It was fun while it lasted. We cruised the mall in gangs, seeing and being seen, listening to the pop music that was so trendy at the time but now sou...ds impossibly dated, and basically enjoying our teenage years. In small towns across America the kids hang out at fast food joints. In big cities it’s the clubs. For suburban America, at least in MY childhood, malls were the place to be.Not anymore.I went to the local mall the other day. I had to. The battery in my watch died and a jeweler there. Louisa had prepared a mattress ticking and Mary stuffed it with straw. Lying on it with her woolly and shawl, she felt almost as if she were at home sleeping in a stall next to her mammy.In the house Louisa was enjoying being held by her husband but she was sharing with him the unpleasant news that a neighbor had stopped by to tell them. “Looks like that Mr. Lincoln is going to bring war. He's said that South Carolina can't leave the Union and when he refused to evacuate some fort in Charleston. "Jamala put a hand on her chin and seemed to be studying him. 'Well,'he thought. 'I'm not a bad looking guy, or so Spring tells me. I canstill fit into the speedos I wore on the Rutgers swim team ten yearsago. I can fill them out pretty good, too, if I do say so myself.'She seemed to be reading his mind. Her eyes lingered at his crouch,and she smiled. Her tongue poked out and slid against her upper lip."You are most handsome, Master, and mightily endowed, but it is notlooks -- or size -- that. “Hi,” he said as he reached his right hand out to me, “I’m Scott; I’m here for the party.” I was still in recovery mode as I reached out to shake his hand. I then realized I had the dish towel in my hand and had to quickly transfer it to my other hand before I could shake his hand and said, “Hi, I’m Cindy, please come in.” I stepped aside and allowed him to enter. “Everyone is out back, please follow me.” He said, “It’s nice to meet you Cindy.” as he walked out the back door and onto the patio.