What does the future hold ….

What does the future hold for the Holiday Plaza Mall? It’s been shut down for nearly a decade now, and I miss it. For many years it was our hangout spot, and there were several good places to shop in there. I remember when they _rst renovated it back in the 80s, and it was so lovely. The only thing that I was disappointed with was the removal of the platform they had in the center of the building, which had three levels. Kids, including myself, used to run across it, and at Christmas time they would set up a beautiful display for the holidays, featuring Santa Claus and a Christmas tree. Royal Jewelers, Radio Shack, Hancock Fabrics, and Walgreens were the main staples of the Mall, along with the bowling alley/video arcade. Man, those were some good times. And I used to enjoy doing my walking exercise in there also, especially when I approached one of the ceiling fans and experienced a cool breeze. Why are we seeing so many of our historic places in town go away, with nothing else to take their place? [Editor’s Note: Man, you unlocked some core memories for me with this little walk through the Holiday Plaza Mall. Unfortunately, I don’t think the mall, as is, is in renovatable (is that a word?) condition. The roof, I believe, is the main issue. I have heard a couple of times that it was slated for demolition, but nothing ever happens. It is a prime location for… well… something. You could _t a lot of retail/entertainment on that footprint, like a bowling alley, movie theater, shops and restaurants, etc. The real problem, at least the way I see it, is there’s a lot of uncertainty right now about West Memphis in regard to retail base, socioeconomic factors, workforce, and such that an investment of that magnitude might be too onerous to undertake. It would be a great centerpiece to have on display to travelers along I-40 and I-55 though. Maybe someday?] Donald Trump showed us what he can do for us once before. I believe in putting Americans _rst. Watch actions and look at what the current situation is under Biden-Harris. Life was better under Trump Administration.

[Editor’s Note: I will continue my narrative that if you support Trump’s brand of what makes America “great,” you are certainly welcome to do so. I honestly don’t get it. The part that I really can’t understand is your “putting America _rst” idea. I simply see no evidence that suggests his platform is anything but “putting Trump _rst” and I can’t imagine that would change in a second term. If you, or any other voters, truly think “Life was better under Trump Administration,” by all means vote for the man] Election time is upon on us once again and the differences between the two major party candidates could not be more stark. The Democratic Party puts forth an accomplished woman who graduated from Howard University and the University of California law school. She acted as a front line prosecutor, was elected by the people of California to Attorney General and State Senator. The people of the United States elected her to the of_ce of Vice President. She acts like an adult, speaks like an adult and thinks like an adult. On the other hand what is left of the Republican Party has put forth their candidate an eight year old child in a 78 year old man’s body. 1. If your precious third grader lied so much he could no longer tell fantasy from reality nor fact from _ction would you just accept it or send him for professional help? 2. What would your reaction be if your little darling was sent home because he was touching the young ladies in non-appropriate places and thought it was his right to do so? 3. If he was sent home for being a bully would you just accept it or put a board on that butt? 4. Would you laugh at his infantile impressions of those who may have physical or mental defects? 5. What would your reaction be if your pride and joy came home and said Ralph Hardin, Gary Cupples, Danny Tate, Jimmy Treece, Henry Johnson, W.C. Smith and Howard Momany were suckers and losers because they died in service to their country and patriotism is a farce? Hopefully, your answer would be that you would take swift and effective action. This begs to question. Why would we not accept this behavior from an 8-year old , but condone it from a man running from the highest of_ce in the land? [Editor’s Note: Look, I get it. You’re raising some very valid points, but I can go ahead and tell you that you’re wasting your breath (or whatever the typing version of “wasting your breath” is). You could say all of the things that you just said directly to a lot of people who will just shrug and say, “better than Harris being in there.” I can only blame it on our two-party, us-or-them system, where logic and reasoning simply do not matter]