NO THANK YOU

Things come and things go. Things change. Sometimes I greet the changes with excitement and anticipation; sometimes I greet them with sadness and dread.

Our mall is less than dynamic...lots of changes taking place all of the time. Not exactly a hub of activity. We had a big Taco Bell move in a while back. One of the big corner stores. I seldom ate there...not because I don't like their food (I love it), but because I've decided there is no way to rationalize Taco Bell food into being healthful.

A couple of months ago it closed. Apparently I'm not the only one who was afraid to "indulge." The space was vacant for a while, and then one day not long ago curtains appeared on the windows and the signs of activity began appearing. I would be excited...but...along with the curtains, there is also a big sign on the window saying that the establishment has applied for a license to sell and have liquor consumed on the premises. Alcohol in the mall.

I'll be honest with you, I pretty much hate drinking. Not the drinking in the privacy of one's own home...unless one gets abusive...but the drinking which occurs at a site where the drinker has to get in the vehicle to return home, or to wherever. I'm concerned, too, about the impact alcohol will have on the mall. There is already a problem with some of the groups that have chosen to "hang out" at the mall. And, while the members of these groups won't be old enough to purchase alcohol, it will introduce an element which has the potential for creating a confrontational tendency in persons who HAVE been old enough to purchase and consume the alcohol.

Perhaps nothing will ever happen...never a single incident. Perhaps no one who consumes the alcohol will get behind a wheel. Perhaps even the lunch crowd will have designated drivers. Perhaps. I, though, will not be giving the new establishment my business.