Sometimes,
whenever I write posts about the past, I always reflect on 100 Oaks Mall. And,
granted – as a young kid, I have so many memories of going there with my mother
and grandmother on Saturday mornings. But, I have an equal amount of thoughts
about Hickory Hollow Mall. For starters, Cain Sloan always used to have their
annual Breakfast with Santa, which was always a highlight of the Christmas
season. Sears had their snack bar, where you could always find some delicious
candy and nuts. And, in the fall of 1988, I remember my mother buying me a
couple of pair of stone-washed jeans – the rage of the age – and me thinking I
was going to be popular. LOL… But, as a pre-teen and teenager, it was the
stores in the mall that really were special to me.
Camelot
Music – Located next to JC Penney, this was the record store that I would spend
my allowance at more than any other. I remember buying George Strait’s
If You Ain’t Lovin, You Ain’t Livin’ and Conway Twitty’s Still In Your Dreams on the same day. But, the purchases there I
have the best memories of was the clearances the store had on vinyl. Many
classic (at least to me) records on sale for $1.97.
Hickory Hollow Theater –
I remember being fifteen and seeing the original “Batman” – well the modern day
‘original.’
Sports
Seasons – Back when the Dallas Cowboys won. Yeah, there was a time, believe it
or not. I would buy Cowboys stuff as quickly as it could go on sale.
Wonderful
Waterbeds – My first question about this is ‘Why.’ Do people still have
waterbeds? I remember my parents getting me one for my birthday about
twenty-five years ago. My biggest memory of it was it leaking all over the
floor. But, I remember many times going in, lying on the bed, and wishing. It
was definitely a case of not being what you thought it would be.
B.
Dalton Booksellers – Even more than the record store, until I was old enough to
venture around the mall on my own, I spent a lot of time in book stores with my
mother. There were music history books and ones about the history of television
that I would look at. And, there was this magazine that used to intrigue the
heck out of a ten to twelve year old kid. I had no inkling that this magazine
that I would beg my mother to buy me – and would keep me silent on the way home
– would change my life in the way it has. Billboard
Magazine.
So,
Hickory Hollow Mall fades into the dustbins of history at the end of the month.
My car made the drive across town, and turned into the parking lot to see it
one more time. It looked a lot different. I thought about going in there, and
if I thought I could have found that ten year old kid and his mother – who
knows, maybe I would have. But, I just kept on toward Bell Road. The times keep a’changin, they
say…
