Once you've seen a mall you've seen em all (another one of my dad's lines)

I had to go to the mall the other night. It's not even recognizable anymore. It's more like Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills (I assume). Not only do the outfits in the windows have 3 figure price tags, but they are all made for anorexic teenagers. There are more kiosks than stores. The clientele looks like something out of a middle school cut out day. I couldn't wait to get out of there. I remember when I used to love going to Smith Haven Mall. It was the end of summer. Back to school clothes shopping was eminent. I would take the $100 I'd saved all summer babysitting (maybe it was $50) and whatever additional money I could squeeze (ok, whine for) from my folks, and my friends and I would take the bus, YES KIDS, THE BUS, from Mayfair shopping center in Commack to the mall. We would go early in the morning. We'd hit every single store that was there. In those days, except for Macy's and A&S (remember A&S?) you could afford to shop in every store at the mall. We'd shop for hours, have lunch at Friendly's, shop for more hours, sit at the snack bar at Woolworth's,(remember Woolworth's?) shop more, and carry an entire year's worth of clothes back to the bus, with change from the $100. No plastic involved. Those were the days.