The Mall Fire

The mall (Roseville Galleria) burned down while I was studying on the second floor of a local library.  I could see the smoke out the window and I could watch (because this is a cool library with flat screens) the story unfold on TV, which is how I learned the fire was due to arson.  Over the past week, many thoughts have gone through my head, from silly to serious.

1.     Messing with a mall in Roseville is like taking a chisel to South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore.  We’re going to have local Moms suffering from mall withdrawal and PTSD and they will probably want to see the arsonist locked up for life.  (Though sentencing him to a 6-month stint at Hot-Dog-On-A-Stick may be just as retributive).

2.     I was pretty sure the two junior high girls who were glued to the library TV, crying and texting, were watching the news for the first time.

3.     I was hoping the fire did not spare the kiosk with the creepy greasies who always try to rub lotion from the Dead Sea on my wife.

4.     On a more serious note, I felt bad for the city of Roseville and, specifically, the employees who just lost their jobs.  An estimated $55 million dollars in damage, 20 stores destroyed, and another 64 stores closed means a lot of people out of work before Thanksgiving and Christmas.  That’s sad.  It also means Roseville is going to take a hit because their mall generates 3.2 million dollars a year in sales tax revenue for the city.

5.     It’s ironic that a mall burned in Roseville.  Roseville’s retail sales are the 11^th highest in the state.  And out of the top 15 retail cities in California, Roseville is the smallest at about 112,000 people.  Roseville is a really ‘nice’ place to live and the main reason it’s nice is because the city is able to spend a lot of money maintaining our infrastructure based on the cash coming from places like the Galleria.

Most likely Roseville is not going to stop being nice because of this fire – but I think it’s a reminder of how blessed we are to live in a beautiful place with nice roads, lots of parks, and great schools.

6.     Lastly, I thought of the “Christmas Dates” my wife and I take to the Galleria every December.  My wife loves me, she loves Christmas, and she loves the mall.  So if you put her in the mall with her husband, surrounded by Christmas decorations and music, you have one happy girl.  I love being with that happy, Christmasy mall girl – so I hope most of it is operational by December.

Actually, I don’t really hope the Dead Sea guys lost their job, I don’t think Moms are suffering from PTSD, and I’m sure the junior highers have watched the news before.  But I’ll be praying for the workers who lost their jobs and thanking God for putting me in a beautiful city like Roseville and, most importantly, thanking God for giving me a bride who loves me, Christmas, and the mall.