From: owner-eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org (eda-thoughts-digest) To: eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org Subject: eda-thoughts-digest V1 #50 Reply-To: eda-thoughts@smoe.org Sender: owner-eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk eda-thoughts-digest Wednesday, June 10 1998 Volume 01 : Number 050 Today's Subjects: ----------------- ET: Re: today's thoughts ["Kevin B. Pease" Subject: ET: Re: today's thoughts >> vonfam@rapfire.net writes: >am I the only one that finds malls depressing? I hardly >ever go anymore...it just is so depressing for me. I agree wholeheartedly - it's not just you. I spent three and a half years working at a convenience-type store at a mall near where I live, and at first it was sort of neat, getting to see all sorts of different people. But then you start to notice the little things. The same faces day in and day out, especially the older folks who come in... you get to realize that you're some of the only friendly human interaction these people have on a daily basis, and that they're very lonely. With a lot of them, they'd come in, spend some money on lottery tickets, and then stand there talking with me for a half hour or so at a time. I got to know a couple of them very well in that time, and after a short time, it was apparent that these people had been 'forgotten' by their families (except during the holidays). That, for me, was one of the most depressing things about being in the mall, and why I still find it depressing to go to the mall and see all the elderly folks sitting around in there by themselves. (The moral of the story - if you've got some grandparents that you still have the opportunity to spend time with, but don't... make an effort to spend some time with them now and then. Imagine how lonely you would be if your family just stopped talking to you, and a lot of your friends had passed away, and you couldn't get around too well anymore. Not a pretty thought, I'd bet.) Anyway, that's a big part of why I find malls depressing... I'm sure I could think of other depressing stuff about the mall, but that was one of the most depressing parts of the mall, and a big reason why I still don't really like malls. Kevin - ---------- Kevin Pease kbpease@boston.crosswinds.net (ICQ UIN: 3106063) http://www.wpi.edu/~kestrel "I'm sure no one will wonder where I've gone to, but if anyone should ask from time to time - Tell 'em that you finally drove me crazy, And I'm somewhere untanglin' my mind..." (Clint Black) ------------------------------ End of eda-thoughts-digest V1 #50 *********************************