Too preachy?
Yesterday afternoon, with some time to kill, Rebecca and I hopped on the dollar bus and took a trip to the mall. Yes, unlike most other Caribbean islands, Trinidad has full-blown shopping malls, some that would rival many in North America. Outside of obtaining a local SIM card for our phone, and paying for some internet connectivity, neither of us had anything that we were willing to trade our money for. We did enjoy the air-conditioning though, and the scenery.
As we walked around the mall, I couldn’t help but notice something that I’m sure you’ve witnessed too… there are a hell of a lot of shoe stores in shopping malls! There were so many, in fact, that we had to count. As we surveyed both levels of the two-storey mall, we counted 12 separate shoe stores. Twelve!!! Remember that we’re talking about Trinidad. They don’t need snow boots here!
Have we become spoiled, not having to dress for work, or are we now, having lived with just flip flops for so long, immune to the need for fashion?
I do think that Rebecca looks great in high heels
but she couldn’t be happier that she’s no longer expected to wear them!
During our wandering, I took note of another anomaly. There were stores that exclusively sold things that no one needs! Just knick knacks. The kind of things that people must say, hey, I’ve got a bunch of extra money in my bank account that I don’t know what to do with so perhaps I should give it to these guys for that thingamajig that I could put on my table. Perhaps living on a boat with a very limited amount of space, and the knowledge that every single decoration needs to be secured when we move our “house” has spoiled us for that too. While writing this post I was reminded of an article that I read back before Christmas. While the holidays may be over for another year, it’s just as relevant today. Be sure to read it.
By the way, if any of the above sounds preachy and/or judgmental, it’s really not meant to be. Unless, of course, you’re in the category of people who profess to want to go cruising but say that you can’t afford it, and yet, fill Facebook with photos of all the things that you have recently purchased. Then, I’m definitely preaching!
