Malls And Online Shopping

The new issue of Time magazine ran an article about Malls and listed the shocking numbers of mall closures and that another quarter of those still existing could go out of buisness in the next five years. That’s not just stores that are inside the mall, that’s the entire mall complex! One figure it listed was that between 2010-2013, mall visits declined 50% due to online shopping. Now, I buy stuff online, but it’s only because the local stores no longer carry the items I’m buying. They used to carry everything I needed, but not any longer. I think this is one of the reasons why people are turning to online shopping. But, what the article and everybody else doesn’t seem to be taking into consideration is this: When I shop online, practically everything is mailed to me through the United States Postal Service - the post office. As we have seen in this day and age, no business is guaranteed to last forever and many fine businesses have closed in the last 10 years or so - Circuit City, Borders, Waldenbooks, Sir Beef, Hughes Electronics, New York Life Insurance & Trust Company, Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts, Western Auto, Service Merchandise, Kinney Shoes, Thom McAn Store, Revco, Rexall Drugs, On Cue, Woolworth’s, Heilig-Meyers, A.J. Bayless grocery strores, Builder’s Square, Coast to Coast Hardware, Blockbuster Music, Sam Goody, Tower Records and literally hundreds of more businesses! I was so shocked to find out about some of these that I just had to stop looking. Many of those stores are ones I used to shop at and now they’re gone! Where will all this lead us as a collective?

The point I started to make above was that the U.S. Post Office is just another business and as we have seen, nothing is guaranteed to last forever. I have predicted for several years now that the government seems intent on destroying the post office. Why else would they give up the multimillion dollar market of stamp collecting and switch to only stick-on stamps? As stamp collectors know, stick-on stamps don’t last. After a few years, the glue seeps through the front of the stamp, making them un-collectable. And just a couple years back, the government got out of the market big-time of mailing people’s Social Security checks, Army disability checks, etcetera, and went to direct deposit. It’s like they are morphing into an entity that no longer requires the post office. Why would they be setting themselves up to be post office-free? Could it be, that like me, they know the post office can’t and won’t last forever?

What are you going to do when you can’t buy what you want at a local store and you have to resort to buying it online, only to find that it can’t be mailed to you? Where are you going to get the things you need to live on then? That’s why I say support your local stores now before it’s too late.

The picture is of the University Mall, located at Carbondale, Illinois. I took it on September 3rd, 2016, with my Minolta X-370s and Kodak Portra 160 film.

The Time Is Here

To quote Ricky Ricardo when their baby Little Ricky was about due, "The time is here!" As I said in a post from a few days ago, it's a very good idea to be prepared in the event of an emergency. Because in this day and age, not only could you experience a natural disaster such as a tornado, fire, flood or hurricane, you also have to deal with the threat of an economic collapse. Such a thing is very possible. Have you bought anything recently? Have you noticed how everything is going up in price? How long do you think this can go on before the bubble bursts?

Sure, you may have heard people like me mention something about being prepared before, but tonight I heard for the very first time, this same message from a very important and unexpected source: The United States Government. Yes, you heard right. As I was driving home tonight from a gig I had at the Moose Lodge, I heard a public service announcement that asked whether or not you had enough fresh water and non-perishable food items to last for a 72-hour period. Where have you heard that phrase before? Yes, that's the exact same timespan I was advising you to be prepared for on June 30th, 2008! Here's the kicker - this public service announcement was paid for by the United States Department of Homeland Security.

Be afraid, be very afraid. But.... get yourself prepared so that your family doesn't suffer during any hard times we could possibly be subjected to. Please take this seriously. And don't forget what I said about not shopping at Wal-Mart! Wal-Mart is bad for you.

Be Prepared

Everyone is familiar with the old Boy Scout motto of "be prepared." But, in this day and age, it is especially a good idea to be prepared for emergencies. Recently, my area of Southern Illinois had a series of earthquakes that shook the area and got us all to thinking about disaster preparedness.

If you weren't aware of this, this locale was the scene of the most devastating earthquake in recorded history for the United States. Between December, 1811 and February, 1812, a series of quakes hit the town of New Madrid, Missouri, culminating with the biggest one on February 7th, 1812. This earthquake literally reshaped the North American continent. By comparison, the great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 was felt moderately over 6,000 square miles, while the New Madrid Earthquake was felt over 50,000 square miles. It even rang bell towers as far away as Boston, cracked sidewalks in Washington D.C. and toppled chimneys in Maine, it was so severe.

So, it can happen literally at any time. People in this area also have to contend with tornadoes, floods, famine and almost every other Biblical plague that can be thought of. With this in mind, I have compiled an informative Earthquake Survival Tips document and a handy list for a 72-Hour Survival Kit. To quote from the first paragraph of the 72-Hour Survival Kit:

"What will you do if disaster strikes your neighborhood: a fire, a riot, a flood, a tornado, a hurricane or an earthquake? The most critical need for help after the disaster is during the first 72 hours, yet community and government assistance will probably not be available during this period. You and your family will be on your own."

Knowing this and being prepared for it will go a long way toward your families' safety and survival. And in this day and age with so many potential threats: Economic collapse, terrorist attack (real and imagined), civil unrest, pandemic (real or imagined), or any of the natural disasters that can befall us at any time, the better you and your family are prepared to cope with these conditions in those first hours after something happens, the better your chances will be of surviving. I can't stress this enough.

And one more thing: This is the final paragraph in my 72-Hour Survival Kit:

"Your plan is like a plant. If you ignore it will die. To keep your plan healthy, you should go over it with each family member at least once every six months. One way to do this is to make a night of it. Pick one night to go over the plan, practice escape routes and contact procedures, call your out of area contact (they’d probably like to hear from you), change the batteries in your smoke detector, and cycle the food and water in your 72 hour kit. This is a fun way to ensure that your family is prepared to react in the event of a disaster."

As Bob Dylan said it so poignantly back in the 1960's, "Oh, the times they are a' changin'."

You can use these handy links to download both documents in Microsoft Word format. They are extremely small files, so the seconds it will take to get them and print them out will add potential years to your families' lifespans.

72-Hour Survival Kit

Earthquake Survival Tips

Oh, and one final word of caution. As you go shopping to purchase these life-saving supplies, do yourself and all of us a favor by not buying these things at Wal-Mart. Who knows what they may be contaminated with considering most of it will probably be a product of China!