin (when recognized).
Fish derive many benefits from shoaling behaviour including defence against predators (through better predator detection and by diluting the chance of individual capture), enhanced foraging success, and higher success in finding a mate.
 |
| By Gordon Firestein - Seacology USA, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22766988 |
AFTER:
One controversial aspect of malls has been their effective displacement of traditional main streets or high streets. Some consumers prefer malls, with their parking garages, controlled environments, and private security guards, over central business districts or downtowns, which frequently have limited parking, poor maintenance, outdoor weather, and limited police coverage.
SHOPPING ONLY BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO
The concept of shopping as a leisure activity rather than a chore is dying. I hate shopping, and it's for good reason. Companies and the general public have made shopping awful. I don't think today's lower incomes help either.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Hanging out with the public can be exhausting. Just to get the basics in our small town, we have to go to Walmart. Walmart is one place that is always packed with people. We refuse to go to our Walmart at night due to crime, and we skip shopping there during the first of the month because it is Christmastime packed. You have dangerous drivers in the parking lot. There are emotional support dogs crapping in the bushes. Then, you try to navigate the grocery aisle traffic jams of carts and scooters. Finally, you must choose to be your own cashier checking yourself out, or you can wait in line for 45 minutes to be checked out by a poor overworked lady at the register. It always takes longer to check out than to do our entire shopping. And may Heaven help you if you have to use the public restroom!
With the rise of crime, some towns now want 24 hour Walmarts to close over night to relieve their local police from having to be security guards for the largest retailer in the world. This amounts to a subsidy paid for by the taxpayers. Walmart wants you to be a free cashier and your county police force to be a free security team. I just read about a woman in a Texas Walmart that was caught licking an ice cream container and putting it back into the freezer case! And now, another older gentleman copy cat licked an ice cream container. In the old general stores, the products would be behind the counters. This makes sense after reading those disgusting stories of licking containers. It may be time for a reassessment of our public trust. I haven't updated my public trust since the 90s.
❤WORTH A LISTEN❤
Thinking about our ring story gets me a little sentimental. Here's a beautiful love jam. This guy is old school and amazing. Enjoy.
Lee Fields It Rains Love
So tell me have you changed the way you shop? Have you experienced being in a empty store or felt uncomfortable while shopping? When was the last time you went to a mall? Thank you for reading, grab a shopping buddy and God be with you!
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
ECCLESIASTES 4:12
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