Friday, November 12, 2021

Flabbergasted

One of the goals of the adult transition center is to make the students more independent. They try to teach them things that they'll need to take care of themselves in the future. Like, they teach them how to go into stores and make purchases.

In practice that means that last Friday we went to the mall. 

The class of nine was broken up into three groups of three (a group each for me and the two instructional assistants). The students chose where they wanted to go. I got the group going to the farther mall. 

Why that mall? Sydney wanted to go to Steak Escape for lunch. 

I was warned by one of the IAs that the last time she took them there, the group didn't go into any stores. So, I was prepared to do a lot of walking and perhaps some of my own shopping. 

Surprisingly, as soon as we got into the mall, Eddy found a store he wanted to look in. And then another. And then another. 

Cool. We got there at nearly 11 AM, and we weren't due back to school until 2 PM. We had oodles of time. And neither Syd nor Flash had any desire to shop. 

(Flash is so nicknamed here because all he wanted to do was walk as fast as possible wherever he was going. I told him he could walk up and back outside the store while Eddy was inside.) 

And then Eddy found another store that he wanted to go in. And I just... 

It was Amazon Books.

Of course, I went in with him. I had to see this place. 

It's a bookstore. I gaped at it, looking at books and games and journals and Amazon devices. 

After we left, I vented to Syd. It was hard to express what I was feeling. I was feeling all sorts of feelings. Part of me thought it was cool. Part of me was amazed at the chutzpah of Amazon. Part of me felt like things had come full circle. 

There are other emotions. I haven't unpacked them all. 

Amazon Books. Am I the only one who's just *shakes head*?

24 comments:

  1. That was a fun day and a good learning experience.
    Oh if we have Amazon Books here, I could spend hours in there.
    Have a great day ♥

    Ann
    https://roomsofinspiration.blogspot.com/

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    1. I can spend hours in Barnes & Noble. Or independent bookstores. Amazon... It felt like a Waldenbooks. (Those of us of a certain age will understand that reference.)

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  2. Amazon books. I do remember when they sold only books. And now,brick and mortar stores. It's more than full circle. I don't quite know what to call it. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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  3. Replies
    1. Apparently there are two in New York City, so if you wish to have the in-person experience...

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  4. Amazon follows the WalMart model of killing off all the smaller stores to have a monopoly on everything.

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  5. I can't believe Amazon opened up a physical book store, haha! After they put so many others out of business!

    Hope that you are having a great weekend :) Thankfully the rain has stopped here!

    Away From The Blue

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  6. I don't see Amazon stores will be in my area. But I would liked to see some photos.
    Coffee is on and stay safe

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  7. I had heard that was happening in the states. I can't believe what's happened - after wiping out nearly all the bookstores, they now have a clean run at that landscape themselves *shaking head*. I'm with you, I'm not sure how I feel.

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  8. That is full circle. I feel like I heard a prediction about this a while back. Not Amazon per se, but online retailers opening physical stores as a second revenue stream. *shrugs*

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    1. I mean, it's not a bad thing for online retailers to have brick and mortar options. But Amazon specifically was all about just being online. And now...

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  9. Hi Liz - interesting to read about the experience ... we could never get an Amazon store here: way too much space needed ... but I expect they'll come in some form or the other. Very sad to read about - yet we do have an Amazon Fresh ...

    Well I stand corrected - we do have a few Amazon stores - of both sorts ... live and learn - thank you for making me look - I'd have never have known otherwise ... as I don't live near them.

    Cheers Hilary

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  10. That's wild. I had to read the words twice. A brick and mortar Amazon store?

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    Replies
    1. Yup. It was the size that the old Waldenbooks used to be. Well, maybe a bit smaller. It wasn't a huge space.

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  11. I had no clue they would have a physical store but I would go in for sure.

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  12. I've bought books a couple of times there ❤

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  13. Amazon is big here, that's online; no brick and mortar store yet. But there are quite a few big physical book store chains here.
    That's a place I can spend hours without realising how time flew by.

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  14. I still prefere go to physical book store, look, touch and smell books before I bought them.

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