Not my photo.  Borrowed from public domain stock.

The local newspaper had an article about half a dozen stores closing at the nearby mall.  My family went, hoping to catch some going-out-of-business deals only to find that most of the stores were already closed.  They said the mall was a sad, empty place and that they did not want to go back.

Supposedly the casino that is negotiating for space in the mall is really happy about what is going on.  I am not sure why.  When the casino had been first proposed, one goal was to bring traffic into the mall complex in order to keep retail businesses alive.  Now that two of the four anchor stores are gone, I can’t imagine that anyone will want to remain paying over-inflated rent there.  I expect the few remaining store to close soon, too.

I am glad that last year I tried to stock up on everything I could to last me the rest of my forever.  There are some items I simply do not trust to online purchases, and the local teeny-tiny Walmart doesn’t carry.

I am sad to see the days of in-person shopping gone not only for nostalgic purposes but for those who can’t afford phones for online shopping and payment.

My boys aren’t worried, but maybe they should be.  What happens when PetSmart is online-only?  Where will they go to catch up with friends and meet potential new siblings on Adoption Day?

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