I had to go to mall today to meet someone. I don’t go to the mall very much anymore. I don’t like to go to just shop and if I’m eating out, I can’t see going to the food court in the mall to get a good meal. But today, it was convenient to meet someone at the mall for a meal.
It’s Christmas time and everyone in Joplin was at the mall or trying to get there. (I know you are saying that’s an exaggeration – but it’s not, everyone was at the mall or trying to get there and it’s only December 2. What’s the rush?
But back to my pet peeve! I only go to the mall once every three months and that’s not to shop, oh yeah, we’ve all ready discussed this. I’m at the mall and it’s crowded out in the parking lot. Now, I’m not looking for the closest place to the mall, I’m just looking for a parking place, any place within 3 miles of the food court doors would be great. So, like any good mall parker, I sought out someone that was leaving the mall. They are easy to spot. They are walking away from the doors with packages in their arms, looking as if they had just spent their very last dollar and maybe they just had done that, I really don’t know, but it is obvious they are leaving.
So, I begin to stalk the shopper. I say stalk, but because that was what I was doing. I had to quickly turn from the parking isle I was in and race around to get behind this shopper. It is as if I in my car are providing protection for them incase a thief is lurking somewhere between cars to pounce upon her and steal all of her presents. So, I am there not just to get a parking place, I am providing a service to this very tired and poor mall shopper.
I am proud because not am I just coming to meet with someone, I’m providing protection for the weary and going to get a pretty good parking place.
We arrive at her car; you would think that it is obvious that I have in my car been slowly driving behind this person the entire time. She opens the back latch of her minivan; she takes every package and meticulously places each of them in the back of her car. After this, she slowly closes the back hatch, looks around at the warm sun and has to see that I have been protecting her this entire time.
Finally, she finds her keys, opens her car door, gets in the car and starts a 10 minute routine of: looking through her purse for her makeup bag, taking out some of the contents to now rearrange her eye makeup, lipstick, touch up a spot on her nose and fluff up her hair. Now she goes through her purse to check for her phone, which obviously has suddenly come alive with messages that she needs to take care of right now. Doesn’t she see me waiting patiently for the spot that I protected her for? She now answers a few of the messages, starts her car and rearranges her mirror, seat-belt and suddenly gets another call that has to be taken care of while her car is in reverse and she sets there with her foot on the brakes. Oh, if only I had parked on the other side of the mall.