Every week dive friends play maj jong at the mall. Location is, “Where at the mall?”I answer, “In the food court of course,” and they shake their head nodding it makes sense.
And it does. Aside from the fact it takes Karen ten minutes to find a table that doesn’t wobble, or text us to, then disinfect it we have found the perfect location.
Maj is a total snacks game. There are usually nuts of some kind, m and ms, chocolate gummy bears, (we should never have discovered those), chips, cut up veggies for the diet conscious, drinks, coffee and for the more adventurous even lunch.
So it always falls to the hostess to plan the eats and it can be tedious and a great deal of work.
Problem solved at the mall.
Everyone can eat what they want, drink the best coffees and of course we still sneak in chocolates for those of us with absolutely no self-control.
(I’m raising my hand here but you can’t see it of course.)
Even if I begin the day with a healthy mindset vowing not to eat junk food, a lot can happen to change my resolve before I sit down in front of those tiles. Perhaps the son of a bitch who cut me off in traffic created the need for a handful of m and ms to calm me down. Yes, I’m a chocoholic and I admit it freely.
Yes, it’s well known that will power is not an absolute. One’s need for chocolate can change in a millisecond depending on circumstances. Is this a good hair day or are my locks determined to have a mind of their own? Why does my make up look like I just turned into a raccoon? I know these damn jeans fit yesterday what’s going on here with this muffin top situation?
Get me the damn Sees Candy! Where once Shakespeare advised Ophelia, “Get thee to a nunnery,” I say get thee to Godiva.
The real fun about the mall is the little community that assembles there, and they are quite a list of characters.
There are always other tables of maj players as well. Now there is even a table of rummicubers.
Next to our usual table is a group of older men from Israel. There are probably ten of them and they eat, talk, tell stories and love to flirt with us. Sometimes they bring baked goods and offer them up to us.
The security guard always stops by to say hello and ask who’s winning then stays to chat.
Of course there is also the assortment of customers that come and go with their various dishes and sometimes screaming children.
Another group comes in after five to have dinner. Among the five o’clockers are Virginia, now 99 and Francis, now 92 along with their male friends that make sure they have what they need. Virginia’s boyfriend bought her a gorgeous watch for Christmas.
The same people show up every week and if someone isn’t there everyone else notices.
After the maj game is over Randi, Deb and I shop for a while and Janet buys dinner to take home. Karen meets her husband Mark for dinner and after shopping we stop by to chat with Virginia and her friends to show off our new purchases before we leave.
It’s rare that we go through a day without a friend of one of ours walking up to the table to say hello. Or people stopping by to ask, what is that game you’re playing.
Obviously we don’t play as many games as we would were we at someone’s home. Nor is it as quiet.
So you ask, if you’re serious maj players why do you play at the mall with all the distractions?
That’s the point. We love the distractions. Okay occasionally it can get a bit raucous at the retired men’s table and yes the screaming kids bother some more than others.
Our maj game has become a highlight of our week. We have not only all become great friends, but we have added so many interesting people to our lives.
We all can’t wait to get there on Fridays to see everyone and hear about one another’s week. What’s the latest news or just saying hello and meeting and greeting everyone?
So thank you for bearing with me because I do have a point here. Malls are dying and that is terribly sad.
In a world where people are watching a techie toy more than each other, the mall is one of the last bastions of community left.
It’s not just that we all enjoy ourselves it’s also about the kids. You see them hanging out, having lunch, talking laughing and interacting with one another. If the mall goes away will kids ever look at anything ever again besides Instagram or have any sense of what if feels like to be part of a community?
Man was not created to be alone. Just like wolves we travel in packs and are happier to do so. Even the Romans gathered together in the coliseum to feed the lions.
The mall offers a place that is completely intergenerational and a safe place to gather and share happy moments.
The sad part of what’s occurring is that malls are closing because the stores can’t compete with online business. Yet a mall is so much more and the loss would be incredibly damaging to social interaction.
The day Amazon can provide me with interesting people to meet, greet and play maj with will be a cold day in California. I have to believe that for now maj at the mall will hopefully be a safe haven for everyone for long time to come.
