More on Crime and Shopping
The Owings Mills Mall was the place to go on the weekends when I was growing up. I went on dates at that mall (I remember one particularly horrible date with my first boyfriend, where I refused to let him buy me candy at the candy shop because I had my own money and didn't need him, a boy, to give me ANYTHING--what an idiot I was, turning down free candy that my mom wouldn't let me buy anyway), I spent entire weekends there shopping, I went mall-walking with my grandmother. My mom and I used to go on Saturday morning and shop all day, taking breaks to eat hot pretzels or turkey sandwiches. My dad would take us to the mall for dinner on nights my mom had to work. I got my ears pierced at this mall!
But times change and the Owings Mills Mall started declining. First, Saks moved out and JC Penney moved in. That was the first sign of trouble, and everything went downhill from there. Cool kids now spend their weekends at Towson Town Center, which boasts a Nordstrom and a Coach and a Delia's and some other cool stores that I'm too old to know about.
At the same time, the neighborhood around the Owings Mills Mall also started to change. A woman was raped at the Metro stop near the mall. A man was fatally shot in a drug dispute in the mall parking lot.
My mom and I (when I'm visiting) still go to this mall, but we're careful not to park too far away, and we try to leave before dark. Sometimes we drive from the Macy's side to the Hecht's side if the mall seems particularly emtpy.
So on Sunday, my mom went to the Owings Mills Mall Macy's to buy a new leather coat. She found one she liked and bought it, but decided not to take it to the car while she continued shopping, because she'd brought the Outback and didn't have the mat that covers the stuff you have in the back. She thought someone would see her new coat in the back, break into the car, and steal it. Because that's the sort of thing that might happen in the Owings Mills Mall parking lot.
Instead, my mom took her purchase with her to JC Penney's, where she tried on more leather coats in case she found one she liked more. She hung her new coat on a rack, tried on another coat, rejected it, and turned around to find that voila, her new coat was gone. Of course she didn't find it, despite checking with customer service and various sales people. I told her she should've filed a police report, but she said she didn't think of it.
She's positive that someone was following her in the mall, that someone marked her as a target and waited for their chance. This is really scary to think about, so I prefer to think that someone saw the coat hanging there and couldn't resist taking it. It's a great way of stealing, actually. The coat was already paid for, the security thing was removed, and it wasn't even in the same store.
My mom's upset at the robbery, but she does acknowledge that it could've been much worse. Someone could've hurt her, or carjacked her, or god knows what, for whatever reason. She told me to let it be a lesson, to put your purchases in the car and don't carry them around with you, but the real lesson is not to shop alone at declining malls in dangerous areas.
But times change and the Owings Mills Mall started declining. First, Saks moved out and JC Penney moved in. That was the first sign of trouble, and everything went downhill from there. Cool kids now spend their weekends at Towson Town Center, which boasts a Nordstrom and a Coach and a Delia's and some other cool stores that I'm too old to know about.
At the same time, the neighborhood around the Owings Mills Mall also started to change. A woman was raped at the Metro stop near the mall. A man was fatally shot in a drug dispute in the mall parking lot.
My mom and I (when I'm visiting) still go to this mall, but we're careful not to park too far away, and we try to leave before dark. Sometimes we drive from the Macy's side to the Hecht's side if the mall seems particularly emtpy.
So on Sunday, my mom went to the Owings Mills Mall Macy's to buy a new leather coat. She found one she liked and bought it, but decided not to take it to the car while she continued shopping, because she'd brought the Outback and didn't have the mat that covers the stuff you have in the back. She thought someone would see her new coat in the back, break into the car, and steal it. Because that's the sort of thing that might happen in the Owings Mills Mall parking lot.
Instead, my mom took her purchase with her to JC Penney's, where she tried on more leather coats in case she found one she liked more. She hung her new coat on a rack, tried on another coat, rejected it, and turned around to find that voila, her new coat was gone. Of course she didn't find it, despite checking with customer service and various sales people. I told her she should've filed a police report, but she said she didn't think of it.
She's positive that someone was following her in the mall, that someone marked her as a target and waited for their chance. This is really scary to think about, so I prefer to think that someone saw the coat hanging there and couldn't resist taking it. It's a great way of stealing, actually. The coat was already paid for, the security thing was removed, and it wasn't even in the same store.
My mom's upset at the robbery, but she does acknowledge that it could've been much worse. Someone could've hurt her, or carjacked her, or god knows what, for whatever reason. She told me to let it be a lesson, to put your purchases in the car and don't carry them around with you, but the real lesson is not to shop alone at declining malls in dangerous areas.
posted by Emil at 5:03 PM
2 Comments:
To think that someone followed your mother around Owings Mills Mall to steal a leather coat that was purchased from Macy's is really reaching. Most thugs have leather coats (expensive ones). I think while your mom was trying the coat on she probably forgot where she placed it..... Its funny that you mention a drug deal at owings mills mall but forgot to mention the prople involved were caucasian. Its also interesting that you forgot to mention the 2 murders that occurred at Towsontown. I think maybe you and your Mom have some paranoia and anxiety. You and your Mom should Get on some antidepressants, you may still get robbed but you won't care.
To suggest that someone needs to take drugs to survive going to a mall is absurd.
I have been to the mall, in fact, I used to work at The Gap. There are people who follow you to your car, into the mall and into stores.
The worst part about the mall is people that don't believe there is a problem. Maybe if the thugs and punks (both white and black) took some antidepressants and medication, they wouldn't feel the need to harrass and rob people.
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