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b'When GamerDude was growing up, there was no internet to "hang out" on, or to shop on, or to meet people on. The "hang out" was the shopping mall.\\xa0 Shopping malls popped up all across the country and, as it turns out, had many of the same stores coast-to-coast. GamerDude talks about the main stores he remembers, from the large "anchor" stores like Sears, JC Penney, and Macy\'s, to the smaller chains.\\xa0 The malls had clothing stores, like Casual Corner and Chess King, and shoe stores, like Kinney and Thom McAn. You could find books at B. Dalton and Waldenbooks, and electronics and software at Electronics Boutique and Software Etc.\\xa0 Before Yankee Candle, there was Wicks and Sticks, and through it all, Spencer\'s Gifts is still around.\\xa0\\n\\nGamerDude also talks about the food court, where you could find Hot Sam\'s pretzels and\\xa0Hickory Farm and\\xa0the deliciousness of Orange Julius. And, he remembers the relative "fanciness" of The Ground Round.\\n\\nHe also remembers the arcades; malls, both big and small, had arcades for the kids to hang out in, and the larger arcades would get the new release games before anyone else. It was the mall arcades where you could find the large, sit-down versions of games like Star Wars and\\xa0pilot your own X-Wing fighter.\\xa0 GamerDude remembers what it was like to hang out in the arcade with friends, or to walk through the mall with a date. It was the perfect opportunity to get to know someone, and one that is lost to the way the world has changed.'