Barry Manilow Saves Shopping Mall??

When I go into Town, I see teenagers sitting around everywhere. I don't actually notice that they are there; they blend in with the local landscape. The only thing about them that stands out are their clothes. Even if it's an extremely hot day they wear thick black "hoods", bandannas and of course sunglasses. They appear to have nothing better on their minds than to sit there, boom box on full blast with rap-music and hip-hop. And I hum along quite happily as I trot from shop to shop. Some bring pet rats with them and since I am an animal lover I always stop and are allowed to pet them. (the rats,not the teenagers).

However, sitting around in the wide open can get chilly in winter and then the whole lot moves into the shopping malls. Here Management has provided the local youths with beautiful leather couches and palm trees at carefully chosen locations for ambiance. This must look to them like home from home, only a whole lot better. For one thing, the food is only 2 steps away, courtesy of Mac D, friends everywhere as well as the latest model Play station, and especially no Mom and Dad to tell them to take their feet off the couch. Life is good under the palm trees, although I doubt if they can see them because of the sunglasses.

When you move a distance away from the boom boxes, there's boring elevator music playing. This is meant to calm the nerves of shoppers who have maxed the credit card once again. In this hypnotic trance we are supposed to prolong our misery without having the means to be able to afford anything more displayed in the mall.

It was when I was in such a mood, when I was jolted out of it, in full force. Actually, it hit me like a meteor. The soothing music had stopped and suddenly Barry Manilow was crooning "And there was Lola, she was a showgirl........" through the mall's loudspeakers. Before I could properly wake up , chaos erupted all around me.Teens running, bandannas and sunglasses everywhere. In about 3 seconds flat the mall was empty, except for the senior citizens who either had not noticed the boom boxes and elevator music before, or could well have been fans of Barry, who knows.

By the time Barry reached ...Yellow feathers in her hair.." I was running too, alongside the young not-so athletic stragglers. When I finally reached the parking lot, the teens had installed themselves on a park bench, the boom boxes once again on 50Cents. The hoods and bandannas back in place, sunglasses protecting their young eyes from the dangerous UV radiation.

The shopping mall has not seen anybody under the age of 89 again. Certainly not teenagers, they are still in the parking lot. And me? I am on a mission to find a shopping mall without Barry.