I spent part of this weekend at a mall, and it led me to reflect upon the many intersections of my life with various shopping malls. Depending on the generation to which you belong, this may be a trip down memory lane (Gen X) or the most boring and pointless piece you’ve ever read. Also, I have no idea how this will (or will not) resonate with audiences outside of the United States; feel free to leave a comment.
Then
My memories of Westland Mall go back to before the mall was covered with a roof. I remember going shopping there with my mother on a rainy day, and dashing from one doorway to the next to avoid the raindrops. The mall also gave me one of my first pony rides; every so often, during the summer, a contractor would set up outside one of the entrances with a contraption that put the tamest ponies in the world in their traces and let them plod around in a circle for a few minutes. I don’t know exactly when this happened — I think it was after the roof was added — but I was young enough to be absolutely thrilled.
After the roof was added, seasonal events took place in the open areas of the mall. There was a visit with Santa, a visit with the Easter Bunny, and sometimes musical events or magic shows. One particular set-piece was a display of penguins “skating” on simulated ice.
Going to the mall was a big deal in the early 1980s, especially for kids from out in the country (where I now lived, having moved from Columbus’s West Side [Hilltop] in the summer of 1977). Behind the mall was a strip mall that contained an arcade and a movie theater; it was at that theater that I watched, though slightly underage, the movies Flashdance and Beverly Hills Cop, having smuggled in snacks that I had purchased from the Woolworth’s in the mall proper.
My first real job was at JCPenney’s in Westland Mall. I worked in the Mens’ Department in the summer of 1985, where I learned how many pins are in an button-down shirt (all of which you need to remove), my ethics with regard to swapping out change for a buffalo nickel in the till (I refused), and how many people shoplift jeans and try to get a cash return (too many). I returned to JCP in the summer of 1986 to find that I didn’t have a job there because I “hadn’t given them advance notice” that I would be returning. I retaliated by applying for a job at Domino’s on my way home from the mall. After I spent a week answering the phone and cleaning the windows at the pizza place, Penney’s called me with an offer to rehire me in Linens, where I spent the rest of my “career” with JCPenney. Note: minimum wage was $3.70 an hour in 1986.
I never saved a dime from my job at Penney’s because I used all the money, in addition to my employee discount, to shop at special sales where I could purchase clothes that complied with the strict dress code. No patch pockets, no blue jeans…. But one lasting benefit of the job was my first credit card. Penney’s knew I didn’t earn enough to qualify for the card, but since I was an employee they couldn’t turn me down.
Many years later, my beloved took me out to dinner (and drinks) at the Chi-Chi’s at the mall, after his homemade dinner proved too spicy for me to eat.
These days (literally) Westland Mall is being demolished. There’s a Facebook Group that shares still pictures and drone videos of the teardown, and the group also gives those of us who came of age at the mall a place to share our memories.
Now
This weekend I visited a mall in one of Milwaukee’s suburbs. Although JCPenney’s remained as one of the mall’s anchors, Boston Store was empty and the food court was nearly deserted. One of the few food vendors in the court was a place called Arepa’s, where I ordered a vegan arepa and a side of sweet fried plantains (sorry, Starliner Diner). I nibbled on the blazing-hot plantain slices, took the leftovers with me, and didn’t try to dipping sauces until I got home hours later. OMG try the dipping sauces, folks!
Westland Mall’s food options back in the day were an Orange Julius, a place where I could get bagels with cream cheese, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, the super-classy restaurant at Lazarus, a Mark Pi place, the Woolworth’s lunch counter until it was taken out, and a Wendy’s next to the Chi-Chi’s. I never could have conceived of being able to order Venezuelan food in a mall.
One-third to one-half of the spaces in the mall were empty. I sat in the center and worked on a knitting project (cf. below) between a “We Fix” kiosk and a tall video screen that, on a loop, displayed Halloween-oriented recipes and makeup tips. At one point I set down my knitting just so I could finally discover the food item on which “Edible Intestines” was based (cinnamon roll dough).
Eventually one of the “We Fix” owners approached me, complimented my knitting, and offered me his business card. A few minutes later, a young Asian girl worried about the End Times invited me to her open Bible study. People with various disabilities walked laps around the perimeter of the mall’s interior. The mall itself seemed eternal.
A week after being potted, the peach seedling didn’t show much sign of growth — but it was still alive. I watered it and put it back in the window. The remaining seeds didn’t show any evidence of rooting, and I cracked the lid of the plastic container when I checked on them. Goodbye to the rest of the setup; I’ll take the peach seedling to work for more sun and regular watering if nothing changes in the next week.
Knitwise, I have been knitting 2-4 rows every day after casting on for a shallow-but-wide shawl from the marled purple skein. It’s soothing. The pattern right now is kf&b, k1, YO, k to end; repeat. I won’t change anything until the last 2 rows, which should be (k1, YO) across, end K1; BO.
I’m on the third stripe of the Stripe Scarf after restarting on smaller needles. I had a GP to watch this weekend, so I was able to make progress building on what I knitted at the mall (cf. above). Winter is far away, but the chilly weather has already arrived. I need to keep up the pace.
Chocolate Sheep 