The Neighborhood Mall

Kahala Mall is the neighborhood shopping area.  I was in high school when the mall was built.  My first "real" job was there, in the anchor department store.  Then it was Liberty House; today it is Macy's.

There has always been a grocery store.  For many years it was locally owned.
A couple of years ago, Whole Foods replaced Star Market.  

Cinnabon, near Whole Foods, is another of the mainland chains represented in Kahala Mall.  

There is no food court, but a number of fast food chains are represented:  Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Panda Express, Arby's Roast Beef, Pretzelmaker ....  along with Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Godiva Chocolate ....  

Kahala Kids, and Reyn Spooner a little farther down the mall, are both locally owned.  They are two of the handfull of local shops not associated with national chains.

Today, the mall is enclosed,, air conditioned and carpeted.  Originally, all space between the shops was open air.  A mynah bird llived in a cage in the garden shop (which was in the wing which now features the Apple Store, Reyn Spooner, and Kahala Kids).  If you talked to him, he'd look at you quietly.  Eventually he'd mutter, "Birds can't talk."

This bust of Jack Lord, who in his lifetime lived in the neighborhood and was a frequent shopper at this mall.  Someone regularly gives him a fresh flower lei.

It's definitely not Groveland.  There's lots more stuff here, but none of the personalization or personality of shopping in Groveland.  Here, there are lines for everything.  You don't routinely stop in the parking lot to visit with a friend, find a shop owner who will go out of his or her way to find you a specialty product not  normally carried, or catch up on local news from friends who also happen to be shop owners.   I miss the community of living in a small town.

Give thanks for friendships.
Don't forget to pray.