I visited a mall for the first time in 3 years this week. The last time I visited a mall was when I needed to go to the Apple store in Tucson after my iPhone died when I was living on the road. Coincidentally, this week’s mall visit was to go to the Apple store in Raleigh to get my Macbook’s battery replaced.
I was planning to check out a few stores while there. I went to the NorthFace Store on my way to the Apple store. After wandering through it for 3 minutes, I realized there was nothing that I needed or wanted.
I planned to check out some sneakers at two of the sporting goods stores. Instead, I decided to skip it altogether since I had just purchased new sneakers last week.
While my battery was being replaced, I wandered around the Apple store to check out the new iPads and accessories. After looking at the specs and prices, I decided my 7 year old iPad is just fine. It doesn’t have enough storage to load many apps, but since I use it primarily for Internet browsing and Amazon, I can’t justify spending $500 for a newer one with more storage.
The mall was busy. There were plenty of teenagers, parents with small children and adults shopping and meandering about. The Apple store was packed with about 75 people.
Peoples were buying new phones, clothes, iPads, and consuming junk food (Auntie Ann’s, ChikFilA, Cinnabon, McDonald’s, Smoothies, etc.).
There was literally nothing in the mall that I wanted, other than the battery for my MacBook. I got it and left.
The mall wasn’t so packed that it made me antsy. I was able to walk without bumming into people. There were spaces in the parking lot. Some people even wore masks and social distanced although I observed at least 4 different people coughing up a lung while not being social distanced or masked. Given our recent rise in Covid cases locally, I stayed as far away from these people as possible.
When I was a teenager, I hung out at the mall. I had friends who worked there. We would try to pick up girls there. We bought our clothes from the Gap, gifts from Spensers and pizza if it wasn’t from Sbarro’s.
During the long dreary Pittsburgh Winters, the mall was a place we could socialize, mess around and hang out in relative comfort under climate control.
Today, it’s one of the last places you’ll ever find me.
I suspect the next time I go to the mall will be to eat at one of the restaurants, visit the Apple store for a repair or see a movie. Given my track record, that may be a few years down the road.