Yesterday I was reminded that on at least one point the teaching nuns of my school days were dead on correct. I visited the local mall to do some indoor walking and after nearly seventy years, it magically dawned on me that one of their warnings was true. The hooded old ladies used to talk about the evils of materialism and how we must avoid its snare to be good little "saints". They lectured that our prayers and constant vigilance were critical to avoid the devils hell pit of self adoration. As I walked the shopping halls it was incredibly obvious that the place was a monument to materialism and self gratification. Every shop was an altar to fancy clothing, edible goodies, things to bring pleasure to our ears, fingernails, hair, electronic desires, and home décor dreams.
Now, Catholic religious instruction from the 1950's was full of goblins, fantasies, and a lot of brainwashing to scare innocent children to holiness and a lot of it worked. We were steadily indoctrinated into a life of following moral rules, giving to the missions, and not touching oneself or a neighbor inappropriately. Some of the lessons stuck, however by the seventh or eighth grade most of my Catholic school comrades were exhausted by the hyper moralizing and we began exploring the sinful pleasures of protestants and pagan friends.
Except for a few senior citizens walking the mall, the place was full of parading penniless teenagers and old women with more money than good economic shopping sense. I searched the store fronts looking for anything practical that did not scream materialism and self gratification. I found nothing. There were no shovel stores or places to buy a few quarts of motor oil, and even the food court was a deathly hallway of sugary and fatty food vendors.
After an hour of marching the air conditioned and music filled mall I quit the scene. As I slipped into the leather seat of my convertible, adjusted my Ray'Bans, cranked the air conditioner to max, and took a sip of my iced cappuccino, I was grateful for the lessons from the holy nuns of long ago.
Now, Catholic religious instruction from the 1950's was full of goblins, fantasies, and a lot of brainwashing to scare innocent children to holiness and a lot of it worked. We were steadily indoctrinated into a life of following moral rules, giving to the missions, and not touching oneself or a neighbor inappropriately. Some of the lessons stuck, however by the seventh or eighth grade most of my Catholic school comrades were exhausted by the hyper moralizing and we began exploring the sinful pleasures of protestants and pagan friends.
Except for a few senior citizens walking the mall, the place was full of parading penniless teenagers and old women with more money than good economic shopping sense. I searched the store fronts looking for anything practical that did not scream materialism and self gratification. I found nothing. There were no shovel stores or places to buy a few quarts of motor oil, and even the food court was a deathly hallway of sugary and fatty food vendors.
After an hour of marching the air conditioned and music filled mall I quit the scene. As I slipped into the leather seat of my convertible, adjusted my Ray'Bans, cranked the air conditioner to max, and took a sip of my iced cappuccino, I was grateful for the lessons from the holy nuns of long ago.
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