Ever fascinated with this country's malls, I decided to drag Scotty along to the Triangle area's most recent monstrosity, the Southpoint Mall. Or it might be "Southpointe" - it's impossible to tell with the New South's penchance for ludicrous anglophile apartment names. One more shithole called "Thrushcross Grange" or "King Henry's Creek" and I'd just about blow a gasket. The New South is sterile and ugly, what with its boxy, glassy downtowns and its mind-numbing urban sprawl, all coaxed together with cubic tons of red cedar mulch and sad, symmetric saplings held down with guy wire. North Raleigh is the most soulless place you could ever go; it takes about three gallons of fossil fuel to wander anywhere interesting (public transportation is non-existent, and they clear-cut the old forests for car dealerships and "Chi-Chi's").
Thankfully, Southpoint(e) Mall was a bit of a surprise. It's still the same mall ingredients found all over this great country of ours (Spencer Gifts, Bath and Body Works, Foot Locker, and a bad Food Court) but they actually did their homework architecturally. Not only is the structure largely brick, but also reminiscent of old downtown Durham with the tapered smokestacks of the ancient tobacco warehouses. And they really got me with once nice touch: all over the building are pref-fab "ghost ads" touting products and businesses that no longer exist. I'm a huge fan of the genre even though these are fake. I'd post pictures, but of course, I'm stuck on another computer with nary a bit of access to my stuff!
After watching the compelling indie The Good Girl, we met Ann Humphreys at the Wine Bar to exchange tales of the last year or so. We reckoned that our lives would have been much better if only she and I had decided to live in the same town circa 1997-2000, instead of her being miserable in San Fran, and me being suicidal in LA. But here we are anyway, both in pretty good places. I'd love to have her up in New York, but she has carved out a nice life for herself here in North Carolina, with a support group of friends, great yoga and a cool job. I had her on one issue, however: the only people smart enough to deserve her live in the city that never sleeps.
Posted by at September 15, 2002 8:33 PM