Like Whatever
All things Gen-X. Take a stroll down memory lane, drink from a hose, and ride until the street lights come on. We discuss the past, present, and future of the forgotten generation. Come on slackers, fuck around and find out with us!
Like Whatever
Mall Misadventures And Food Court Follies
Can shopping malls still hold the thrill they did in the 80s and 90s, or have they become relics of the past? Heather and I take a heartwarming stroll down memory lane, sharing vibrant stories of holiday chaos and the unique quirks of being state and federal employees during the festive season. From preparing Thanksgiving feasts filled with beloved dishes like mashed potatoes and homemade gravy to the earworm charm of our AI-crafted theme song, we invite you to join us for a cozy chat about the joys of holiday preparations and nostalgic memories with family and friends.
Our exploration of mall culture takes center stage as we revisit the bustling shopping centers that were once the epicenter of teenage life. Join us as we relive the freedom of arcade adventures, rebellious ear piercings, and the thrill of working in stores like Wilson's Leather and Wild Pair. The narrative shifts to the evolution of malls, their metamorphosis into mixed-use developments, and their potential to transform into community spaces. Whether you're a Gen Xer longing for the past or someone curious about the cultural impact of malls, our stories promise to evoke nostalgia and a sense of connection.
The episode's journey wouldn't be complete without a nod to unforgettable mall moments in film and food. We reminisce about iconic pop culture references, from Tiffany's musical influence to beloved mall food court staples like Orange Julius and Cinnabon. As we encourage listeners to share their own mall stories and memories on social media, we anticipate a delightful exchange of quirky tales and sentimental reflections. Don't miss this heartfelt episode filled with laughter, cherished memories, and a celebration of a bygone era that continues to shape our cultural landscape.
Two best friends. We're talking the past, from mid-sapes to arcades. We're having a blast Teenage dreams, neon screens, it was all rad and no one knew me Like you know. It's like whatever. Together forever, we're never gonna sever Laughing and sharing our stories. Forever We'll take you back. It's like whatever.
Nicole:Welcome to Like Whatever a podcast for, by and about Gen X, I'm Nicole and this is my BFFF.
Heather:Heather, Hello. So how was your week? It was alright. How was your week? We're ramping up for Christmas here at the post office.
Nicole:Yeah, I'm ramping up in this house. There's three trees up so far. Yeah, I saw all three of them.
Heather:I noted each and every one.
Nicole:My husband was like do you really need two trees in the living room? I was like, yes, he's. Like, okay, you don't, but I did spare you the tree in the podcast room that he thought would be hilarious to put in here, since you hate Christmas, I appreciate it.
Heather:Because I'm not a dick, I'm going to bring a black one in.
Nicole:That's fine. It can sit right in that corner back there. We could.
Heather:That would be nice. Yeah, yeah. So that was it. I'm just ramping up for christmas. It's just, yeah, starting to get a little bit busy at the post office. So, yeah, this is a slow time for me at work. I love it must be nice.
Heather:yes, I mean it'll be nice again in like january when I won't have to but you know we record on tuesday so this is before thanksgiving, so, uh, next, the next few days are going to be hell for me, actually, probably next week, because of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and all that. That's when it really starts kicking off.
Nicole:Yeah, I have a short week this week, thank goodness, one of the benefits of being a state employee.
Heather:Yeah, you'd think, because I was a federal worker I would get those benefits too. But no, it's kind of the opposite. Is the opposite very unfair?
Nicole:yeah, I have. I did decide, though, after last week, not knowing what I'm doing this week, I've decided to cook. Oh right, right right. Thanksgiving yes, so I've got a turkey. My nephew is coming over Excellent, we're going to watch football. Cool, we're going to make a shit ton of food. I love that. I love making food for people, so I'm actually pretty excited.
Heather:Will there be leftovers for the next time I'm here?
Nicole:Probably I'm making a lot of food for three people I'm going to make mashed potatoes.
Heather:I am making mashed potatoes. That's what I'm going to need. That's my favorite Thanksgiving food Homemade gravy. Yeah, okay, I'll be looking forward to my leftovers.
Nicole:I'm going to stuff the bird. I'm going to make the stuffing.
Heather:It's full of salmonella. That's the best way to have it. It is Salmonella-esque Loaded. I ate it as a kid. We didn't die.
Nicole:No, we did not.
Heather:We didn't die over a lot of things that we probably should have died over. But you know that is true, nobody cared about us. No, and no one still cares about us. It's very sad. Yeah, I wanted to tell you that my co-worker has said that our theme song is an earworm. Uh, I just want to let anybody who doesn't know. I made that song you did with the amazing. Well, I mean, okay, so I didn't make that song. I technically made that song, but a computer made that song. No, you definitely did credit. You crushed it. That's ai, yes, and I just described what I wanted to do and it did it. Um, so yeah, but yeah, my co-worker says it's an earworm and wishes he could listen to the, the whole thing. So I don't know.
Nicole:Maybe I'll try and figure out how to make the song longer and you're yes it's impressive, I uh yeah, I most times forget what ai even stands for, let alone knowing how to use it. Artificial intelligence no, I know right now.
Heather:Okay, sometimes I might forget it's crazy, it is crazy, it's crazy this artificial intelligence nonsense, but I did not. A friend of mine told me that you could do it, because when we first decided to do this, when you first decided to do this, because when we first decided to do this, when you first decided, when I first decided to do this, I reached out to my friend who, um, I was a big sister with big brother's big sister. She was also a big, she was big sister of the year. Okay, okay, it was 2014, but still it was 10 years ago. Awesome. Shout out to e-money Elena, I am, I still see my little sister. She is, she is the mother of two now and she is, I guess, like 24, 25 now. Yeah, she's an old lady, she is, yeah, and um, yeah, so I still see her. Anyway. Um, she also a big sister and she is in a local band called the Ginger Band with her husband, nancy Curry is her name.
Heather:She plays locally. She is also in a band called the Funsters and she plays around here a lot. Anyway, more to my point. But hey, nancy, she, I asked her about how much it would cost to do like a theme song or you know if she would be willing to do it, and she said she would love to but she didn't have the equipment right now and yada, yada, yada. So she said there's a lot of AI programs that will do it for you.
Heather:And I was like I'll give it a go and I found that, and after I don't know 400 of them different genres of music, different things we finally ended up with this one. So yeah, I'm quite happy with it. It's catchy yeah I really love it. It's very catchy yep so you did a great job, thank Thank you yeah.
Nicole:Thank you.
Heather:We also have another shout out.
Nicole:Oh yes, my friend Eric. He with his brother Darren and his daughter Cameron have a podcast called the brothers camper. That's very good. Yeah, it is. They are very funny, yes, and they do a lot of reminiscing about the past, kind of like we do. So it's fun to hear their perspectives. And there are others, like we did the one on Saturday Morning Cartoons, and they also did one, but they kind of did different cartoons than we did, right, and they did it like different than we did. So it was, I don't know, it was fun to listen to. Yes, they are a lot of fun. Again, the Brothers Camper, wherever you get podcasts give them a try.
Heather:It was very nice of them. They gave us a shout out on their latest.
Nicole:They did, we heard it and thank you so so much.
Heather:You can find them on all anywhere that podcasts are. It's very entertaining.
Nicole:Yes. And they're also on the socials as well, or at least Facebook, and.
Heather:I know they have the same issue as us with the Facebook, so follow them on Facebook and comment on their stuff and like share rate review yes, for any time you hear a new podcast. That's really important is the ratings and the reviews and stuff yes, especially in Apple Correct or on socials. Just like the page, yeah, and then you can hide our posts if you don't want to see anything. Yeah, you can just tell us to shut the hell up. No one gives a shit about what you're selling. You can ghost us, as the kids say these days we don't care, we don't care, we don't care. Also, this week we um went on a little adventure yep, to newcastle or newark, and we had dinner at a lovely restaurant and we had mozzarella sticks. And what is the deal with nobody having mozzarella sticks anymore?
Nicole:Because they're all trying to have all these fancy like hipster which. There's nothing wrong with those appetizers they are delicious as well although they do include a lot of things that you won't eat.
Heather:No, and there's nothing better. I mean, fried cheese is fried cheese.
Nicole:Yes, and I do appreciate. Like there's a restaurant around the corner from me. They do their own version of a mozzarella stick, which is amazing, but you know you have to have mozzarella sticks and they're dirt cheap. I know I don't understand it. Like, why wouldn't you have them? They should come for you at every table when you sit down. Agreed.
Heather:I don't know why. I mean, you know Mexican restaurants give out chips and queso. Why cannot every restaurant give?
Nicole:out mozzarella sticks. Agreed, we should start a petition.
Heather:What is it Somethinggovcom?
Nicole:What is it, govorg MozzarellaSticksgov.
Heather:Govorg, is that the one where you make a petition to the government?
Nicole:Well, we're going to have to Changeorg.
Heather:Oh, that's the one. Changeorg and change the world. One mozzarella stick at a time. Yeah, I think it's a good idea. Yeah, oh, so that's it. I think that's. Yeah, we had a good time. We did. We always do. I had a cheeseburger, you always do. Peruge, a big cheeseburger aficionado. Yes, um. So let's fuck around and find out about the mall, the mall. I got my information from the life and death of the american mall by matthew christopher. Why malls were so important in the 80s for teens, by monica reed. And meet me by the fountain. And inside history of the mall by alexandra lang. I love that name, by the way.
Nicole:Meet me by the fountain. Yeah, yeah, I mean, where else did you meet except maybe like in front of sears, if you were parked down that way or something? I'll get to that.
Heather:Oh okay, sorry let me tell you. Let me tell you about the mall. I'm ready. Uh, the first contemporary enclosed suburban shopping mall was the south dell shopping center in edina, minnesota, in 1956. Okay, it's still in use today too, by the way. Yeah, sweet, not a lot of them are still around, but that one, that one is, um, the whole. So the whole reason they made malls is because of the suburban, the exodus to the suburbs. So everybody was leaving cities and going to the suburbs and there was no real. Everybody was used to everything being on two blocks and you just, you know, did the block and everything. You had everything you needed right there, and that's where everybody met and socialized. And in the suburbs they just really didn't have. Everybody was so spread out and it was so car centric and nobody walked anymore that there was really no nothing. So malls were set up to mimic a city street I did not know that, yeah.
Heather:So if you think about it, like the anchor and then the hallway and there's all the little shops and stuff, and then another anchor and it's it's basically a city block. It's the way it was mimicked city streets. Oh, so that's where you could get your hair done, you could buy groceries, visit the bank and enjoy an art installation all in one bank. I'm one place because they were these designers and these malls were like. I mean, everything I read was they were into the art of the buildings. Oh, yes, yes. So everything had to be fancy, schmancy, with sculptures and hence the fountains. And there, um, a lot of them had the big giant atriums and they would put I don't know if you remember, but I know salisbury did the new mall, um, had the big atrium and had exotic plants in there, and they did that so that you saw what you were doing going somewhere with all these fancy pants, palm trees.
Nicole:Well, the Blue Hen Mall. Most of it has been reconstructed into other things. The Blue Hen Mall for those not from this area was the mall when we were kids. It had a Woolworth. It was awesome, didn't it have Woolworth? It had a Woolworth, it was awesome, didn't it have wool work? It had a wool work, oh yeah, but it had the atriums as well, and all of the plants. And actually the other end, where they haven't done as much construction, there are still plants in there and there's still skylights, so a lot of the original artwork is still in there too, speaking of which, If you Google malls, there is not a lot of.
Heather:So this episode is going to be a lot of walking down memory lane for us, because there is not a lot of information on malls specifically. It's mostly pictures of malls and the old malls, and stuff.
Nicole:But we're Gen X, so we are technically the experts on malls, on malls. We've pretty much lived in malls and the old malls and stuff. But we're Gen X, so we are technically the experts on malls, on malls.
Heather:We pretty much lived in malls. But in the first mall they did have a restaurant that mimicked a sidewalk cafe. It had umbrellas and everything on its thing. That was kind of cool. But the heyday of the mall was the 80s and that is when we all remember the mall skylights, plants, fountains, and they were also 80 like, even though most of these malls were built before the 80s. They all just looked, they just smell like the 80s. I think you know why.
Nicole:They smell like smoke and dracar noir and yeah, because you could smoke in the mall back then you could smoke in the mall back then sculptures. You could smoke everywhere. You could smoke on an airplane you could.
Heather:I remember my june no 10th grade I think it was 10th grade we went to france and you could smoke on the airplanes going to france yeah, went to New Orleans when I was 18 and they smoked on the plane, then I think that was the last time you could smoke on a plane.
Heather:I don't know they got hip to it, um, the reason, the fountains and all that came in they. Also I don't know if you ever really thought about it and I had not thought about it until I did this there was a giant clock in every mall, because I mean, who doesn't like a giant clock? Yes, so giant clocks and I'm gonna keep saying it um, were in every mall because they wanted to have landmarks. So you can say to your kids I'm going into sears to buy shit, meet me at the clock in an hour.
Nicole:Here's five bucks for the arcade. Yes.
Heather:Leave me the hell alone while I shop for your shit at Sears. Yeah, so yeah, that's why they had all that and why it was set the way it was, so that you could, you know, have the landmarks and you can just be like, get out of here and go how, gen x, is it that our parents hand us money and we're like get the fuck away from us in a place where there are tons of strangers?
Heather:nothing but strangers, exactly. And yes, hey, we used to get dropped off, um like on a friday or saturday. Well, I didn't live close enough to a mall that we could do that regularly, cause it was like 45 minutes to Salisbury. But when I would spend the night with people who lived in Salisbury or anybody that lived closer to Dover, they would just drop you off at like seven o'clock and you were supposed to go to the movies or whatever, and then you just roamed the mall like a bunch of he heathens smoking cigarettes, cussing. Oh, getting it. I. I got my ears pierced so many times and then had to pull them back out before I got home and then had to get them reappeared a million times I know it made me sad for my kids when they hit that age.
Nicole:They would go to the mall occasionally, but not much. It's. There's nothing to do there anymore. It's not the malls that it was when we were kids and we were now. It's just a gathering place and I think there's a lot of fights and I think that a lot of kids aren't allowed in malls after a certain time and well, and then you got mall shootings and you know right, it's not the and all the anchors left, I mean all that went belly up.
Nicole:So yeah, I mean, what teenager wants to shop at boscoff's jc penny?
Heather:none, I didn't want to do it when I was a teenager. I still don't want to do it as an adult. No, I know you like bosco Bosco's. I do love Bosco's, but Nicole worked in the mall. I never worked in the mall, but Nicole has mall experience. I have a lot of mall experience. You tell me about your mall experience.
Nicole:All right, so I worked for Wilson's Leather.
Heather:Yes, that's the one.
Nicole:That was a big store when we were it was. Yeah, I actually started at Georgetown Leather, which was Wilson's Leather's finer prettier sister, it was the fancier of the two. Yes, yes, we didn't carry those heavy biker coats.
Heather:No, you didn't. We had the lighter leather.
Nicole:Yeah, we did.
Nicole:We actually sold like suede button-down shirts and stuff. Oh God, it was crazy. That's awful and a lot of leather accessories, but anyway, yeah. So I worked at the Georgetown Leather in one mall and then that was closing up so I had to go to another mall to work at Wilson's Leather, because I was a manager she's a fancy A system manager, excuse you, a manager of the leather, sure. So I went to that mall and that was a really bad mall because it was close to 95. Right, and close to state lines, so it was a really hot spot for people to come in and steal. This was the 90s too, this was later.
Heather:Yeah, so Late 90s Right.
Nicole:Because you were yeah, yeah, it was 96, 97, so, um, so, yeah. So this couple comes into the store we had just opened I had a co-worker working in the back I was her supervisor showing off um and you could. You could often tell people who were shoplifting because they would just grab things. They wouldn't look at sizes, they're just kind of tossing stuff on counters and trying to hurry. So it was pretty evident right away. It was what was going on. So back in those days you had to call in purchases that were over a certain amount Right To make sure the credit card company would accept it would accept that charge, um.
Nicole:So I told this couple that I had to call it in and while I was calling, it in the woman left and I'm on the phone whispering to the guy that I think it's a stolen card and he's like just give him back the card. But I put a death grip on this card. Dude comes around the counter, is like trying to pry my hand off. It slams me down to the ground. Never got the credit card.
Heather:She was not giving it up.
Nicole:It was like $75 reward. I think it was a platinum card, I know yeah.
Heather:It was a big reward. They were big rewards.
Nicole:And. I needed the money. I had a baby come. Yeah, she was pregnant. What are you gonna do? So but um, yeah, this is, she's pregnant during this situation also do not fuck around with nicole in the meantime, I'm screaming for the girl in the back who eventually comes out. I think that's when the guy finally ran, but yeah, but I. I mean I was a lucky one though. Um, there was a um, uh. What was the male version of the express structure?
Nicole:structure there was a structure down and one night they were closing up and I don't if you haven't worked in the back in the mall, you might not know that there are. It's like a maze of hallways in the back of the mall. They took not Mm-hmm and someone had come in through there into the back of structure tied up. Everybody in place had guns robbed, I mean big deal, and I was working that night Like I didn't know at the time when I was working that it was going on. But yeah, it was not safe.
Nicole:But, like you said, that was later in the 90s, yes, when it was not safe.
Heather:But like you, said that was later in the 90s, yes, when malls were and let me guess I mean a little bit more you did not get the next day off after your.
Nicole:Oh god, no, no I don't even think I got to go home that day I'm sure you didn't.
Heather:I was the supervisor. That was not something that happened, you just sucked it up, sweetie exactly.
Nicole:And then I worked at, let's see, I worked at a, um, a shoe store wild, pair, wild.
Nicole:Pair that's what it was called we were trying to remember the other day and we could not remember and the guy there that was my supervisor was even younger than me and he looked like a cross between, I would say, trent, Trent Reznor and the Leetinger Corn somewhere in there. That's a look. That was a really fun story, though, because we lived close to Philadelphia and so the drag queens would come down because we carried like size 13, 14, 15 in women's, like platform heels and stuff, so that was a really fun job, and we were right across the mall from the Cinnabon. Oh my God, and that's when Cinnabon was good. It's not the same now.
Heather:I loved that shoe store. That shoe store was amazing. I spent a lot of money in that store. I am a shoe nut. You wouldn't know it most of you because I work with you and you only ever see me in these ugly shoes. But I did.
Nicole:You are shoe obsessed, I was.
Heather:I had a shoe for every occasion. Most of them were Doc Martens and, yes, I had. Most of them probably still are. Yes, I do have quite a few pairs. I wore doc martens to my wedding, my, my, with skulls on them. Yeah and my, but yeah, they are I actually it's funny that you say that because I was on the doc. They sent me an email the other day that, oh, black friday, and I was like, okay, because they're stupid, now I hate them. Now they're not made in england. You can get the ones that are made in england, but they're 250 dollars for just the regular. Oh, I wish I still had the ones I had. Oh, my gosh, I wore the hell out of them. Um, so I went on the site because I was like we.
Heather:We'll see how much. And they did have this lovely work boot that I want so bad, and it was on sale so I might still buy it. But it's basically a Doc Martin duck boot. I fucking know, I love it. It's fleece lined and waterproof. So, you know, in a couple weeks y'all might see me rocking the Doc Martens.
Heather:It depends on how heavy they are too, because I tried wearing my wedding boots to work and they're just so stupid heavy that I was like I'm not trying to exercise this much, I'm too fat for that shit. Now I can't be wearing those heavy-ass boots anymore. But yes, I loved the wild pair was Hands down. Yes, the best, because that was before the one that has. They didn't have Docs, it was all. It was cheaper shoes, if I recall, I don't think we had Docs.
Heather:Big platform, the bumped up Do you remember the bumped up sneakers? Journeys is the one. Yeah, big platform, the bumped up. Do you remember the journeys? Yeah, do you remember the bumped up sneakers? And oh, yeah, yeah, I had a lot. I had a lot. I rocked those too. I had ones with flames.
Heather:Oh yeah, I was so cool when I was in the 90s. I was the coolest kid ever? I wasn't, but I like to tell everyone that I was, you were, I was, I know. Watch for it. I still have the same exact hair that I did then, yes, and I probably still have the same wardrobe, so I don't know why I'm not cool now. Yeah, I think just I'm too old for that. Anyway, anyway, anyway, I digress, anyway, anyway, anyway, I digress.
Heather:Um, so yeah, mall life was everything to us, and you had movies and and, um, like I said, the salisbury mall, the old mall, it was I, they had it. The only thing I really remember about the old mall, which I don't know why, I don't really have a whole lot of recollection about the old mall, because the new mall didn't come until I don't know the 90s or something. I think I was dry. I know I drove to the new mall, the old mall, by the way, I don't know why we still call it the old mall and the new mall, because the old mall has been a parking lot for quite some time now for the Civic Center.
Heather:But the old mall had a skate shop in it and that was where I got my first pair of vans, high top. They were purple and white checkerboard. Speaking of shoes, yes, and I think that's where I got my converse for the first time. I had to do a lot of talking to get those vans. A lot of talking Because at school, see, you got to go school shopping. I had to wear a uniform, so there was no school shopping. So to be able to try and talk my mom into paying for the ugly-ass shoes we had to wear to school, and cool sneakers on top of it, it was like you have to pick one.
Heather:So I chose the bands were outside of school where no one ever saw me right, and then I got ugly ass shoes to wear. I had penny loafers at one point yeah, I did, and I even put a dime in them. Oh yeah, that's how fancy I was a high roller. So the 80s was the time of consumerism and materialism and that is why the mall really took off. Because, you know it, it was everything the 80s were. It was every story. You know, there was a mall for everything. There was high-end malls, low-end malls. You know, even your own mall had like it would. There would be a section of high-end stuff. You know, down by the macy's, yes. And then it got gradually less expensive as you move down down to the jc pennies and the monkham reward, yes.
Heather:So it was a lot of designers in the 80s. And the power suits and the neon colors and the shoulder pads, the oh, the shoulder pads, and the oversized accessories. And you know what else I was? I rocked all the time and that, up until a few years ago, still did rock was my swatch. Oh, I love a swatch.
Nicole:I do too I got one for christmas last year. I I love. I asked my husband for one for christmas last year.
Heather:I have this one right now that I want so bad. It's orange and it's got a giant skull on it. I want it so bad. I have. I have had so many.
Heather:I wish you know when I was at, when we were in vegas the last time when I got married, um, we went to the swatch. They have a swatch store and we went in there and they brought out a book because we were talking to them about all the swatches that we had had and of course, the girl was like you know, 22 and you know, um, she could have cared less about our adventures and swatches, and especially when I told her I had the clear one. So she brought out this book of all the swatches and you could go back and look at all the swatches and how much they are worth now. Hey, because I used to wear mine to work all the time, so they would get restaurant grooves because they were so good at restaurants, because they were waterproof and shockproof and and when they got stinky, to take the band off and get a new band and yep I had the coca-cola one.
Nicole:That's the original one.
Heather:I know I had the one. It was a space scene and it came in a bubble. The packaging was like a moon. Yeah, that one was worth big money, especially the other packaging. But you know, I just stuck a knife in that bitch and ripped it all to hell. Yep, yeah, we didn't know. No, and I, up until my mom and dad moved, there was still a drawer in that house that still had swatches in it, but they were all beat to hell and probably still stunk like restaurant gross. Probably had grease all in them.
Heather:So, yeah, smalls in the 80s became social hubs for teenagers and young adults and they offered a place where young people could gather, hang out and engage in various activities arcades, movie theaters and food courts and you would just spend your whole evening roaming around. It was awesome, it was. It was just awesome. It was nice. Yeah, I um also had the arcades, so there was an arcade in ocean city. First of all, the arcades in ocean city were amazing because they all had the claw machines, you know, and a lot of them had cigarettes in the. So I can tell you right now, I am amazing at claw machines. I'm trying to dig cigarettes out. I got very good at it, because you didn't have to have an id or anything, you just walked in. Yeah, so, um, but there was an arcade.
Heather:Well, we had cigarette vending machines that we also did not need no, and you can just go to the store and be like my mom needs a bowling alley anywhere. No one just here. Smoke this and be quiet. Just go away. You're seven, quiet. Stick this cigarette in your mouth.
Nicole:Stop talking, take those five bucks and wander out on the street.
Heather:So, yeah, so the mall that was down the street. Now, this was the 90s, this was not the 80s. Oh, I guess it was the late 80s, 89, whenever prom happened. So 90s, early 90s, late 80s I did not hang out with the kids at my school really ever. Um. So at that point, before I met you people who led me down a different level of corruption and corruption, these people at this mall corrupted me even more. Um.
Heather:so my junior year no, it was 10th grade, I was driving, so I guess it was junior year um me I was hanging out with people at this, at the arcade from this mall, and, uh, it was homecoming and we were drinking and because of the school, we went, see here. Here's the thing, and my dad has never heard this story and I'm going to it's very upsetting. We were drinking in the parking lot, right, because that's what you do. We were at the park and we were drinking and my friend was not drinking, because we were going to be goddamn responsible and because I drove the largest car known to man at the time yes, a 1982 Lincoln Continental continental. That's burgundy. Yes, she was beautiful. Um, everybody would ride with me because I could fit everybody. And so we were hanging at the mall all the time and we went to homecoming and we were drinking and then, because we were being responsible, my friend drove my car.
Nicole:Okay.
Heather:But unfortunately, because she did not have a driver's license at the time, I could not tell anybody that, no, we were not drinking and driving. She drove Right, she did not have a driver. Anyway, we got caught drinking. I got suspended from school for three days. Oh yes, it was an ugly mess. So I was grounded. I'm pretty sure I still am grounded and my father told me that I would never allow to step foot in that mall again. Unfortunately, that's where the TJ Maxx is right now. So every now and then I will take a picture of myself in front of that mall and send it to my sister and she's like oh, I'm telling, I'm telling dad, you're not supposed to be with someone from that group who could not attend the prom with me because he had been arrested for burning a hotel down on the boardwalk. Oh yeah, I was a really good teenager, kids, I was a really good kid and a horrible teenager.
Nicole:My sister was exactly the opposite.
Heather:Actually that's a lie. She was a terrible teenager too, but I was older and answered the phone every time she got off scot-free. Yeah, because I sound like my mom you do. Yeah, she's so lucky and I've never told on her Ever For any of the stuff that she yeah, wow, she got in trouble and I had to go pick her up one time and my mom was, um, could not figure out why she was doing all my chores. And I guess my mom was like you know what clearly it's been handled. Whatever, it is not gonna worry about it. So she never asked why. Oh yeah, mom would be like wash the dishes, heather, and I would be like, really, and my sister would be like I'll do it, oh, I'll do it.
Nicole:Yeah, that's what I fucking thought. Um, yeah, so your mom was probably proud that you guys actually came together, I know right, because we hated each other.
Heather:Hated each other. I'm sure you had the same problem because you had the same distance. Yes, so when I'm on my journey, on the photos I wrote down some stores that maybe you remember, because I don't think they're around. I know they're not. Uh, merry-go-round I do remember the merry-go-round deb, I mean, that's where you got your prom dress and yeah, a million percent, oh yes deb, definitely homecoming dress, and those bitches fell apart. You couldn't even zip them up. They were horrible.
Nicole:Yes, afterthoughts is that the one where they carved?
Heather:yes, that you would go and get your mom some kind of cheesy stuff with like love Heather, heather and Jeff say hi it was like garbage and yes, yeah, and our parents were like oh thanks, it's just what I always wanted, right? Yeah, a necklace, uh, kenny shoes, I do remember kenny, yeah they were ugly as shit, if I and, but they did have the cool where they would measure your feet I think they used like a I think everywhere did that back then I remember, even if you went into like kmart, they had people that worked in the shoe section.
Heather:That at kmart yeah I had the little foot thing and I remember the foot thing. I thought kenny shoes had a weird foot thing though, like it was like a different foot thing that measured your foot. I don't remember now.
Nicole:It might be because I actually watched. I don't know if this still would have been around when we were kids, but like all those science shows about like odd things in the past, right, and one of them was the big craze was this x-ray machine that measured your feet until everybody was getting over x-ray and there was really no benefit to x-raying your feet. You can't imagine that would be. Get it to fit your shoes but, I, do feel like I remember a machine of some kind, like not just that, it was like can you?
Heather:I, I don't, I don't know if it was like a box. I don't even I should have looked that up.
Nicole:I don't think we ever shot. I mean I got literal like bobos from the grocery store, remember they had those bins.
Heather:Yes, I had to buy them to wear special shoes because they had to tie and they had to be polishable and yeah. So we had to go. I couldn't just have rando shoes, I had to have fancier yeah. Yeah, I got around that later, though, because Doc Martens can be polished. They also can and do tie, and they were black or brown. There was nothing about whether or not they were boots. There is now. I just boots.
Nicole:There is, there is now there is now.
Heather:There's rules about how high you're, because I wore my boots and uh, yeah, there, I wore my boots every day. I didn't care um esprit. Do you remember esprit? I had the bag. Do you remember the espree bag? I, my mom, would never pay for espree. I had one one bag and it broke because we went to um the. We had a rofo babe. Yeah, infant, like always dead. Right, you know whether it is?
Nicole:oh, yeah that was just like there's always been one in rojoveth yes, and one in ocean city.
Heather:Yeah, it was just those three, though, and then, suddenly, they came up everywhere and I was, and everybody was making this big deal, and I was like what's so fucking great about them? Right, because I've literally always had one at the end of my street, right, and we used to um ride our bike up, and I would take, because it was a huge bag and it had handles, and my mom would send us up to get milk, and I don't really know why we were on the same bike. It doesn't make much sense, but, um, I don't know what happened either, but, and we ended up falling and we broke the milk open in the esprit bag and yeah, but the dumb lady was very nice at the rofo, probably because we were the only children in town, and, honestly, I don't know how that rofo even stayed open. There was literally nobody down there, it was just us.
Heather:I guess my mom's cigarettes and our milk is what kept them in business. You do drink a lot, we did. We were at the Rofo all the time buying stupid shit, and so we broke the milk. The lady did end up giving us another milk. That was very nice of her, but I ruined my bag because you never got the milk and Benetton, do you remember?
Nicole:Benetton Do you remember Benetton? I do remember Benetton. I love the perfume and I love their ads. They were just so like new agey and different.
Heather:The United Colors of Benetton yes, and they had the cool bag. I had one of those too. It was plastic or something. It was like it was made. It was plastic or something. It was probably the shittiest bag ever and it probably costs $72 million. Right, but it's a better time because it had that.
Heather:Yeah, I I my aunt would take us to Benetton. She didn't have any kids, so oh, yeah, okay, yeah, she would take us for christmas. That's the only way we got benetton. She was like pick whatever you want. Uh, b dalton books yeah, because we didn't have barnes and noble here yeah yeah, we do now, but they just went open one in rohoffa. They just opened one.
Nicole:And now what it always blows they just opened one, Mm-hmm. It always blows my mind when they open a bookstore again because I thought all the bookstores were closing now Apparently not because they just opened.
Heather:It's pretty big too. I used to love going to a bookstore. It's where that suit store was Brooks Brothers. It's where Brooks Brothers was, oh, on the corner. Mm-hmm, brooks Brothers. It's where Brooks Brothers was, oh, On the corner. And then there's the independent stores. There's a huge one in Rehoboth, I don't know how that's going to go. Barnes and Noble just opened a couple weeks ago, or maybe a month, I don't know how long. It's not been, maybe since summer. Kb Toys.
Nicole:Oh, yeah, yeah, I loved KB Toys.
Heather:I did, oh yeah, yeah, I loved kb toys. I did too. I still shopped at kb toys when my kids were little. Yeah, it was still in dover. Yeah, it was not. It was because we didn't. The toys r us was a separate.
Nicole:Yeah, toys r us was just a whole other thing. Like it was huge, yeah, but just having that little kb toy store was so fun yes, it was always so noisy you could hear it all over the mall.
Heather:Yeah, it's probably not around anymore either. I doubt it. Um, and then the number one thing that I remember about malls which I know for a fact is not around anymore, is the radio shack. Yes, I mean, how much time did you spend in radio shacks? Oh my gosh, so much time, so much. That's radio shacks. Oh my gosh. So much time, so much.
Nicole:That's where I bought my first phone. I was allowed to have a phone in my room when I was 16, but I had to buy it myself.
Heather:And.
Nicole:I still had to stick to whatever the rules were Like. You could only be on the phone for so long because that was before call waiting. So it was just rang a busy signal if anyone tried to call the house and my mom's second husband was on a call for his job. So I would have to get off. But I was able to buy my own. I mean it had the cord and plugged into the wall, but it was like a one of those like cream colored office desk phones.
Heather:Yeah, that's fancy. Oh yeah, did you not have the clear one? I didn't. I, I didn't either I didn't.
Nicole:I think I knew someone who had it yeah, I didn't have the lips. I wanted the lips one I knew somebody that had the clear phone, but I didn't have one I.
Heather:I knew somebody who had the clear one too, and I didn't know anybody that had the lips one, but I wanted the lip ones. And clarissa, is it? Clarissa explains it all that she has a hamburger. No, it was Juno. I think it's Juno. Have you ever watched Juno the movie? The movie, yes, but a long time ago, I think. She has the hamburger and now I need a hamburger one. Now that I think about it, yeah, I need the hamburger one. Okay, hamburger one, okay. Uh, claire's, which is where I got my ear pierced 118 times. Oh yeah, which is just terrible way to get your ears pierced.
Nicole:Oh yes, it rips a hole straight through them, yeah, and they put a piece of tin in your ear, put a piece of tin and it cost you 1200 exactly.
Heather:And they're just, you know, 16 year old kids and in there piercing your ear. It's brilliant, right Shoving metal through your skull, smart.
Nicole:But they're still around, so I guess you know.
Heather:Yeah, they're doing something right. Oh, their jewelry is such crap too.
Nicole:There's no way they sell more than get stolen. I mean, that place is packed. How do you possibly?
Heather:And they do those things where it's like buy one, get 17 free. Yeah, or maybe that's stealing, I don't know maybe that's how I feel they're like oh, at least I'll pay for one, just buy the one and take the rest with you.
Nicole:Buy one steal, whatever else, no one cares um.
Heather:So one of the other things that the 80s mall had was a fashion shows. I was in a fashion, I knew you were and that's why I put it in there.
Nicole:I knew you would have been this was actually not until like the early 2000s. That's right. Yep, I worked at um, I worked in a casino, and one of the ladies I worked with at the casino uh, she was really into fashion and she was putting on a fashion show at the mall and she asked me to be in it I came up for that yep, I'm so supportive yeah, it was so funny, I walked the runway this.
Heather:This episode is right up your alley. You're a mall queen, I am all. All mall, all mall, all mall. But one of the other cool things that they had oh wait back to the. So the um fashion shows that you were in arc arcades we talked about that. And the music stores Camelot, sam Goody we had a Sam Goody, christiana had a Camelot. I remember there being a Camelot somewhere.
Nicole:Well, my earliest recollections are the Blue Hen Mall, Right they had a good music store. When I was little and they had right there on the corner, on the corner, and that's when it was all albums. I mean, I don't, I know CDs weren't out yet. There may have been tapes in there, maybe. No, I don't think so. I think it was all records. Yeah, I think it was all albums.
Heather:If you know, if you remember the Blue Hen Mall, you know those listeners that we have in Australia. If you know, if you remember the blue hen mall, you know those listeners that we have in australia if you know the blue hen mall um, let us know what the name of that music store was, because I don't remember yeah, because I know sam goody was there later, but that wasn't what it was. I don't remember the the blue hen mall later in time oh man, they had the best pizza joint.
Nicole:They had the best chinese food.
Heather:They had a pet store, the pet store with the puppies in the window yeah, it's very problematic now it is, but when you're a little kid it's the coolest thing ever well I remember the woolworth in the blue hen mall they had hamsters. Yes, I would beg for a hamster in the wall. In the wall, so many fish. Walmart used to have fish in the wall yeah, yeah, the woolworth.
Nicole:They had both the um, uh like diner bench seating as well as a restaurant. Yes, whenever my grandma would come down from jersey, we'd eat at the restaurant.
Heather:Oh nice fancy and she was there it was. It was a nice little diner area. It always smelled good. I don't think we ever ate there.
Heather:Um, when I was a kid they had, and I had to ask my mom what it was. It was fair ferrules, I think it was called ferrules. Now it was an ice cream joint and at the blue handball, no, it was an upstate, I don't remember which one, but I was traumatized in that because when it was your birthday and this is exactly why I don't like anybody telling anybody in any restaurant that it's my birthday I was five. They had. Just my sister was coming the next three weeks.
Heather:So it was they were trying to, and I was allowed to get my ears pierced at five, yeah, and they got me ice cream and then they bring a drum and they bang a drum all the way around the place oh my gosh. And I tried to get under the table. It was the worst birthday ever, except for the. I got my ear pierced, oh, yeah, but then we got my sister a couple weeks later, so it was ruined. Yeah, five was a terrible year for me. Trauma, trauma, left and right. Um, but they also had mall tours and there is one artist in particular that got very famous from touring the malls, and I thought that there was two, but upon further investigation, the other one, miss deborah gibson, did not tour malls, it was just tiffany. Yeah, I, I thought it was both of them, but it was, it was just tiffany all right because all malls had live music performances.
Heather:Um tiffany at the time had two number one single or she had two number one singles, four top 10, 40 top 40 hits. Um she was the youngest female artist to have a number one album and she began her tour, mall tours, june 23rd 1987 with the beautiful you celebrating the good life, shopping mall tour. That's a lot to say that is a lot.
Nicole:Yeah, like on a t-shirt, that would be a lot she did three sets a day every weekend on that tour poor girl I know she's.
Heather:She sang over pre-recorded tracks for 20 minutes. She then did interviews and greeted onlookers. That sounds horrible, yeah, but I mean, how brilliant is that? Your, your demographic, is literally roaming around with nothing to do, true, and then you just rope them in. Yeah, I think you're alone now and sick and could have been. I do love that. I'm not gonna sing it for you, fine folks, right now, but i'm'm going to listen to it on my way home. I think I think we're alone now which got a lot of attention on MTV and they were shooting that video while she was doing the mall tour. So that's all in the malls. I remember that, yeah, so yeah. And then, after I think we're alone now, she had could have been which I mentioned was my favorite, tiffany and then she started a six-week arena tour with her opening act. Um, I don't know if you've ever heard of this band. I know this.
Heather:New kids on the block and kotb, yes, I was a donnie girl and this is where we're going to argue. Okay, go ahead, tell your new kids on the block story and I'll tell you why you're wrong all right.
Nicole:So we both have seen new kids on the block. We saw them at the delaware state fair.
Heather:We did not know each other at the time. No, we did not. Probably sat right now.
Nicole:No yeah, and I remember tiffany opened for them. Um, I thought we were booing her off the stage because we wanted um new kids to come out, but anyway I was.
Nicole:I was in like the first three rows and I was to like the right of the stage and donnie was up on top of the amplifier like dancing and singing, and I was screaming, looking up at him and I swear to god he looked at me and pointed and waved at me and I swear to god that happened. No one will ever tell me otherwise he was waving at me.
Heather:No, even though I was not on the floor. No, I was in the grandstand.
Nicole:No, I was like right there you're so lucky, lucky.
Heather:I could be Jenny McCarthy. Right now You're not in town. I wasted it. You did. You could be Mark A Mark's sister-in-law. Oh, that would be hard.
Nicole:Yeah, I wouldn't be able to sit at dinner.
Heather:No, not stare at him and you could be getting me all them good Wahlburgers.
Nicole:I know I have eaten at a Wahlburgers.
Heather:I have not. I don't remember where. Boston, I don't think so. Unfortunately for Tiffany, though, that didn't take long before New Kids on the Block headlined and she had to open for him. Oh yeah, because Screaming Girls, they even did. Did you watch how I met your mother? They did a spoof um one of the characters, robin. She was from canada and she was basically a canadian tiffany named robin sparkles, and they did um and and t. Tiffany guest starred on the Robin Star. Oh yeah, that brings us to movies that revolve around the mall. Okay, dawn of the Dead, excellent In 78.
Nicole:I love that movie.
Heather:Zombies flock to the mall because of their drive, drive to consume. And it was all about consumerism. You know, blah, blah. Everything's got to have a message, by far my absolute favorite mall movie is Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure which does not have a message be excellent to each other.
Heather:Fair, fair, that was their message. Come on, I mean, that's just a great, that's so great. Uh, jonah bark, uh, napoleon, I think, when he's eating at the ice cream. That's a great movie. That was before we knew how much we were going to love Keanu Reeves. Yes, oh man, that's a great movie it is. I even liked the second one too. Everybody else hates it, but I loved it With death. Come on, they play Twister with death. That's hilarious, of course, back to the Future.
Nicole:I love Back to the.
Heather:Future, I love.
Nicole:Back to the Future. I saw it in the theater. I want to say my aunt from Jersey took me and my cousins or something, oh, something, one of those half a second of a memory that I have Right. But in the interim I've seen that movie a thousand times. Yeah, it's a good movie. Yeah, I don't hate it. And Michael J Fox is a thousand times. Yeah, it's a good movie.
Heather:I don't hate it. Michael J Fox is a national treasure. Yes, I think they're remaking it. I think I heard that rumor. I'd like to vote no. I don't think we have a vote, because I would have voted no to the NeverEnding Story and I would have voted no to the CrowEnding Story and I would have voted no to the Crow, but they didn't ask me. Fast Times at Ridgemont High. That showed that there was a hierarchy in the mall. Job culture, valley Girls.
Nicole:I wasn't into Valley Girls, I wasn't either.
Heather:I didn't read it. I didn't, I wasn't into valley girls?
Nicole:I wasn't either, I don't. I didn't read it, I didn't watch the movies. Oh my god. Like totally. I did not either. I did not care. I do like a valley girl accent, though I know a lot of people find it annoying yeah, I think it's cute it is.
Heather:it's. It's cute it is it's.
Nicole:yeah, the slang was used yeah, the slang back then was awesome.
Heather:Yeah, totally yeah. Then there was this movie. I'd never heard of this. It was a David Byrne movie True Stories, 1986. And it was his homage to the weirdness of normal American scenes from a mall. Yeah, I'm gonna have to check that out. Um, and then, of course, there was mannequin in 1987. Yeah, I like that movie too. That's good. My sister loves that movie too. And mall rats in 95. So those you know. Yep, now we're gonna move to the food corner. This gonna make me hungry. Let's talk about the orange julius, okay, because I don't think that they exist anywhere other than a mall, and I think that they are no longer in existence, although, wait, no, when we were, we were in a mall not that long ago, it was christiana. I think it was christiana because I think we had to go to the apple store. Um, they have an Orange Julius Dairy Queen.
Nicole:There was one in the Dover Mall until I mean last I saw.
Heather:Was it Dairy Queen? No, I think it's just Orange Julius. It is, in case you didn't know, is an American chain of beverage stores known for a disgusting that's my editorial frothy fruit fruit drink, which just sounds gross. Yeah, frothy fruit drink, also called an orange julius. Uh, it had been in business since the late 20s. It was a mixture of ice, orange juice, sweetener, milk, powdered eggs, egg whites and vanilla, and it just is gross oh sounds horrible yeah, I think I've never had one I've never I know.
Heather:Um, it grew out of an orange juice stand in los angeles and then it was taken across to state and county fairs, then it moved into the wall, into the mall and and actually, um, it was bought by, um, the international house of pancakes I have also, you know it's called international industries is the company that owns international house, the ihops, and also owns the original house of pies, and I'm sorry, they're just not very clever at naming things the original House of Pies and the International House of Pancakes, like, come on, anyway, in 87, it was bought by Dairy Queen, okay, international Dairy Queen, oh, geez, and then Dairy Queen I don't know if you knew this was purchased in 1998 by Warren Buffett.
Nicole:Does he still own?
Heather:it, I believe. So that's crazy, uh-huh, yeah, and all of the independent Orange Juliuses were rebranded into Dairy Queens. But the Dairy Queen added the Orange Julius to its product line and it is a menu item available at Dairy Queen stores called Treat Centers. Those are the ones, I think, in the mall. Then there's Mrs Fields Cookies, and man, you could smell those suckers from all over, yeah, and I have to say.
Nicole:I mean, it wasn't just Mrs Fields, there were different cookies.
Heather:There was another one called the Original Cookie Company, and the Original Cookie Company is the one that had the ginormous chocolate chip cookie in the thing.
Nicole:And, oh man, they had cookies too. I remember there was this. It was a cookie, it was like cookie dough, peanut butter cookie dough, and it was made in like a muffin tin, and so they would make it with a hollowed out top center and then they put, like this chocolate peanut butter swirl stuff in it oh man, they were so good cookies and you can only get them in a mall.
Nicole:And they were so good and the cookies and you can only get them at a mall. And they were so warm yes, and they did. They wouldn't have them like back in the food court, they were like out in the mall bar where you could smell it All the way out of the.
Heather:Yeah, that's smart, that's smart marketing, putting them in the way out of the food court. So good, right at. And you remember those cases were always at like kid eye level, oh yes, and they put that giant fancy, oh yes. Oh, mm-hmm, now we got to go to the mall, mm-hmm, mrs Fields, panda Express. I can't eat Chinese food, so you can't, no, because the shellfish, shellfish. Yeah, I love Panda Express, I love all Chinese food. But it opened in 93. Sbarro, sbarro, that's where you got the pizza.
Nicole:And it's still good pizza.
Heather:I don't, I don't, I'm sure I have. It has garlic knots.
Nicole:I do love garlic knots.
Heather:It still has over 600 locations in 28 different countries. Yeah, the.
Nicole:Sparrow is not playing. Yeah, there's one in the Dover Mall.
Heather:They are not fucking around, no, they are.
Nicole:Back in the day you got a huge slice of pizza, you did get really big pieces.
Heather:They probably don't do that anymore.
Nicole:I don't imagine they do, but even their pastas were good.
Heather:I never, I think I don't. I never had anything other than pizza. I worked in malls, so yeah, I had multiple times to eat at the food court. This one wasn't in the food court, but I remember it and I only remember it being at like holidays, but at Hickory farms.
Nicole:I love Hickory farms and they. Last time I was in the overmall at Christmas was a couple years ago and they had the pop-up kiosk and I always liked the like vanilla creamy mint things with the jimmies the white jimmies on it. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
Heather:Those are my favorite. I only remember sausages and they gave out free samples. They did so. Now I know your favorite, because we talked about this just before we started recording was the Cinnabon.
Nicole:yes, yes, because when I worked at the wild pair there was the Cinnabon right across the hall I get. I don't know if it was good or bad?
Nicole:but I smelled it the entire time that I was working. But again, I was a key holder, so I would get there and always make sure to get there in time to get like everything all set up and then run over to the Cinnabon as soon as they open so I could buy one and get back into it, I mean there was nobody involved that time of the morning.
Heather:That's one of my weird foods. I like cinnamon rolls. Until I don't like cinnamon rolls and then I cannot eat any, Then they make me gag. It's weird. Yeah, I haven't met many cinnamon rolls. I don't like I don't know. It's a weird situation for me. I like them, I like the way they smell, I like the thought of them, but then, once I start eating them, I'm like I really don't like this.
Nicole:But Cinnabons these days are not the same. So don't listen to this and be like oh she's right, I'm gonna go get one like I mean you can only really get them now at like uh rest areas yeah airports yeah, there's actually a um cinnabon food truck up in the tj maxx parking lot. It's been there for like years I think I remember.
Heather:No, no, you know what they have in rehoved annie ann's food trucks. Oh yeah, they have like two of them in the outlets weird I know. And I did have to stop at one to get yeah, I don't like annie ann's. I got a couple co-workers. I kind of I was off and they were still working so I went and got um one of them, cinnamon ones. You're welcome, jared.
Heather:So, yeah, what happened to malls? Where are they? Where'd they go? They died a horrible death, most of them anyway. Um, because of the internet, obviously, you could just have shit sent to your house. You didn't have to go to the mall anymore. Um, the big anchor stores were losing to, you know, walmart and amazon, and um target and the poor management in the malls. They started going downhill. They just weren't safe anymore. You know it's, they're pretty sketchy now. Um, the there's, yeah, macy's clothes, jc penny's clothes, sears clothes, I mean, I think I think when sears started going, I think that was pretty much the death of the mall at that point. Um, so they couldn't, they couldn't, they just can't keep up. The.
Nicole:The hallways are empty, so it's okay, you know what dick's sporting good. Still, they're rocking the ball well.
Heather:So what they ended up doing with malls now? Um, well, let's see, in the 80s there were. Let me just get my stat out and then I'll okay tell you. Um, in the 80s there were around 2500 mall in the US and today there are only 700 of them. Yes, but now what they do is they use them for mixed-use development stuff like water parks, golf courses.
Nicole:Well, and actually the Blue Hen Mall, which we have mentioned a number of times. Yes, that's where my office is. I work for the state of Delaware and they were putting state offices in there, and now Bay Health is the big hospital around here and they have bought both of the ends and have things, and now they own the whole mall. And they have bought both of the ends and have things, and now they own the whole mall. So, as everybody's contracts expire, so we have one more year from this month, Is somebody they put in a hospital in there or something, or is it?
Nicole:offices. Well, the one end is like orthopedic stuff and the other end is like a walk-in, but they have like x-rays and stuff in there too, and so I don't know if they'll put doctor's offices in or what. But yeah, so they're basically turning that mall into a and that's what a lot of malls started center.
Heather:They started doing they. They were picking up other things. Um, I like the idea of senior citizen retirement centers. I love that there was a meme about that I mean it's for us.
Nicole:Yeah, we're the age that would be. I like the idea of senior citizen retirement centers.
Heather:I love that there was a meme about that.
Nicole:I mean it's for us, yeah, and we're the age that would be moving in there.
Heather:Make them 80s, gen X retirement homes. Yeah, give us a pizza shop and a nice home store and we're good. We just roam the mall. Yeah, just one bathroom. Give us some JNCO jeans and let's let us roam around, but like the um, the mall of america in minnesota, the really big one, which always entertains me, because I feel like they built that kind of at the end of malls. I did.
Nicole:I thought that too.
Heather:Yeah, is it still yeah, but they had so much other shit in there and it's a destination they had a water park, they have roller coasters, they have a hotel, um, so any any place that was able to kind of integrate. And then a lot of them put dicks in, and I know salisbury has like the burlington, and so they, they moved other things yeah the christianity mall is doing great.
Nicole:Yeah, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger but they also put a lot of like like box stores around Outside of it.
Heather:Yeah, and restaurants and Apple Store. They throw an Apple Store in there. You're going to get traffic in there just because.
Nicole:And I think some of the nicer restaurants up that way are actually at the mall.
Heather:Well, and that's a lot of them, did they put, you know, not higher end restaurants, but like a lot of brew pubs and a lot of destinations? Right, because it makes sense? A, you're in the middle of a commercial area so you're not bothering a neighborhood with your loud music, and you're inside so you can do loud music or whatever. So that's how a lot of the, I guess, 700 malls although the Salisbury Mall is horrible, horrible. It has a giant movie theater, but other than that, I don't know what you're going for.
Nicole:It's terrible. It doesn't have a movie theater anymore. Really, that one went under. Whatever that company was Right.
Heather:Was it AMC? No, it wasn't AMC. Salisbury has an AMC. No, salisbury has a Regal. I think it was AMC. Yeah, salisbury isn't AMC. No, salisbury isn't Regal. I think it was AMC. Yeah, so that's yeah, that's now that's what they do. Oh, but you know what? It was cool because when I was looking at that first mall, the whole concept of it was they wanted to put like libraries and stuff like that in them. And actually now there was a couple of malls that have moved libraries into like public libraries into, which is a great idea. I mean those huge box stores like a Sears, I mean that's perfect, that's beautiful.
Heather:And the atriums, they would make a lovely library, lovely library.
Nicole:Yeah, they really need to rethink malls.
Heather:I mean they are, they are obviously.
Nicole:But there's just so much unlimited potential yeah, the one in there.
Heather:They tour one down in ocean city. Um, actually we work out of an old mall, um, we're in the food court and where the movie theater was, um, but I don't think there's any mallness to it. It's kind of Walmart and I'm like it's all box stores now and I. There's a door, but I don't know if it goes anywhere. I haven't been over there. I do remember, though, that that there was a I think there was a pet store. There was definitely a radio shack over in between it's Harbor freight now and the grocery outlet, but there was a radio. One of the last surviving radio shacks was in that door. That goes in there. And then the movie theater used to have Dollar Movie Night at that movie theater in the week. It was older movies. Yeah, you could watch. I saw many, many. It was all older stuff, know, you could go back and watch gremlins, right? So that's them all. Yeah, yay, and since this is airing on black friday.
Heather:Yeah, you know, get your shopping done. Yes, I'll be working because we head off yesterday. For all of us, we had yesterday. So if you're listening to this at work today, good job, guys. I won't be at work oh, excuse you is that a state holiday or are you? Just yeah, we get thanksgiving and the day really yeah, it's pretty awesome, that sounds nice yeah, I wish.
Nicole:Well, it's probably just everybody was taking that day off.
Heather:It makes total sense. I don't know why you wouldn't. I mean I get why we don't.
Nicole:Yeah.
Heather:But and stores, but I don't know, so yeah, that's it.
Heather:I hope you have a good Thanksgiving. You too, I'm going to try. It's a drive to Assateague tomorrow or yesterday for you guys, two days from now. Um, so you can find us on all the socials. Please find us on all the socials on the, the book of faith, especially because that's where nicole Um our socials, I am, I am and um, help a sister out. Yeah, she really does a lot of work on that. She does, she does Good job. Um, find us at like whatever pod on all of the socials. You can send us an email and tell us about your favorite store from the mall and what the thing at the Kinney's Shoes was called. I would like to know. At likewhateverpod. At gmail, there's also a way to send through. Like it says send a message or something on in the descriptions. You can send it right through there.
Heather:Yeah, give it a go yeah see what happens. We'll get a weird message and be like I don don't want to do that, but I think that's it. So you can email us or don't like whatever. Bye.
