I’m solidly Gen-X. I grew up during the heyday of the shopping mall. The closest mall to our small town was Penn Can Mall in the suburbs of Syracuse. I can still remember strolling the corridors and visiting the bookstores, the anchor stores, and especially the two record stores (Gerber Music and RecordTown). I also always made a stop into Radio Shack because I liked being a geek.
I still like being a geek.
With everyone in a hurry and with their nose buried in their smartphones, folks don’t have as much of an interest in the shopping mall. Many malls across the country are dying or are long gone, but here in the desert southwest we have a few malls that are still quite enjoyable.
One of my favorite malls of all time is Scottsdale Fashion Square. Located in trendy Scottsdale, folks from all walks of life seem to visit this mall and it’s been quite busy every time we’ve stopped in. Yesterday we walked the perimeter of the mall twice (lower and upper floors) and clocked in a 2 1/2 mile walk.
The people watching was amazing.
People watching is awesome and in the 21st century of all things tech, and especially since COVID, it’s not something that people do much these days. But I revel in it. I could sit in an airport or a mall or a busy park and just watch folks for hours. It’s one of the reasons I love traveling all over the country. The people watching is fascinating.
Life is fascinating. It’s wonderful to get out there and experience it.
