Jan 28 2010
The Irony of a Lockdown
I took my girls to Mall of America today for a special mommy-daughter day. We arrived a few minutes before the 10 a.m. opening time of the stores.
We walked through the mall, and as we were approaching Nordstrom, an announcement came on, informing us that the mall was performing a lockdown drill and that we should seek shelter in the nearest store. The girls were frightened by this (even though there weren’t any loud alarms), but a very kind clerk in Nordstrom helped to set them at ease. We reminded them that it’s much like a fire drill or tornado drill at school, so that we’d know what to do in a real emergency to stay safe.
The drill lasted only a few minutes, after which we headed back out to the mall. I stopped to check my phone messages in the atrium, and happened to be right next to this:
Tom Burnett, a Minnesota resident, was one of the passengers on Flight 93, and after the lockdown drill, which has certainly stemmed at least in part from 9/11, I found myself next to his memorial.
I’ve yet to hear of such a drill in the malls here. Do they do lockdowns in other malls in MN, or does Mall of America do it just because it is so large?
Isn’t it funny how you discover some of the most interesting things when you’re doing something else?
Dominique´s last blog ..Photo Friday: Nature’s icy artistry at Manistee
I think Mall of America is the only one, because of its size and fame.
Fortunately, I had seen a news article a while ago, when they had started the lockdown drills, so I wasn’t completely freaked out by it.
It was also done at a time when the mall had just opened and was very, very quiet, so it affected fewer shoppers.
(As an aside, if you’re ever going to go to MOA, try a Wednesday or Thursday if you don’t like crowds. Weekends are a zoo!)
Linda