Do You Remember When You Could Do This Vile Thing At The Mall?

Let's take a look back at the good ol' days.

Do you remember those young, carefree days when you could do pretty much anything at the South Plains Mall? Do you remember when there was a nice big ashtray and plenty of places to sit down? Do you remember being able to tell your spouse, "go on in, I'mma have a cigarette"?  Maybe you just remember ducking into Chelsea's for a drink and a smoke.

Oh, and it got better than that, not only could you smoke in the Mall, there was a place dedicated to smoking in the Mall called "Smokers Haven". It did end up being a haven for smokers too, as it was one of the very last places you could smoke in the Mall.

Man, we were young and stupid to think this was such a great thing. Looking back on it, why were we creating billowing clouds of smoke in a place full of kids and old people? The answer is that we could.

I remember being so appalled at the idea of no smoking in the Mall that I presented the idea of one storefront where you could do nothing but smoke. You'd pay a minimal cover charge or membership fee, and every time you needed to hotbox one before you went into Dillards you'd have a home.

I no longer smoke and I hope you don't or are on your way toward quitting as well. In the rear-view mirror, it just seems like a lot of wasted time and money. I DO NOT miss those five-minute-long hacking fits I used to have, but I do kind of miss the "anything goes" vibe that the Mall once had.